Top 10 mistakes in interior sketching that can make your drawing look unprofessional

After more than 6 years of teaching interior sketching, I can tell you that I notice the top 10 common mistakes that beginners make that can ruin their sketches, and I’d like to teach you how to avoid every single one of them.

Please take a look at the image below. This is a drawing that I created specifically for this article to illustrate all of the ideas I’m about to share. Sketch to the right is OK; sketch to the left contains all of those 10 mistakes. Surprised? Keep reading and learn more.

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I’ve been teaching interior sketching and perspective drawing since 2014, and I can tell you that I can see certain mistakes that not only beginners in sketching but also experienced interior designers make in theirs drawings. These mistakes compromise their professionalism, and I’d love to teach you how to avoid them in this article.

These are basic and very common mistakes that not only beginners in sketching but also interior designers make. Unfortunately, these mistakes can make your sketch look flat and unprofessional or even jeopardize your reputation as a designer.

As a bonus, at the end of this article, I will share my Top 5 free tips for detecting and fixing your mistakes and the biggest secret of interior sketching.

Olga Sorokina

Top 10 mistakes in interior sketching:

Mistake #1: "I like everything equally"

That is when you draw all the elements in your sketch equally detailed and with due diligence. You can thoroughly draw the things that are farther away just as carefully as the foreground objects. And this is a big mistake in interior sketching, as this approach neglects the aerial perspective, and, consequently, the sense of space and air in the sketch is missing. Such drawings can often look plain, "tortured", and overloaded.

Mistake #2: "Focusing on details"

It is especially typical for girls. We can depict, for instance, the texture of velvet with markers so perfectly that it seems realistic. Meanwhile, all the proportions in the drawing go wrong, the composition is far from perfect, and the perspective is completely distorted. But we stubbornly refuse to see the overall picture and continue to draw beautiful copper rivets on the back of our velvet chair.

Mistake #3: "I don't get along with Her Majesty Perspective"

I have already mentioned the critical importance of proper perspective in sketching in my "10 Rules of Sketching", where it even takes the first place.

Distorted perspective works well only for cubists, while in interior sketching, you must know its basics (at least frontal and angular ones) "like the back of your hand". Look here, the lines of the bed, closet, and walls in the "wrong" sketch now converge at some completely different vanishing points, while all the lines in the "right" sketch converge at the vanishing point either on the left (A1) or on the right (A2), or they are just vertical to the heights of the objects. 

In interior sketching, everything depends on the fidelity of construction, so if you were good at perspective and shadow projections at school, it is a great virtue. But if you did not like or study it, I invite you to my free challenge on the basics of perspective for interior designers available here: click.

Please, analyze how the ovals open towards the horizon line in the scene. You can compare the lampshade ovals in both sketches.

In addition, keep an eye out for perspective reduction, as shown in the sketch by the cushions and the middle of the cabinet: the farther the object is, the smaller or narrower it should be.

“Wrong“ sketch with all 10 mistakes in it

Mistake #4: "Drawing on the wrong side of the marker paper without realizing it"

It is a purely technical mistake that is very easy to avoid. Before you start drawing another sketch, try to draw a line with a light gray or any soft beige marker somewhere on the side of the sheet and immediately run your finger over it. If the paint gets smeared, this is the wrong side of the marker paper; if the color is absorbed instantly without being smeared, this is the right side. Why is it so? Manufacturers of marker paper put a special coating on one of the sides, which keeps the marker from seeping through that paper and, thus, saves the consumption of the markers themselves.

Mistake #5: "I'm so terrible at this, please, go easy on me, it's my first time”

This mistake lies in the person's approach to learning new things. And who managed to create something brilliant for the first time? Perhaps it could be Pushkin or Mozart. Oh, how often have I heard that phrase, particularly, by the way, when I held a marathon on the basics of perspective for designers (Instagram hashtag #marafon_olgaart888). Guys, but where is this coming from?! It is so great that you decided to learn something new and were not afraid to "take your first lumps". In such cases, you have to encourage yourself and realize that you'll certainly succeed in it, but not immediately. Far from “immediately”. Be persistent and keep learning.

Mistake #6: "Drawing with ragged lines"

It's a very common mistake. Because of insecurity, the hand trembles, the pencil barely touches the paper making the outline of objects broken, with one long line made up of dozens of shorter ones if you take a closer look. Such sketches just scream: "I'm not a confident sketch! I was drawn by a beginner with a fear of drawing!" What should you do? Develop your skills. This 10-minute video on hand placement exercises can be useful to you: watch.

Have you ever noticed how kids are drawing? They press down very hard on the pencil and draw confident, albeit curved, lines. They're the ones you can learn from for being fearless in learning new things!

Mistake #7: "Applying marker inappropriately"

For the interior sketch to look more realistic, the marker (or any other material, such as a pencil or crayon) should be applied "in shape". For example, in the "right" sketch, the green marker is applied to the walls as if each line tends to a vanishing point (A1 or A2). In the "wrong" sketch, the marker is "hit or miss" which immediately makes the sketch look cut-out, collage, and unnatural. This mistake of hatching "at sixes and sevens" or "in a straw-witted manner" is one of the most common ones made by beginners, many of whom have not yet learned the advantages of a wide marker tip and fail to use its strengths hatching large areas of the drawing with a thin tip.

“Right“ sketch without those mistakes

Mistake #8: "Oops, some problems with textures"

A common problem for beginners in sketching is having difficulty rendering textures (especially wood, glass, and stone): they either work too intensely in this case, ignoring the source and relying on their imagination or depict the texture pattern out of scale, usually by making it very large (see my "wrong" drawing for the parquet as an example: I have depicted a too large wood pattern for this room, in comparison to the "right" drawing). In addition, beginners often draw textures that look unrealistic. For example, a person wants to depict a tree, but it looks more like marble veins or even "ragged worms". In such cases, it's necessary to develop observation skills, do some research on the Internet, and get inspiration. It's essential to have a visual experience. So instead of taking textures from your head and drawing using your imagination at the beginning, use pictures (Pinterest is a good choice) as they can be really helpful. You can find the most popular textures in interior sketching here.

