Urban Sketching

Urban sketching is the practice of drawing the worlds, big and small, around you as you roam a city’s streets. Buildings, people chatting, a window full of croissants. Everyday scenes become subjects simply because you’re now noticing them as a potential story for your sketchbook.

A distinct element of urban sketching is that the goal isn’t to make polished drawings or perfect perspectives. It’s to slow down, observe your surroundings, and record a moment. Urban sketching is truly approachable even for people who don’t consider themselves artists. It’s about valuing your presence and personal vision over precision.

Urban Sketching’s Draw

It’s drawing, painting, doodling, and more. Urban sketching is more loose in it’s definition as an art form and actually invites level of imperfection and personal style.

You’re not expected to follow the color wheel or match a certain decade’s drawing style.

If you’re someone who has drawn in the past or wants to start trying, urban sketching offers a nice way to ease yourself back into it. All you need is a pen or pencil and sketchbook — you can even use the back of napkin — then roam the city streets and draw whatever catches your eye.

For many sketchers, they enjoy how it has taught them to look at their world differently. You start to ask yourself why you find this interesting and you start looking closer and closer, seeing details you normally ignore — how light hits a building, how people move through space, how places feel at different times of day. Even familiar locations start to look different once you slow down to sketch them.

As your sketchbook fills, there’s something to having your own book of how you see the world — usually, the area you call your home. And nobody can copy it.

The Tools of Urban Sketching

As mentioned, a sketchbook and something to draw with are enough.

Many urban sketchers end up building a small kit that they carry in their bag. A small water coloring set, different pens and pencils, even a compact stool to sit where there isn’t seating.

That’s a convenient part of the hobby, being light and mobile is part of it. Leaning into what the area already has adds to being present in the world you’re drawing. Sitting on park benches or in a cafe are part of the experience.

Learning to See Through Drawing

Urban sketching trains observation more than technique. Drawing from life teaches you to break complex scenes into manageable shapes and relationships.

Instead of trying to capture everything, you learn to make choices. You decide where to start, what to emphasize, and what to let fade into the background. That decision-making is part of the growth as a urban sketcher and where you’ll find your style. Do you tend to focus on people’s face? Are you skipping the windows in the buildings? Are you using colors or staying black and white?

Progress often shows up quietly. You get faster at simplifying scenes. You learn what details matter to you and which ones can be left out. Over time, your sketches become more confident—not because they’re more accurate, but because you’re more present while making them.

As this habit builds, it changes how you move through the world. You start noticing compositions, light, and structure even when you’re not sketching. Then you break it down to a sketch that you’re envisioning.

Urban Sketching in Public Spaces

A core component of urban sketching is being out and about in public to sketch.

At first, it can feel uncomfortable to draw in public. You might worry about being watched or about whether your drawing “looks good.” People do like to look over your shoulder or curious watch you as you draw. People may even ask questions or ignore you entirely. Most interactions are brief and harmless.

That concern usually fades as you focus on observing and sketching, it’s already difficult to multi-task those two activities!

Choosing comfortable, unobtrusive spots helps. It’s okay to move on if a place doesn’t feel right. Part of the practice is learning where and how you prefer to sketch.

Respecting shared spaces is important. You are in public and we are all trying to go about our days. Being mindful of where you sit or stand. If you end up sketching a person or group of people, looking at them constantly, a courteous thing to do would be to let them know what you’re up to. Showing your sketch often a great way to connect and getting a sketch of oneself is rare! A sketch is also interpretative and doesn’t have the weight of taking photos of strangers but giving a small note to your subjects is the kind thing to do, especially if you’re very close to them and may be impacting their moment out and about.

The Community of Urban Sketchers

Where there’s a city, there’s almost definitely an urban sketching group. Not only is this a great way to start and meet the community, you can find fellow sketchers to roam the city with and spend time with a local group when you’re abroad.

Many sketchers enjoy sharing their sketches and the stories that each one brings. Whether they found a new favorite spot in the city or a wonderful interaction with a stranger who came up to them, the joy of being in the city to capture it in a sketchbook also means that you are part of the city for somebody else.

You may start to even notice the many urban sketchers out there as you start your journey, say hello! There’s a lot to learn from others and they can point you to fun, comfortable spots.

—

There are so many stories and moments happening in every city and carrying a pen and sketchbook gives you an opportunity to capture it your way. You don’t need that artist studio with endless tubes of paint, the canvas is your napkin and story is the right outside your cafe window.