Inquiry Project: Urban Sketches
What is Urban Sketching? My Learning Plan
Post 1: What is Urban Sketching? My Learning Plan
09/10/2025
I love trying new things. But new is scary! An area that I find especially daunting is technology! I have never in my life been accused of being tech-savvy, and I try to avoid computers at all costs. So this year’s EDCI 336 Technology Innovation in Education class is a scary concept for me! As intimidated as I am, I am still excited about the learning opportunities that this class will provide me with, and I look forward to developing my technological literacy. Maybe by the end of this course, I’ll even know how to save a file!
In the spirit of trying and learning new things, we have all been assigned the task of endeavouring a personal inquiry project, and tracking, in blog form, one of the most special processes in life – the process of learning!
I have always been interested in art. I love to doodle, paint, and experiment with different media in my free time. All very casually! For my inquiry project, I am going to attempt to learn a new style of drawing which I have always been fascinated by, but have never taken the time to learn myself. Urban Sketching!
Urban sketching is a unique form of drawing. It is not actually the drawing style or look that makes an urban sketch an urban sketch – it’s the location. Urban sketching is drawing what you see in an urban environment. This could be anywhere (coffee shops, street corners, bus stops, etc…). Anywhere but in a studio setting. Here are some examples:
Figure 1
Urban street scene with buildings and trees (from an urban sketch).
Note. Adapted from “Learn to Urban Sketch: Part 1 – What is Urban Sketching?” by Leanne [last name not given], 24 June 2020, Medicine Hat Public Library blog. Retrieved from https://mhpl.shortgrass.ca/blog/learn-urban-sketching-part1
Figure 2
Urban street sketch on brown paper. From Learn Urban Sketching: Part 1, by Medicine Hat Public Library, 2022, https://mhpl.shortgrass.ca/blog/learn-urban-sketching-part1. Copyright © Medicine Hat Public Library.
Figure 3
Urban sketch of Bizarro World and 4-Star Movie Rental on E Street, Davis, California.
From G Street – Pete Scully Urban Sketching Blog, by Pete Scully, 2025, https://petescully.com/tag/g-street/. Copyright © 2025 by Pete Scully.
Figure 4
Urban sketch of musicians performing on G Street, Davis, California.
From G Street – Pete Scully Urban Sketching Blog, by Pete Scully, 2025, https://petescully.com/tag/g-street/. Copyright © 2025 by Pete Scully.
After reading several website posts, watching youtube videos and tutorials, and scrolling on Pinterest for hours, I have learned that there are three main subjects in urban sketching. Each subject has relative focusses:
- Buildings
- Perspective
- Character
- Detail
- People
- Perspective
- proportions
- Movement
- Character
- Objects
- Perspective
- Detail
- Character
As you may notice, the two recurring concepts for each subject are perspective and character. Not only is an urban sketch supposed to capture how an urban scene looks, but how it feels. What I hope to learn to be able to do is to sit in an urban setting and be able to capture, to a certain extent, what I see and what I feel from the scene in a sketchbook. What I need first is a plan!
In the following several weeks, I am committed to spending a few hours a week in the pursuit of learning how to sketch in an urban setting! I have broken up this huge concept into a few main parts. Here is what you can expect to see in this blog in the weeks ahead:
Post 5: How to Capture Character in Detail: Drawing People, Not Ghosts
Subject 3: Objects
Post 6: From Fire Hydrants to Pigeons: How to Put Them on Paper
Subject 4: The Scene
Post 7: Relativity: How Big Should this Really Be?
Post 8: Putting It All Together: An On-Site Drawing of an Urban Environment
Here a few websites and Youtube videos that I foud very helpful for my research: