The Urban Sketcher: Techniques for Seeing and Drawing on Location Paperback – October 28, 2014

I came across this author on YouTube several years ago and enjoyed his work and his commentary on Urban Sketching. I also knew about this book for quite awhile, in fact I had it in my cart - save for later - bin for about six months and finally purchased it. I am impressed with this book because of the authors writing, I know, you say, 'but it's a book about sketching', and yes it is, but he talks you through his examples and writes about his art and subjects like you are sitting with him on location. I love how he describes his drawings as stories and graphic novels. He doesn't want to just document a scene, he guides you into being a storyteller through the pencil, pen and ink medium. Don't get me wrong, he definitely gives many solid tips on how to get to the story through how you use the pencil but he in essence is a teller of the story first of all. He guides you to making the viewer feel what you feel while sketching. He uses terms like, narrative, guided tour, a trail of breadcrumbs in describing his style. He leads you into the language of visual narrative with terms like, gradient of interest, eye magnet, placement, contrast and detail. When writing you're told to -'show don't tell'; but in Urban Sketching we actually do show by what we put on the page. But this author intimates that we should TELL with the sketch, leading the viewer into our composition. I like this book, I think you will as well.

I have always been interested in sketching and did some on my own very the years. But this book really brings light and direction to my journey. Even I may never reached the end chapters of watercoloring level, I have tremendously enjoy the drawing part so far.It also inspires me to do daily sketches. Plus the writing is interesting to read.Now everywhere I look I am thinking how the image can turn to a sketch. Ha! Money well spent, highly recommend!

The Urban Sketcher – Techniques for Seeing and Drawing on Location is a useful book on drawing and watercolor painting technique illustrated with a selection of Marc Taro Holmes’ dazzling works. It’s certainly worth the $17.30 price (Amazon.com), especially the small watercolor section. I’m a bit puzzled, though, about who the intended audience is.The book begins with an introduction to the concept of urban sketching and its inherent joys. Daily, habitual sketching – with quantity trumping concern for quality – will bring rapid skills improvement to most sketchers, Holmes says, and his own pleasure from the habit is apparent. “Urban sketching gets you out in the world looking for things worth drawing,” he says. “It puts you into the mindset where daily life is part of a larger artistic adventure.”The first two-thirds of the 143-page book focuses on relatively basic drawing techniques that a beginner could grasp and practice without feeling overwhelmed. It begins with an introduction to the pleasures of urban sketching and essential materials used. Then, starting with still lifes, Holmes shows, step-by-step, how to use simple measuring and sight-sizing techniques to draw accurately. Very quickly he moves to applying those same principles to urban landscapes. Useful to beginners as well as more seasoned sketchers, he shows how to break down a complex subject into simplified shapes and angles.Most of the drawing instructions and exercises are based on Holmes’ three-step process: a rough pencil “scribble” followed by a defining pen line and finally a brush pen to darken “shadow shapes,” giving dimension to the drawing. This process is reinforced throughout the book. Some exercises are devoted specifically to sketching people in the urban landscape using these same principles.So far, I could see a highly motivated beginner or intermediate sketcher using Holmes’ three-step process to build skills with continual practice. But a sheer beginner will not find important instruction on perspective when drawing buildings, for example, or understanding proportions when drawing people. (I suppose plenty of other books on the market cover these basic topics.)Where I really felt confused about the intended audience was the final third of the book on watercolor techniques. The first instruction demo is on the “grow a wash” technique, followed by one on charging-in, and then edge-pulling. If I had just opened a new set of paints and were using watercolor for the first time (as implied by the book’s introduction to materials), I would be befuddled and frustrated by these sophisticated techniques right out the door.In Step 1 of a demo, it says, “Keep aware of your color variation, going back for a slightly different hue every time. Never use just one color. Always modify the base color with warm and cool neighbors.” Warm and cool neighbors? All of this comes without a single word related to color mixing or showing a color wheel explaining warm and cool colors. (OK, again, I suppose plenty of watercolor technique books on the market cover these basics.) After having read numerous books on watercolor painting and having taken a few workshops, I feel ready to be challenged by these relatively advanced techniques, but I was surprised to see them in the first few pages of the watercolor section in a book with basic drawing instruction. All of that said, I’m looking forward to trying out these techniques, along with his “tea/milk/honey” principle of paint dilution.Now that I’ve heard myself talk, I realize that the intended audience might actually be me: Someone with three years of experience in pen, ink and watercolor sketching, looking for new challenges to improve my skills. So if you’re like me, you’ll get plenty of value from the slim watercolor portion of the book; perhaps less from the drawing section. If you want to learn drawing, then perhaps this book is for you. It has some good basics, but definitely not all. If you want to learn watercolor, then I’d say you need to read at least one book on beginning watercolor painting before this one. (For inspiration about why to sketch on location and to view a full range of what artists worldwide are doing with urban sketching, then Gabriel Campanario’s The Art of Urban Sketching is still “the bible.” If you are a complete newbie who wants a comprehensive book about how to urban sketch, including beginning basic skills, James Hobbs’ Sketch Your World would be my answer.)One complaint may seem minor, but I see this so often in books published today that it’s no longer a minor offense to me. Much time and care were taken to prepare beautiful, step-by-step demo illustrations and examples. Why, then, couldn’t the same care have been taken with the text? It’s riddled with typos and sloppy editing. One of the photo cutlines doesn’t match the photo. The step numbering on one of the illustrations is wrong. I’m going to give the author the benefit of the doubt and assume that the publisher is at fault. (I’ve read other books by North Light Books that were equally sloppy.) It’s a shame when budget cuts in the hard-copy publishing world can’t afford a proofreader.

Very glad I decided to get this book. Offers a logical and nicely structured approach to the art of sketching. I almost felt as if I had just completed a $400 workshop. I went for a sketch weekend in the country after reading this book, and felt better equipped to capture in my sketch book what I saw, and gather visual information for future paintings. Sketching can be loads of fun when you are focused and prepared, and whether you plan to work in pencil, pen & ink, watercolor or all of the above this book should definitely help prepare you.

The author does an excellent job of breaking down sketching as well as painting into three basic phases that can be applied to any medium. His explanations are clear and insightful. Practical tips like how to get the measurements right when sketching on location, have made a big difference in how I look at the world around me and the quality of the drawing I get down on paper.Here and there I would have enjoyed more detail on the specific watercolour pigments used, but as the author aims to to teach principles that can be applied in any situation rather than a step-by-step guide this doesn't detract from the value of the book.Whether you prefer pencil, pen and ink, watercolour or a combination of all of the above, this book contains advice that will soon have you amazed at the improvement in your own work. And in a relatively short time too!

I recently discovered the work of MArc Taro Holmes while searching urban sketching. I was eventually led to his blog and then this book. If you are new to the idea of urban sketching i would definitely pick up this book. It's a wonderful addition to any library. There are exercises, helpful step by step photos and of course stories. His approach is pretty straight forward and easy to comprehend.If you've also wanted to get introduced to using pen and watercolor you will find this book very helpful.