
Buildings
Learn a system for sketching buildings on location (no matter how complex) by seeing them as volumes and then working in a structured way
Does this sound like you?
“The angles on my sketches are going the wrong direction”
“I get confused by all the details of a building and often bogged down drawing every brick”
“I don’t understand perspective and therefore don’t bother drawing buildings at all!”
“I’m scared of big complex buildings and don’t know where to start”
Buildings has been designed to address these common struggles
Live Version of Buildings starts 4 Oct 2023
Work through the course in 10 weeks with an inspiring group of sketchers from around the world
and take part in 10 bonus weekly Q&A livestreams
The secret to sketching any building is to use a constructing volumes approach and work systematically from the big elements to the details.
Having the ability to see a complex building in terms of its underlying volumes and then the elements that are added to and subtracted from it, will enable you to sketch any building with confidence regardless of its style.
In the Buildings course you will learn how to:
– see buildings in terms of volumes, in a way that will make them much easier to sketch
– develop a structured way of working which will mean no building is too hard for you to draw
– use a value-based way of applying colour that will make your building sketches lively
– understand the basics of perspective and know how to use it when sketching buildings.
You’ll be part of an inspiring community of sketchers from around the world who will share their unique styles. You’ll never lack inspiration!
You can use these techniques for any kind of building, for a variety of different sketching styles and any level of experience. You don’t need to be producing ‘masterpiece’ sketches to create some compelling sketches of buildings!

Start today and work at your own pace
- All lessons are available when you purchase the course so you can work through the lessons at your own pace
- Share your work and interact with other students inside the custom-designed classroom galleries and forum
- Ask Liz questions related to the course in the dedicated question section for each lesson.
Work through the course with a group – Live Version 2023
- Work through the course as a group with weekly emails to prompt you to move onto the next lesson.You can go through the lessons (written content, pre-recorded lesson videos, and previous livestream replays) and do the exercises during the week at a time that suits you.
- There will be 10 YouTube bonus weekly livestreams as part of the Live Version. Livestreams will be held at alternating time slots to accommodate people in all time zones.
- Livestreams will be directly related to the current lesson and contain a combination of recaps of the main concepts, review of selected student work, additional demos and there will be a chance to have your questions answered in real time.
- The livestreams will also be available for replay in the classroom permanently after the event.
Find out more details of the Live Version including dates and times of the livestreams


- over 20 hours of step-by-step video lessons, each lesson building on the previous, so you can make steady progress in a systematic way
- theory sections that clearly explain the essential concepts so that you can apply them to your own style and way of working
- downloadable PDF handout so you can quickly review the key elements of each lesson when you need it
- specific assignments designed so that you really understand and know how to use the concepts from the lesson – these can be done from the comfort of home, from photos, or out on location
- multiple examples from Liz’s sketchbooks explaining how to use the concepts
- bonus material showing how to apply the concepts in more intermediate ways so that you can continue to improve your sketch every time you go through the course.
- specially designed private classroom with dedicated assignment galleries and forum so that you can connect with and be inspired by other sketchers from around the world who are working alongside you
- ability to ask Liz questions about the lessons you are working through so you can get help when you need it
- livestreams during Live Versions – which will include reviews of student’s work, mini demos, bonus material and a chance to have your questions answered in real-time
- full transcripts for all video lessons so you can easily follow along
- lifetime access to all course content and any future Group Events and bonus material so you can continue to learn as your skills grow
- A very special part of SketchingNow courses is the interactive livestreams that are hosted during Live Versions. These live Q&A sessions include a review of work posted in the classroom, additional demos and a chance to get all your sketching questions answered in real-time!
- Live Versions only occur once every 1-2 years however replays of previous livestreams are available inside the classroom.

