Drawing Lesson 10, Part 1 – How to Draw Architecture

How to Draw Architecture – Constructive drawing

Video Lesson Description

In this “How to Draw Architecture” you will discover how to draw architectural details in deep perspective. The architectural element we are about to draw is called “Corbel”, a piece of masonry extruding outwards from the wall beneath the window.

How to Draw Architectural Details

The drawing will be constructed in a two-point perspective. We begin the “How to Draw Architecture” video by drawing the main lines, which define the linear perspective.

This video part of the drawing lesson will explain how corbel’s proportions to be depicted in two-point linear perspective.

When you think How to Draw Architecture, keep in mind that in two-point perspective, all horizontal lines are tilted into the vanishing points; however, vertical lines remain perfectly straight and upright.

The constructive drawing progresses from big masses to smaller details.

This corbel is done in the form of a scroll carved from limestone. This is a kind of “Bracket” usually used for supporting the “super incumbent” weight of balconies, cornices, bow windows, or other structural elements. Sometimes corbels serve purely decorative purposes.

The old French word “corbel” comes from the Latin “corbellus”. This architectural element can also be described by the Italian word “Mensola”, or the German “Kragstein”.

The design of corbels’ goes back in history by several millenniums. It used to be a plain, functional, piece of masonry. Later on, in Classical Greek, Roman, and then in medieval European architecture, corbels became richly decorated, sometimes styled in the form of human heads, animals, or elaborately carved in floral and geometrical motifs.

This stonemasonry has well-defined geometrical shapes; the combination of curved and straight lines makes it ideal for a detailed study.