Mistake #9: "The view outside the window in the drawing seems more important than the drawing itself"

If there is a window in the sketch, newbies often start to draw actively the crown of trees using a bright grass color marker so that when someone looks at the drawing, they see nothing but "garish" trees. In such cases, we should remember that what's outside the window is in the far-far background, and in our sketch, we must focus on the foreground subjects. In addition, the thickness of the air outside the window softens all colors and makes them translucent, pale, with a cold grey shade.

Mistake #10: "Your tonality fades: everything is equally grey"

Here it is required to highlight the lightest, darkest, and most middle objects according to the tone in the sketch. It is called "tonal parsing" of the sketch. In this case, it is advisable to train on the monochrome sketches, for example, the ones which are drawn exclusively with grey markers (you can just use three of them: light gray, medium gray, and dark gray). Thus, you will get used to distinguishing the tonality of the scene, for example, a color drawing can turn out bright, all markers will have different colors but the same tone, and as a result, there will be no contrast in the drawing, as if everything is blended into a single spot.

What should you do? 

Here are my Top 5 free tips for detecting and fixing your mistakes:

1) A good idea is to print out your sketch in shades of grey using only a black cartridge and see if you have this problem. If yes, everything will be equally gray on the printout.

2) You can also take a photo of your sketch and judge the result, as this mistake is pretty visible in the pictures in a small format. 

3) You can stand in front of the mirror with your sketch, and the reflection always reveals mistakes better. 

4) Alternatively, you can turn the sketch upside down. The thing is to change the point or angle of view at the sketch since while you are drawing, your eyes "get blurry", and you become blind to your mistakes, repeating them from one sketch to another. 

5) You can squint and look at your sketch, and if everything looks like one single spot, equal in tone, then it's high time you fixed the situation.

By the way, these five tips will work for almost all mistakes since it's just easier to notice them using these techniques.

The biggest secret

Top secret of interior sketching revealed…

The moment you know about all those mistakes, guess what? You can break them!

Take a look at my sketch above. It took me about 5 min to make it; I was drawing almost unconsciously while knowing that I was breaking the rules of perspective. If you take a closer look, you might notice that the convergence lines do not meet in one vanishing point, which would be correct. This is more of a freestyle sketch to quickly express an idea.

“Learn the rules like a pro, so you can break them like an artist.”

— Pablo Picasso

Finally, one more piece of advice: 

Try to gradually move away from the ruler and eraser and focus on drawing by hand. You should train your hand, while the ruler and eraser are like "crutches" you get used to very quickly and develop a habit of constantly drawing with the ruler. Hand sketches look incomparably more attractive, professional, and lively.

What was your biggest take-away from this blog?

Did you notice any of these mistakes in your sketches?

Let me know in the comments below.

P.S. If you enjoyed this article, please share it, that would mean the world to me.

© Olga Sorokina

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Check this video, where I go over 7 of those mistakes which I mentioned here:

Free resources I mention in the video:

• MY FREE PERSPECTIVE CHALLENGE: here

• 10 EXERCISES TO TRAIN YOUR HAND: here

• MY 10 RULES OF SKETCHING: here

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If you wish to deepen your interior drawing practice, you might be interested in this online course:

"BASE": a Course Which Teaches All the Basic Techniques You Need to Implement Sketching in Your Interior Design Practice

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My story: how and why I came to interior sketching?

In this article, I would like to share with you my story on how I came to interior design drawing and what is the main aim of this blog.

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How I came to sketching?

In fact, I have never parted ways with it. Drawings, plain-airs, designs, sketches, outlines, drafts – all these have been my close companions all my life. Throughout my education first at the Arts School for Children “Alexandrino” (St Petersburg, Russia), followed by four years at the Arts and Aesthetics School on the Fontanka River and finally six years at the St Petersburg Stieglitz State Academy of Art and Design (Interior Architecture), I was always drawing, perfecting my technique, honing on my skills and hand confidence. I have been studying sketching all my life, and even now, I am continuing to refine my skills almost every day.

Russian Art Academies provide solid foundations, and exceptional old school education, particularly in academic drawing. In Russia, we are very proud of our cultural traditions and systematic in-depth, comprehensive approach to arts education.

“Russian Art Academies provide solid foundations, and exceptional old school education, particularly in academic drawing.”

Contemporary methods, marketing, and brand-building are what I call “complementary options”, something that a designer can learn on his own using the information on the Internet, books, or short courses.

Technology is developing at a very fast pace, new teaching methodologies continue surfacing, but always remember that no skyscraper can be built without proper foundations so the core skills must be solid and comprehensive.

What are the core skills? These are the necessary skills, the understanding of the essence of the subject, acquisition of the faculty of fast learning. For interior design, for instance, it is important to know the history of arts, design principles, ergonomics, materials science, colour theory, understanding of materials, perfect command of perspective and shadow projections, and drawing techniques. If it is fashion design, we need to know surface anatomy, materials, stylization techniques, sewing basics and pattern cutting, etc.

“For interior designers, it is important to know history of arts, design principles, ergonomics, materials science, colour theory, understanding of materials, perfect command of perspective and shadow projections, and drawing techniques.”

Interior sketching is one of the critical components of successful and productive design practice. Masterful command of perspective, rendering, and stylization are the three main skills that you will need to develop to be successful at it. The sketching practice boils down to a certain sum of knowledge and skills, which are essential to professionalism and expertise. Do not be put off if you have never held a pencil in your life. Sketching is a skill that is entirely possible to learn and improve upon. Always rememberer if there is a will — there is a way. 

During my six years at the Stieglitz State Academy of Art and Design, majority of our time was spent on disciplines such as architectural drawing, perspective, academic drawing, designing, modeling (creating paper models of our design projects, “maquettes“), composition and colour series. As you can see, the program was very intensive. That is why the course takes six years to complete, the sixth year being allocated to work on a student's work diploma.

“Interior sketching is one of the key components of successful and productive design practice. Do not be put off if you have never held a pencil in your life. Sketching is a skill that is 100% learnable and teachable!”

In my online courses, I give you the absolute essence of the knowledge required to become a successful practitioner of interior sketching. I adore the aesthetics of freehand rendering. In my opinion, it is a much more natural, fluid, and more vivid way of visual expression of an idea compared to a static dead-looking 3D model that took a vast amount of your time and your nerves to produce.

All painters and designers are, in essence, visual artists, as we constantly work with images. That is why it is so essential for designers to have the ability to create the desired image on paper by hand in a fast and efficient way to demonstrate an idea simply and effectively. Nothing captures your client’s imagination than when you start drawing right before their eyes. 

“Sketching is a natural, fluid, and more vivid way of visual expression of an idea compared to a static dead-looking 3D model.”

My story

I was in my third year at the Art Academy when computer programs invaded our academic life. As young creatives, we were all completely fascinated by 3D Max, Photoshop, AutoCAD, and it seemed impossible to ignore them when we were preparing our projects. We were given some basic instructions to use these software packages at the Academy, and then some of us kept studying these programs with the help of books and specialized courses. On the whole, a lot of time, effort, and money were spent to master this software.

Incidentally, many students were left dissatisfied when after having spent their money, they felt they did not acquire professional command of the software. It is hardly surprising. This software suits a particular mindset that is characteristic not so much of an artist, but of a technical professional, programmer. Have you noticed that most 3D Max professionals, visualizers, and CAD operators are chiefly men? Perhaps, it is because men are more technically minded.

“Have you noticed that most 3D Max professionals, visualizers, and CAD operators are chiefly men? Perhaps, it is because men are more technically minded.”

Over time, these programs started to supersede hand rendering. During my last year at the Academy, I was working on my diploma, and in parallel, I was freelancing as a designer for a prominent firm. I regret to admit that I found myself drawing less and less, increasingly becoming a manager of my project rather than a designer. I felt let down, and I was questioning if my chosen profession was no longer the right thing for me. Luckily I was well-trained, and I quickly rediscovered the link between my heart, my mind, and my hand; since then, I went on to uninstall all computer-assisted design software. Incidentally, most of my students come to me with this exact problem. Interestingly enough, 80% of my students are women. The fact that you are reading this blog probably indicates that you are at the same crossroads. I am delighted to say that there is a way out, so let’s get on and look at the profession of an interior designer.

At one point, I noticed that I had given up on drawing. One not so fine days, I realized that I was almost perpetually seated in front of my computer, embroiled in a battle with 3D and AutoCAD, that all the time I was googling some sanitaryware, analyzing business proposals and quotations and had completely given up on the creative side of things. It just hit me: “Did I spent six years at the best Russian Art Academy for nothing?! What was the point of it all? Was it even worth it? And what about my talent, my artistic flair?” I had a feeling I was betraying something fundamental within myself. And at that moment, I clearly saw that this was a problem that I had to address immediately.

“ It just hit me: “Did I spent six years at the best Russian Art Academy for nothing?! What was the point of it all? Was it even worth it? And what about my talent, my artistic flair?””

About the same time, I received a call from a friend of mine who asked me if I could give her a few interior drawing classes (Tanya, thank you!). That’s when it dawned on me that lots of designers felt the same way: a desperate lack of free-hand drawing skills which was a key creative component of their work that was missing. I realized that I was not the only one tormented by the problem of being constantly seated in front of a computer.

That was how my first interior sketching course “BASE“ came to life. Soon after, I started to give classes to individual designers from different cities and countries, offering them training on sketching and rendering. After that, I began to give drawing workshops to groups of students, and my online courses were accompanied by live seminars in Moscow and my home town St Petersburg. At the present moment, as I am writing my books, I want to systematize a plethora of information on interior sketching that I am going to distill down to the essential knowledge, to the gist of it all, and represent the material in a clear, understandable and exciting way.

“Lots of designers feel the same way: a desperate lack of free-hand drawing skills which is a key creative component of their work which is missing.”

Little summary

The main message of this article is this: “You Can Do Professional Drawing”! Sketching is a new skill that can be learned and mastered with frequent practice. It is no different from learning a new language or a dance.

You can excel at sketching even if you have never held a pencil in your hands!

This is because interior sketching is 50% mathematics and 50% learnable techniques. In my other article, we will look at various techniques used by some of the best sketching artists, discover what they are and why they are so effective.

My dear Creative, I hope my story inspires you, please tell me yours in the comments below (but first please save your text before posting).

P.S. Please share this article on your social media so more people can learn about sketching. Thanks in advance and good luck with your drawings!

© Olga Sorokina

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CHECK PROGRAM FROM MY ONLINE COURSE ON INTERIOR SKETCHING WITH MARKERS FOR BEGINNERS:

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The 6 principles of two-point perspective in interior sketching

In my previous blog article, I covered the principles of one-point perspective in interior sketching.

Today we will talk about the second most used and popular in architecture and interior drawing — the two-point perspective. It is also referred to as an oblique view since here we are viewing the object, interior, architecture from a corner, we literally see that corner.  

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So, these 6 principles of two-point perspective in interior sketching are: 

1. All the diagonals in your drawing recede either to one or the other vanishing point.

2. All vertical lines are perpendicular to the horizon line

3. There are no horizontal lines except for the horizon line and the lines of the objects which are precisely at its high

4. The closer the pieces of furniture or decor elements to us, the more details we can see.

5. All objects decrease in size as they recede into the distance.

6. All furniture and other interior design elements along the converging lines (or the lines of convergence) become foreshortened.

