Urban Sketching: A Practical Guide for Beginners

We’ve all been there: your mobile phone is always within easy reach in your pocket, ready to capture moments on the go with a quick snap. But what happens when you transfer your subject onto paper, bit by bit? In this comprehensive urban sketching guide, you’ll discover how you can capture architecture, trees or people in your sketchbook with just a few pencil strokes, almost as an afterthought, whilst out and about.

We spoke to Berlin-based designer and artist Jens Hübner about urban sketching. He actually draws constantly and everywhere, and developed his own innovative method for drawing and watercolour painting on the go whilst travelling around the world. And he has a great gift for teaching others how to do urban sketching using simple tricks, something he has been demonstrating for many years, including as a lecturer at drawing workshops.

Hello Jens, it’s great that we can ask you a few questions about urban sketching.

What is urban sketching?

Urban sketching is a global movement involving thousands of artists. Professional and amateur artists organise themselves via social media to sketch together. The most important aspect of urban sketching is that you sketch directly on location, enjoying the process of drawing outdoors, rather than from photographs or imagination.

How and when did the technique and urban sketching movement come about?

The urban sketching movement was founded around 10 years ago by the American Gabriel Campanario in Seattle. With the rise of social media, those interested in urban sketching were able to organise themselves very quickly via Facebook groups, for example, and arrange to meet up to sketch and draw.

What do you need for urban sketching?

Any drawing materials are permitted for urban sketching. However, urban sketchers mostly use watercolours combined with fineliners or a fountain pen, as these tools are easy to carry and therefore simple to use on the go, making watercolour urban sketching very popular.

You will need the following urban sketching equipment for your creative adventures:

• A sketchbook or sketch pad
• Watercolours
• A brush – e.g. a water-tank brush
• Fine-tip pens
• A fountain pen
• Generally, all drawing materials are permitted for urban sketching
• Urban Sketching Template – Cologne Cathedral by Jens Hübner

Urban Sketching Vorlage - Kölner Dom von Jens Hübner

Which sketchbook or paper is best, and which pens would you recommend for beginners to urban sketching?

Personally, I usually use an A5-sized, portrait-format hardcover sketchbook, a watercolour case I designed myself (the Hübschke Silverbox), a water-filled brush and a black fineliner.

Step-by-step guide to urban sketching

Here’s how to do urban sketching step by step:

Urban Sketching Step 1 – Find the right subject: Choose a subject outdoors. This could be buildings you like, for example, or a scene in a park or a café. In principle, there are no limits to your imagination when it comes to urban sketching.

Urban Sketching Step 2 – Draw guide lines: If you need them, you can draw guide lines on the paper. These could be a horizon line, for example, or a vanishing point and vanishing lines. This is especially helpful if you are learning to draw in perspective.

Urban Sketching Step 3 – Sketching buildings and objects: Now draw the outlines of the objects in your sketch. Start with the larger shapes and only add the details once the structure of your picture is in place. You can bring things you want to highlight in the picture to the fore by adding more detail. For objects that aren’t so important to you, however, you can leave out the details.

Urban Sketching Step 4 – Adding colour to your sketch: If you like, you can colour your drawing in the final step – for example, with watercolours. You can also use markers or coloured pencils for the colours. This is also the perfect moment to focus on drawing light and shadow to give your image more depth.

Urban Sketching Vorlage - Oldenburg von Jens Hübner

Tip: On YouTube, you’ll find more than 70 short urban sketching videos by me, in which I demonstrate a wide variety of urban sketching techniques and urban sketching materials.

Learning urban sketching: How do I get started with urban sketching?

I’ve been drawing professionally for about 15 years. But even for me, the basics – such as sketching my drawing materials – are extremely important. That’s usually how I start every sketchbook. It’s my warm-up exercise.

As a great starting point in urban sketching for beginners, you should do simple exercises, such as filling a double-page spread in your sketchbook with stick figures, or a double-page spread with coffee cups, or individual trees, or wastepaper baskets. You should simplify the subjects by drawing them exactly from the front or from the side.

Urban Sketching People: What exactly are ‘carrot people’? Could you explain that in more detail?

There are various ways to sketch people on the go or when you are sketching in the city. The carrot technique is one of them and, as the name suggests, I draw a carrot from which the person then emerges. The subtitle of my current book, ‘Drawing with Jens Hübner’, is: ‘How carrots become people and other tricks for sketching on the go’

And what’s the best way to learn urban sketching?

I’d recommend developing a structure that allows you to sketch quickly and unobtrusively in the city. You can do this through an urban sketching workshop, books or videos. In my workshops, I always take the participants out and about. We offer a variety of workshops throughout the year.

Urban Sketching Vorlage - Brücke von Jens Hübner

To wrap up, would you mind briefly telling us how you got into urban sketching? I started sketching whilst travelling during my two-year bike trip around the world. In the process, I constantly refined and honed my skills in making do with minimal materials and capturing my impressions on the go. Shortly after I returned to Germany, the urban sketching movement emerged. Since then, I’ve thoroughly enjoyed passing on my knowledge in workshops on drawing, watercolour painting and urban sketching to anyone interested, whether online or in person.

Thank you very much for the interview!