One of the basic skills in architectural sketching is adding shading to objects in our scene. Here’s a step-by-step tutorial on how to distinguish between shade and shadow and how to add parallel shading correctly in perspective.

01/ Here are sample objects and given real direction of sunlight as well as its direction in plan (p).

02/ First, draw parallel lines with the real direction of sunlight through all the necessary corners. The sun rays are considered parallel in this example because of the great distance of the Sun.

03/ Construct the outlines of the shadows.

04/ Add vertical hatching to the shaded surfaces.

05/ Finally, use darker hatching for the areas of shadows. TIP: Choose the direction of hatching accordingly to the orientation of surfaces to make the objects easily readable.

Get the worksheets for practicing different areas of architectural sketching in my PDF Handbook or join my Online Course for more video demonstrations.

Happy sketching!

David
#SketchLikeAnArchitect