“Perspective is the key to what you see in our 3D world. Mastering perspective will improve your sketching skills and make your drawings look professional. ”

— Olga Sorokina

My interior drawing in two-point perspective and oblique view grid from THE CLUB

Resources:

• I covered the basics of one, and two-point perspectives in my free course, learn more about it here.

• If you want to dive deeper and become a professional in interior drawing, join my online course BASE.

• In this lesson of my educational membership platform for interior designers THE CLUB, I cover one-point perspective: link

Read also related blog article: “What is perspective in drawing“.

P.S. My dear Creative, I hope you enjoyed this article, please share it on your social media so more people can learn about perspective drawing. Thanks in advance!

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"BASE": a Course Which Teaches All the Basic Techniques You Need to Implement Sketching in Your Interior Design Practice

(For Interior Designers & Architects)

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© Olga Sorokina, 2020

Which brands and colours of markers are the best choice for interior sketching?

So many questions arise when you start sketching, my students most often ask me:

• What materials do I need for interior design drawing?

• Which brands of markers would be the best choice?

In this article, you will get the answers. Plus, I will share what I love to use in my everyday sketching routine, what my favourites are, and how lucky we are to have these types of markers!

“Telling yourself you have all the time in the world, all the money in the world, all the colours in the palette, anything you want — that just kills creativity.”

— Jack White

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You can listen to this blog article in audio format as a podcast

(6 min)

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You can tell a story on paper even with very limited colour palette.

It’s actually even good in interior sketching to start with 7-10 colours if you are a beginner. Why? Because you don’t get overwhelmed with such a variety of choices (“Analysis paralysis” as they call it ), and really focus on what’s most important in drawing:

• Perspective

• Composition

• Light

• Volumes

Colours only close this list, beautifully though, but they go last.

I remember back in the days when I did my very first interior sketch commissions (it was 2007) clients asked me to do linear sketches. Pen on paper. No colour. That’s right.

If you are reading this blog post, the chances are that you are a newbie in sketching and hand rendering, or maybe you are a pro and simply want to learn more about the marker technique. In case you are going to buy your first set of markers, and now you’re asking yourself a question: Where do I start with so many options and offers?

Well, here is my strategy: Less is More.

Which colours?

First and foremost, buy basic colours, as you will need them the most. For interior sketching, it is better not to use pure, bright colours, but rather tones that are a bit ‘dusty’, ’noble‘ tones. What does that mean? With interiors, it is better to choose colours that people would feel comfortable living in. A typical interior sketching palette would include beige, grey, blue, olive, and woody tones.

You can buy the markers individually or in sets. There are even sets of ready-to-go colour combinations for architects and designers, which consist of marker colours that work well with one another.

“Less is More. A typical interior sketching palette would include beige, grey, blue, olive, and woody tones. That is 7-10 markers in total to start.”

Your first marker selection might be as follows:

• Light gray (NG 2, Neutral Grey #2)

• Mid-gray (NG 4)

• Dark gray (NG 7)

• Light beige (or vanilla)

• Olive

• Dark brown (chocolate)

• Black

As you can see, there are seven colours in all, of which three are grey shades. Greys occupy a special place in interior sketching. Firstly, they are used to give background colour to the entire sketch. Grey markers differ not only in tone, but also in warmth and coldness: there are Neutral Greys, Cool Greys, and Warm Greys. To start with, you will need a Neutral Greys. Usually, they are marked by ‘N’ with a number: the higher the number, the darker the tone.

What brand of markers to buy?

One of the first questions people often ask in my online sketching classes is about which materials they should use. What brand of markers is the best? How do various brands of pens differ from one another? 

Up until now, I have tested five brands: Promarker, Copic, TOUCH, Stylefile markers, and Chartpak. All of them are good. These firms make professional quality markers that are perfect for drawing and are non-toxic.

If I were to pick a favourite, it would be Copic. They have a vast array not only of colours but also of marker tips. These include ‘Classic’ markers, ‘Extra Wide’ ones, the thin ‘Ciao’ markers, and remarkable ‘Sketch’ (the last two have brush points). Maybe it is Copic Сiao that has influenced my technique most of all.

Here is one of my favourite Copic sets on Amazon, this is an affiliate link, if you use it, I make a small commission at no extra cost to you, so thanks in advance if you use it or share with someone. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

Check my other favourite marker sets from Amazon in this article on my blog.

For example, I did this drawing by using Copic Ciao markers. I’ve included this set in the list in “Best marker sets from Amazon for interior sketching” article on my blog.

Let’s talk more about Copic Сiao. Firstly, they have a thin body that is very convenient to hold in your hand; you will simply feel it instantly. However, the main difference is that on one side there is a wide/chisel tip (incidentally, a bit narrower than a Copic Sketch, Promarker or Stylefile). At the other end, there is a brush tip, also known as the ‘super brush’, which truly lives up to its name! It is the brush that lets you make photo-realistic effects and fantastic not only for sketching but also for landscape drawings, abstract painting, portraits, architectural sketches, and even for calligraphy. Copic markers can be refilled, that is their tremendous advantage over the majority of other brands. Although they are currently one of the most expensive markers available on the art market, in the long term, Copics are the most cost-efficient.

Promarker is also very good. They are quite similar to Stylefile, ZIG, and Copic Classic. But these are single-use markers, which are not refillable.

Chartpak is markedly different from the markers mentioned above. These markers have one very wide tip with bevels, that is highly convenient for interior sketching. The only disadvantage is that these markers have a rather strong smell of solvent.

Check more of my interior drawings in marker technique on this section on the website.