- Observation vs Perspective
- Thicknesses and Depths (drawing windows)
- Structure vs Texture
- Review of some Building Sketches
- Live Demo Replay
Each week contains:
Theory
Indoor Exercises
Outdoor Demo
Gallery (examples from Liz's sketchbooks)
Exercises
Questions, Feedback and Takeaways
Bonus Material
Livestream replays from previous Live Versions
- Allowing thicknesses and depths
- Using leading edges
Each week contains:
Theory
Indoor Exercises
Outdoor Demo
Gallery (examples from Liz's sketchbooks)
Exercises
Questions, Feedback and Takeaways
Bonus Material
Livestream replays from previous Live Versions
- Essential Perspective Concepts and Liz's Pointless Perspective technique
- How to apply these to a range of different buildings
Review of selected work from the classroom showing further applications of the Part 1 and 2 concepts.
- The power of guidelines
- Some measuring tips for getting better proportions.
Each week contains:
Theory
Indoor Exercises
Outdoor Demo
Gallery (examples from Liz's sketchbooks)
Exercises
Questions, Feedback and Takeaways
Bonus Material
Livestream replays from previous Live Versions
- Refining the dark side and adjusting the light side/local colour
- Putting it all together
Each week contains:
Theory
Indoor Exercises
Outdoor Demo
Gallery (examples from Liz's sketchbooks)
Exercises
Questions, Feedback and Takeaways
Bonus Material
Livestream replays from previous Live Versions

Join the Live Version of Buildings starting 4 October 2023
Work through the course in 10 weeks with an inspiring group of sketchers from around the world and take part in 10 bonus weekly Q&A livestreams.
Buy Buildings as a standalone course or buy the Urban Sketching bundle and save!
Course

- Learn to see buildings in terms of volumes, that will make them much easier to sketch
- Develop a structured way of working so no building is too hard to draw
- Use a value-based way of applying colour to make your building sketches lively
- Understand the basics of perspective and how to use it when sketching buildings.
- Sketch a variety of buildings both from photos and out on location

- Learn to see buildings in terms of volumes, that will make them much easier to sketch
- Develop a structured way of working so no building is too hard to draw
- Use a value-based way of applying colour to make your building sketches lively
- Understand the basics of perspective and how to use it when sketching buildings.
- Sketch a variety of buildings both from photos and out on location
- Improve your ink and wash sketches and say more with less!
- Create sketches with more depth by varying the edges of your drawing and painting
- Learn to simplify and interpret complex scenes when sketching on location
- Create lively watercolour sketches with strong colours and values

Money back guarantee
We offer a money 30-day back guarantee for SketchingNow courses. If you are unhappy with the course for any reason, let us know and we will refund your payment within the first 30 days of the course.
Pre-recorded Component:
- The course contains over 20 hours of pre-recorded videos (and replays of previous livestreams) which can be watched at any time. During the Live Version, the cohort will be working through these lessons together.
- Each week an email will be sent out to prompt you to move on to the next part of the course. You can go through the lessons (written content, pre-recorded lesson videos, and previous livestream replays) and do the exercises during the week at a time that suits you.
Live Component:
- There will be 10 YouTube weekly livestreams presented during the Live Version of the course. Livestreams will be held at alternating time slots to accommodate people in all time zones.
- Livestreams will be directly related to the current lesson and contain a combination of recaps of the main concepts, review of selected student work, additional demos and there will be a chance to have your questions answered in real time.
- The livestreams will also be available for replay in the classroom permanently after the event.
- You have full access to all lessons on enrollment within the custom-built SketchingNow classroom.
- You can interact with fellow students inside the classroom, comment on each other’s work in the homework galleries and discuss all kinds of art topics within the forum.
- You can ask Liz questions related to the course in the dedicated question section for each lesson.
- If you want some accountability in working through the lessons, you can sign up to receive weekly lesson reminder emails. Each week you will receive a new email to prompt you to move on to the next part of the course.
- You have full access to all lessons at the time of enrollment and free access to all future Group Self-paced and Live Versions for that course.
- a medium to hard pencil (HB-2H)
- a fine pen – such as a 0.3 fineliner or fountain pen (EF or F nib) with permanent ink if you plan to add watercolour washes over the top
- some form of colour (watercolour pencils or watercolour paint or coloured pencils or markers)
- paper suitable for your choice of medium
You could also do this course using your iPad (or other tablet) if you are more comfortable sketching digitally. Any instruction will be focus on architecture sketching techniques rather than tips for using the device/app.
The only exception are the Livestreams (during Live Versions) which will occur on Youtube. A YouTube account is needed to interact with the live chat but without it you can still watch the livestream and send your questions via email. Replays will be available.
Buildings combines the benefits of both live and on-demand content. It contains in-depth prerecorded videos and detailed downloadable PDF handouts so that you can access the content at any time that suits you.
If you are an absolute beginner I recommend you check out my Foundations course first.
It is totally okay to do the outdoor exercises using your own photos of local buildings or architecture from your travels. But sketching on location is different from sketching from photos and I'll be encouraging everyone who can to sketch their chosen building on location.
