The Urban Sketching Handbook, by Gabriel Campanario
This arrived the other day. Gabriel Campanario‘s new book on Urban Sketching. It’s one of a pair of small format, sketchbook sized books. This volume on architecture and environment, is the companion to: The Urban Sketching Handbook: People and Motion: Tips and Techniques for Drawing on Location
It’s great to see my piece from this 2013 post on The Gradient of Interest included in the book.
Gabriel Campanario is the founder of urbansketchers.org, and has been a tremendous (no, unparalleled) inspiration to our community of sketchers world wide. I think his unique position as a journalist, an artist, and a European in America made him a kind of human tipping point. He was thinking all the right things at just the right time and became the spark that ignited our international drawing phenomena.
The global nature of Urban Sketchers, and the great diversity of styles and approaches found among artists in the community are well represented in this ensemble volume.
You’ll find one or two favorite sketches, and one key idea, from each of 45 sketchers, tied together with Gabi’s own advice. I find when I take a workshop, I tend to come away with one great tip every time. It’s like, my brain can only learn one thing a day. So this feels a bit like carrying a USk symposium around in your pocket.
But it’s not just about the tips and tricks. The variety of drawing styles packed into this slim volume gave me a shot of inspiration. When you see someone pull off a great drawing, you just want to dive in and try it yourself!
I’m going to bring my copy to the next USk world wide symposium and see how many pages I can get signed by the artists :)
By the way – if you pick up your copy clicking over from my page, I get a little tip from the Amazon Affiliate program. So thanks! Even these little things help keep me blogging :)~m
Citizen Sketcher 
It is indeed a really great book, full of so many helpful hints! I was thinking the same thing, to get as many signatures in the book as I can. And of course, your image in the book is beautiful, Marc!
Marc, Having a great time working through your book. Am I correct that most (all) of your sketches in the book are with a nib pen supplemented with a ballpoint? If you were doing these with a fountain pen, would the line quality of the ballpoint be any different than the pen?
Thanks
Hey Larry – yes, a lot of the ink drawing in the book is dipping pens.But I’d have to look at each one and say for sure – because I still draw all the time with the Lamy pens. Basically, I’ll use the dip nib if I want to make the best drawing:) I’ll use the fountain pen if I want to make the fastest drawing. (Or work in a crowded space, or someplace I cannot risk a spill – like a museum). I’ll use a ballpoint when I feel like a mono-weight line. (or when I want a very thin, light, accent line (as you say)
Ballpoint – something slender and often done like a blind contour (pen doesn’t lift off the page). Like he spine in this ballpoint drawing. https://citizensketcher.files.wordpress.com/2014/10/10oct22_ithaca_museum_02.jpg.
This one is fountain pen: https://citizensketcher.files.wordpress.com/2014/05/14may11_24hrs_of_science_espace_la_fontaine_sketch-1.jpg
But this one is dipping nib: https://citizensketcher.files.wordpress.com/2014/10/14oct05_nibsketch01.jpg
So really – the shades of difference here are pretty small – but they are there for nerds like us to obsess over!
Great examples, Marc. Which nib do you have on your Lamy pen?
Thanks Marc, now for the nerdiest question of the day: do you prefer a .05 or .07 ballpoint.
Thanks for the suggestion, Marc. Here is one in return: you could add a second link, to your amazon.ca account, for us Canadians who like to shop there instead. If you do, you will get credited for not only that book, but also all the other stuff I might buy once I’m on the amazon.ca site.
You are 100% right Gina! You caught me being lazy. I’m working on getting the Canadian Affiliate program hooked up. So many things to take care of :) You have to apply for each country separately! So you do it again for France, for Japan, etc, etc. Very annoying to keep track of. But I guess there are tax and currency reasons. So yes – I hope to be on top of that soon :)
Reblogged this on Time Nexus and commented:
Hot off the Press – Urban Sketching….
I want it!
I don’t have any of Gabi’s books yet, but yours arrived in my mailbox yesterday, Marc. I haven’t done any of the exercises yet but have read thru the entire book. I’m very impressed with your teaching methods…Outward to Inward, measuring, directing line of sight…another skill set to add to my growing arsenal. Thanks a zillion.