Behind the scenes of creating a new illustration for my book “The SKETCH. Interior Design Drawing“

A couple of more useful tips on markers

• Before buying a marker, test it in the art supplies shop and find the marker that suits you best. If you don’t have this opportunity, watch videos on marker brands on YouTube (f. ex mine is «schoolofsketching») – this will help you make a decision about which materials are most suitable for you.

• When you realize that sketching is ‘your thing’, be ready to invest in quality materials, training courses, and books. This way, you can develop your skills to become very good at sketching, and this will happen quite fast with regular practice. Sketching will be of great use in your work and will raise your professional skills level.

• It is recommended that you store markers horizontally – this will extend their service life.

• Storage and transportation: keep your markers away from the sun. If you are going on a trip, pack them into your hand-carried baggage because the low temperatures in the baggage compartment will have an adverse effect on the pigments inside the markers.

Learn more about markers from my book «The SKETCH», available on Amazon now.

P.S. Please share this blog-post with your friends. They would be glad you did. Thanks in advance, you're awesome!

© Olga Sorokina

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I SPENT 10+ HOURS SELECTING & COMPARING THE BEST MATERIALS FOR MYSELF.

YOU CAN ENJOY IT NOW,

JUST ENTER YOUR NAME AND EMAIL HERE:

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You can learn sketching from me with my top-rated online course on technical drawing and interior sketching.

"BASE": a Course Which Teaches All the Basic Techniques You Need to Implement Sketching in Your Interior Design Practice

(For Interior Designers & Architects)

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Read other articles on my blog:

The 9 principles of one-point perspective in interior sketching

One-point perspective (also referred to as frontal view) appears when we look at the object, interior, building, or street straight on, we face it.

It is the simplest type of perspective since we have only one vanishing point and one of the most used in interior drawing.

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So, these nine principles of one-point perspective in interior sketching are: 

1. All the lines in your drawing are either horizontal, vertical, or recede to the vanishing point.

2. All horizontal lines are parallel to each other.

3. All vertical lines are parallel to each other.

4. The horizon line runs at your eye level, which is usually 1,5-1,7 m high.

5. All horizontal lines are parallel to the horizon line, and all vertical lines are perpendicular to the horizon line.

6. All diagonal lines to recede to the vanishing point, these are referred to as converging lines.

7. The closer the objects to us, the more details we can see.

8. All objects get smaller and smaller the farther away they are from us.

9. All objects along the converging lines (or the lines of convergence) become foreshortened, and their lines will reach the vanishing point if we prolong them.

“Perspective is the key to what you see in our 3D world. Mastering perspective will improve your sketching skills and make your drawings look professional. ”

— Olga Sorokina

With the last 3 principles, think about the railway: rails will recede to the vanishing point on the horizon line, and the space between sleepers will get smaller as they recede into the distance.

Perspective is the key to what you see in our 3D world. Mastering perspective will improve your sketching skills and make your drawings look professional.

Resources:

• I covered the basics of one, and two-point perspectives in my free course, learn more about it here.

• If you want to dive deeper and become a professional in interior drawing, join my online course BASE.

• In this lesson of my educational membership platform for interior designers THE CLUB, I cover one-point perspective: link

My interior drawing in one-point perspective and frontal view grid from THE CLUB

Read also related articles on my blog:

“What is perspective in drawing“

“Perspective Drawing Explained: 7 Types of Perspective in Interior Sketching”

“The 6 principles of two-point perspective in interior sketching”

P.S. My dear Creative, I hope you enjoyed this article, please share it on your social media so more people can learn about perspective drawing. Thanks in advance!

© Olga Sorokina

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Check this 1-min time-lapsed video of a one-point perspective drawing:

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Check my live stream on YouTube schoolofsketching:

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"BASE": a Course Which Teaches All the Basic Techniques You Need to Implement Sketching in Your Interior Design Practice

(For Interior Designers & Architects)

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Read other articles on my blog:

What is perspective in drawing, and 2 most important types of perspectives in interior design. (Perspective basics for interior designers)

Here, we will familiarize ourselves with the most extraordinary and most exciting field of descriptive geometry and will discover two main types of perspective – the most important skill in interior sketching.

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Fundamentals/Basics

Perspective is an area of descriptive geometry. Not many people are keen on learning descriptive geometry at school, and for many, it is synonymous with tedious technical tasks and dull routine. Perspective is an intriguing subject, full of surprising secrets, and is essential for interior designers. It is this knowledge that will let you work wonders on paper, allowing you to create impressive views of interiors and to reflect your ideas in the most effective way.

Perspective is the basic and most fundamental knowledge for sketching. It will help you deliver your projects expertly. Without it you will get nowhere – if you don’t know the laws of perspective, then you lack the foundations, which means you cannot move on, and no rendering technique or stylistic device will help you out if you don’t have a clear understanding of how to plot a space. The eye of a man has an admirable organization, and it is thanks to the laws of geometry that we can put down on paper or visualize the real world in the way our brain perceives it.

Types of perspective

What types of perspective are there, and which ones are of the most significant importance to interior sketching?

There are many types of perspective, to name but a few: aerial perspective, frontal perspective (or 1-point perspective), angular perspective (or 2-points perspective or oblique view), perspectives with three, four, five, and even six vanishing points. So, which ones are of the greatest value to interior designers?

First of all, it is the frontal perspective (it is sometimes called a perspective with one vanishing point). Secondly, there is an oblique view or angular perspective (with two vanishing points) and, finally, an aerial perspective (or tonal perspective). If the first two allow us to draw an interior correctly, the last one will enable you to fill your drawing with air and convey three-dimensionality of space. Once we master the basics, we can address more complex types of combined perspective – with three vanishing points and various three-dimensional effects. Latest are exciting perspective techniques that add more expression to a drawing.

