Urban sketching emerged as a global art movement. The followers of this movement are called Urban Sketchers. With their drawings, urban sketchers try to show places and life as the artists perceived it through their eyes. This happens both with everyday places and when travelling. Urban sketching also sees itself as a kind of counter-movement to rapid consumption. A photo is taken quickly, but this leads to the moment and the subject not being perceived with all its details. Urban sketching is an attempt to slow life down a little more and enjoy the art of the moment. The art movement thrives on the intensive exchange of artworks, which is why they are diligently shared on popular social media platforms.
How exactly did urban sketching come about?
The movement was founded in 2007 by journalist and illustrator Gabriel Campanario in Seattle. He launched the online community and quickly realised that more and more artists were starting to share their work on the web, which is why he founded the Urban Sketcher blog in 2008. There, events from everyday life were depicted and shared with a journalistic approach.
Exkurs: Urban Sketching Tutorials
Look over the shoulder of artist @Koalakimlan and create beautiful urban sketching motifs.
Small size
Especially for beginners, it is easy to start with an A6 format. You don't fall into perfectionism so quickly with a smaller format and thus concentrate only on the essentials. We recommend the Tombow Bristol paper in A6 format. It is the perfect size to start with Urban Sketching and is suitable for any drawing technique.
Handbook or block
Among many urban sketchers, it is common to have handbooks so that the drawings are collected all together in one book. The advantage of this is that you can document your development and have all the places bundled into one book. But a handbook isn't for everyone. With a handbook, you feel demotivated very quickly, because a not-so-successful drawing can destroy the overall picture of the book. If you don't mind that not every drawing is perfect and you like to show your development, we recommend you buy a handbook. If you are a perfectionist, a pad may be the better choice for you.