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There is one artist that I want to point your attention to whose mastery of perspective I particularly admire. I am talking about Dutch graphic artist Maurits C. Escher. His work is simply mind-boggling! My favourite is his extraordinary self-portrait (check it here), where he is drawing himself while looking in the mirror sphere, which also reflects the interior. If you remove the ball, the room appears in a 1-point perspective; interestingly, the interior is reflected in the spherical mirror surface of the ball, it causes incredible effects and distortions of the space.

Escher’s art is one of the brightest examples of mathematical laws of perspective, coupled with the author’s imagination. Escher published a book, “Impossible Worlds”, where he plays with geometric rules, planes, creating inconceivable spaces. Scientists are well-versed in the beauty of mathematics, and Escher shows all of us that beauty.

“We adore chaos because we love to produce order.           ”

— Maurits Cornelis Escher

Once you grasp the rules of construction of geometry of a space, you can start experimenting with them. I call it ‘playing with perspective’. All sketching masters have an excellent command of this knowledge. So let’s get going and discover it for ourselves!

1-Point Perspective (Frontal View)

In this type of perspective, we have a vanishing point, which is always on the horizon line. This vanishing point is where all the lines converge to (that’s why it is called a 1-point perspective). When we draw an interior, we see three walls: one that is parallel to the picture plane (frontal wall) and two side walls.

It is a linear perspective, and it comes into play when your line of sight is parallel to the horizontal set of lines that converge upon a single point in the distance and perpendicular to the other set of lines in the view. It is the simplest type of perspective because we deal with only one vanishing point.

We are forever indebted for this knowledge to the Italian Renaissance. In the second half of the XVth century, Renaissance artists and mathematicians developed the linear perspective theory and brought precision and mathematics into mainstream art. Viva Italia!

Before that, artists drew ‘by eye’ or used Inverted Perspective (Byzantine Perspective), which is an art form unique to pre-renaissance religious art and is full of embedded meaning. As an example, look at Andrey Rublev’s “Trinity” and observe how the space appears flat and converges towards the viewer.

Thanks to Renaissance and its masters, who were not only prolific artists, sculptors, architects, but also prodigious mathematicians, the laws of perspective were discovered. Brunelleschi, Alberti, Masaccio, Ghiberti, Piero della Francesca introduced the use of perspective, and, in doing so, forever changed further development of art.

Renaissance masters were so fluent in the complexities of geometric construction that they were able to apply their knowledge of perspective to perform most complicated tasks and solve quite challenging problems. For example, painting of a ceiling of a dome has to take into account a variety of factors: first, people look at frescos from below, which significantly alters their perception. They also had to take into account the curved shape of the dome and correct for distortions that arise. Apart from that, there is a host of technical aspects such as the erection of scaffolding, working at a high altitude, temperature, humidity. In the case of frescos, the humidity levels are very high, as painting is performed over damp plaster). The frescos technique of mixing colours, a problem of lighting, and even the position of a painter’s body, all these are challenging factors for a painter. For instance, Michelangelo almost completely lost his sight while painting the Sistine Chapel.

My drawing for the book “The SKETCH“

When should we use a 1-point perspective?

1-point perspective is an ideal choice for depicting public spaces: bars, cafes, restaurants, hotel lobbies, as well as spacious residential interiors: sitting rooms, dining rooms, halls, and lounges, etc. This view lets you represent your idea on a drawing by showing the maximum amount of space. Suppose, we have a restaurant layout, with a rectangular shell: it would be sufficient to draw two 1-point perspective views – in one direction as you enter and one in the opposite. If we were to use a 2-point perspective view to demonstrate the design idea, we would have to draw all four corners of the space, plus a general view, a view from above, or even make a model (at least five sketches in total). In contrast, the 1-point perspective view allows you to show the idea with only two drawings.

We can change the position of the vanishing point in relation to the centre of the picture plane, placing it anywhere on the horizon line. It can be right in the centre, or it can be shifted to the right or to the left. This will make the picture asymmetric, which adds dynamism to the composition and allows you to reveal one of the walls to a greater extent. However, when the vanishing point is right in the centre, both walls are shown to the same degree, and, thus, appear balanced. It is this placement of the vanishing point that is often used in classical drawings of interiors. Classics loves symmetry.

“Classics loves symmetry.”

2-Point Perspective (Oblique View)

Another type of perspective important for designers is the perspective with two vanishing points. It is often called an «Oblique View». In this view, the horizon contains two vanishing points, and the picture reveals two walls of a space. You can move these points on the horizon line, but it is important that the distance between them should remain the same fixed value (usually this distance equals to the diagonal of the picture plane). When you have understood all the most critical basic laws of perspective, you will be able to experiment with them, creating drawings with the most effective angles.

2-point perspective is a linear perspective in which there are two vanishing points on the horizon line. This type of perspective appears when your line of sight is at an angle to the horizontal sets of lines that converge upon points in the distance. Simply said, you are at an angle to the wall. In a case with a 1-point perspective, you face the frontal wall. That is why its second name is "frontal view", remember?

2-point is usually visually more dynamic compare to 1-point because we can see the volumes of objects.

My drawing for the book “The SKETCH“

In which case 2-point perspective is the best choice?

It is indispensable when we want to show a space containing one main object, a dominant feature. Easy example: in the bedroom, it is a bed; in the study, it is a desk; in the nursery, it is a cot. And so on.

This perspective is ideal for small spaces, or when we want to draw in detail a specific corner of an interior. Also, it is the oblique view that allows us to show furnishings and other separate objects. I often use it to specify upholstery. A picture is worth a thousand words, and it is way easier to send an image along with an order for a piece of furniture depicting exactly what I had in mind.

My drawing for the book “The SKETCH“

Resources

Read also related articles on my blog:

• “Top books on perspective drawing: my personal choice“: here

• “The 6 principles of two-point perspective in interior sketching “: here

Learn more about perspective drawing in my book “The SKETCH“ (Amazon paper-based version or PDF).

Well, my creative friend, I hope you enjoyed this article, please let me know your thoughts on perspective drawing in the comments below. Is it a tricky subject for you?

P.S. Please help me grow my blog by sharing this article on your social media. Thank you in advance!

© Olga Sorokina

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Learn top drawing secrets from 4 masters of interior sketching which can instantly improve your sketch (plus, get why all Art Academies teach their students to copy works of old masters?)

In this article, I will tell you about four world gurus of sketching and will acquaint you with their techniques. You will also learn why Art Academies insist that their students do copies of the masters and of what use this may be to us. This text I took from my best-selling book “The SKETCH“.

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Gurus of sketching 

When you are starting to learn something, it is of key importance that you learn from the best in the field – this way, you will set yourself a good benchmark from the outset to strive towards. In this book, I would like to tell you about four world-class masters. Each one of them has his unique style, expression and techniques, which can be identified, analysed, and deployed in your practice.

Always ask yourself: What is it that I like so much about this sketch/drawing/artist/project?

Be observant and attentive, be the constant questioner, look beyond the first impressions, pay attention to details, always try to get to the heart of the matter. Ask yourself: “ What is so special about this work?” Is it the well-chosen palette, or delightful light effects, or, maybe, unconventional drawing techniques? Always study, train your brain to analyse, and your eyes to observe. Having figured out the technique, use it in your drawing, play with it, find out how much it is to your liking, whether it is your thing or not. In this case, the goal is not to copy the style of an artist, and not to imitate the technique thoughtlessly and indiscriminately in your drawing; the goal is to experiment with a technique, try your hand at it, reveal your personality through it. This is how a new technique will eventually emerge, which will be inimitable and entirely your own. We are all different, and drawing reflects our personalities. Freehand drawing vividly reveals and brings out the unique character of a person. No other human being thinks, feels, analyses, and draws in absolutely the same way.

Why all Art Academies teach their students to copy works of old masters?

Talking about copying: why do you think all Art Academies teach their students to copy works of old masters (e.g., Rubens, Leonardo, and Michelangelo)? Moreover, copying is an essential part of their curriculum. This is the reason: the most amazing thing happens when a student copes a work of a great master – he comes into contact with the way of thinking of the genius. In imitating the strokes of the master, your hand sends signals to your brain, and you start to understand the thought process that went into creating a particular painting. You follow the movements of his pencil, and, therefore, of his thought. Automatically, your hand starts to memorize effective techniques and methods. You start getting a better grasp of proportions, a well-chosen angle view, and well-arranged compositions. By doing so, you are developing the so-called “body memory”. Your hand gives the brain a whole new picture of the world, and that’s how your unique n technique evolves, it starts developing times and times faster, it becomes very confident because it acquires a great capacity of old masters. 

We are going to try the same thing. Let’s examine a few works by sketch masters from various countries, who are undoubtedly the gurus of sketching and who have spent years developing their skills. Let us examine the works of these masters coming from different parts of the world.

1. Richard Chadwick

Here comes the first master that I want to introduce you to, Richard Chadwick. He comes from Manchester. I would like to quote here his words about the art of sketching:

As an antidote to the ubiquitous – and to my mind anodyne – computer-produced visuals, these are all drawn by hand, mainly pen and marker renderings, capturing the energy of the moment and generally looking far more dynamic than anything produced by a computer programme. A return to handcrafted values offers a way forward from an entirely technologically based society, and the tactile feel of pencil on paper has its own reward.

Chadwick has been in the profession for many years. He worked both as an architect and as an interior designer. Now Richard mostly focuses on freehand visuals. In his interviews, he says that he usually uses A3 sheets of paper for drawings and spends 2 to 3 hours on a drawing on average. You can see that this is extremely quick as compared to a rather lengthy process of 3D visualization. His sketches are so very full of life and energy! His portrayal of the feel, the ambience of a place is splendid.

What is special about Chadwick’s technique? Markers, partial colour filling, focusing on the central part of the composition, freehand lines, no rulers. No less important is the speed. His lines are very free, never perfectly straight, and sometimes, even they are slightly bent, give the overall composition the “fish eye lens effect”. 

Chadwick’s knowledge of perspective principles is so profound that he does not hesitate to break them to achieve his vision. Sometimes you will find several horizon lines in his drawings, and the diagonals often do not meet at the vanishing point; despite all that, his drawings always feel correctly constructed and full of emotionality, liveliness, and dynamism.

What can you try to do the way  Chadwick does? As a rule, it is the focal point of a drawing (its background) that he fills with colour, whereas the foreground could be executed in thin lines. Try to identify one sort of your overall composition and focus on colouring only the central part. By applying colour only to certain parts of a drawing, you will save both time and markers. An attractive trait of his drawing is that when Richard Chadwick makes textures and works over detail, he shows only fragments of them (for example, only fragments of tiling on the floor). This is the most effective application of the ‘understatement’ technique, and lots of areas in his drawings are only marked with thin lines. The master uses a minimal colour palette in one sketch, which is usually 5 to 7 markers. More about Chadwick here.

Here are Chadwick’s favourite subjects: bars, restaurants, cafes.

Homework: do a copy of 1-2 of Chadwick’s interior sketches as this will help you to acquire a quick and impressive drawing technique. Carefully observe and analyse everything that he does as go along.

2. Sergio Rodrigues 

Our second master is a furniture designer and architect Sergio Rodrigues. He is a legend in Brazil, and his work is recognised all over the world. More about Rodrigues here.

Technique, practical training: favourite materials of the master are liners, black Chinese ink, sometimes watercolour. His drawings are very expressive, and their energetic graphics fall into the category of interior illustrations. His technique very much resembles ‘the wirework’ method, where all objects are carefully inked over contour and detailed.

Contributions to your collection of techniques: notice how Rodrigue’s drawings have distinct foreground and background. The lines of the objects in the foreground are thick and rich in colour, whereas in the background lines are lighter. Notice how he applies flat colour to the floo (check the drawing below), and by doing so, he accentuates the contrast and graphic feel of his sketches.

Favourite subjects: restaurants, bars, residential, furniture.

Homework: analyze the master’s technique, do a copy of one of his works.

3. Albert Hadley 

One of the best-known American decorators of all time, Hadley worked for such celebrity clients as Jacqueline Kennedy, Oscar de la Renta, as well as vice-presidents and ambassadors. Hadley played an exceptional role and made a significant contribution to the XX-th century American interior design. More about Hadley here.

The technique, practical training: sketches made by the master are, for the most part, very graphic in style and are executed in pencil, Chinese ink, and stylus. Albert Hadley usually used toned drawing paper and was famous for his incredible speed of drawing. He had his sketches finished in a matter of seconds; this proves his great mastery – speed and accuracy of performance. Have a look at his drawings. How vigorous, energetic, fluent and lucid they are, and, at the same time, how exceptionally well he renders an idea and feel of a prospective interior, the ambiance of a space.

Contributions to your collection of techniques: Albert Hadley never used rulers or rubbers when drawing. This can teach us a good lesson – try and learn to render your idea on paper in the quickest, clear-cut, articulate, and expressive way, almost with one stroke of a pen.

Favourite subjects of sketches: interiors of Victorian houses, libraries.

Homework: do a copy of one of the drawings by the master using a liner or pen.

4. Michelle Morelan 

And to finish our list of gurus for this article, let me introduce to you a Canadian woman-designer Michelle Morelan. She grew up on the West Coast of Vancouver Island, and early on, she understood how the aesthetics of nature and architecture intertwine in harmony to a profoundly satisfying effect. This is the reason why peace and tranquility of natural way of living have found their way into all of her drawings with accentuated textures, natural materials, open spaces, and enjoyable colour palette, mostly consisting of sandy, earthy and woody shades. More about Morelan here.

Technique, practical training: the master uses a combination of techniques to create "hybrid" sketches. As a rule, she constructs a space in a 3D programme (such as “Sketch Up”), and then she hand-sketches and colours interesting angles of perspective with markers.

Contributions to your collection of techniques: like Chadwick, Michelle Morelan has a very restrained colour palette. I would call her technique “minimalistic sketching”: often, only one or two materials are accentuated (frequently these are wood and stone).

Favourite subjects of sketches: spacious interiors of countryside houses.

Homework: do a copy of one of Morelan’s sketches.

P.S. Well, my dear creative, I hope you enjoyed this article, please share it on your social media. Thanks in advance and good luck with your drawings!

© Olga Sorokina, 2019

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1. Foundations of everything

Without solid knowledge of the principles of perspective, nothing will ever work out. Study the method, refer to my book often and make sure you understand it completely. For the moment, concentrate on the frontal perspective – it is a very powerful and hugely useful technique. Check this blog article on the frontal perspective to learn more about it.

2. Horizon line

Remember that the horizon line level has an effect on the general impression of your sketch. Whether the horizon is at the eye level of a seated person or at a two-meter level above the floor, it is a critical decision for the whole of the drawing and for how different planes are revealed.

3. Composition

A well-chosen view angle and the knowledge of composition are most crucial! They will contribute greatly to your sketch; by making your project look elegant and allowing you to present it to the best effect.

4. 3D Effect

To be sure, knowledge and application of the rules of light and shadows, the aerial perspective, tonal gradations, and mastering textures are essential. It is these things that give volume and expressiveness to a drawing.

5. The Trained Eye

Examine as many works and drawings as possible, learn wherever you can: YouTube tutorials or Skillshare classes, drawing exhibitions, read books about design, drawing, and illustration. You have to become satiated with visual references for your own new and unique style to emerge.

6. Materials

Use quality materials. You don’t need a great number, but make sure they are top quality. For a successful start, you will need 7-10 colours of professional markers (with 3-4 of them being tones of grey), a pencil, a black liner, a white pen, an eraser, and paper. Later on, when you start becoming more involved with sketching, don’t pinch pennies and buy Copic sets (they are my favourites). For other great marker sets options read this article on my blog.

7. Techniques

The classic techniques of sketching will always be in high esteem: these are watercolours, Chinese ink, coloured pencils, and pastel. But experience tells me that the easiest, quickest, and most effective tool in interior sketching is markers: they give wonderful results, even when you use them for the first time.

8. Masters

If you want to become proficient at sketching as quickly as possible, learn from the masters of the craft: take note of the materials they use, you can even copy their techniques to understand their approach better. Use this rich foundation of knowledge to develop your own unique and inimitable style.

9. Customers

Remember that all customers are guided by their emotions when they make decisions, which is why your portfolio and sketches must be “savoury to the eye”. Assess your portfolio one more time and ask yourself: «Would I buy it?» If the answer is «No», burn it and make something spectacular instead! Check this article to make your portfolio even better.

10. Everyday practice

Draw every day and train your eye and hand as much as possible. If you start practicing every day for approximately 30 minutes, it will take you about three weeks to achieve a pretty high level of mastery of your hand. Practice makes progress; it is even better than perfect, agree? Your pictures will start showing confidence, which is the main quality of a professional since you can always tell a pro from a beginner by the spirit of their lines and hatchings, which are attractive and bold. That confidence of line and technique only comes with experience.

Learn more about interior design drawing from my book «The SKETCH» (available on Amazon.com)

“Practice makes progress.”

P.S. Please share this article with your friends, they would be glad you did. Thank you in advance!

© Olga Sorokina, 2017

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