You Bought the Moleskine, now what?
Once upon a time, I was a freshman. I arrived with no preparation, no drawing skill, and no cluewhat I was getting into. Two days before classes started I took that list they give to all freshman and I bought all of those wonderful, plastic-scented, new school supplies. No pink glittery pencil cases or glue sticks for me; this time I got real stuff like drafting boards, lead holders, and a sketchbook.
On the first day of drawing, they told us to sketch every day, all day, NEVER STOP SKETCHING. Okay, that’s cool, I say, so I get out my sketchbook aaand…. what now? I looked at it, I thought about it, I looked harder, I thought harder, and here’s what happened: Nothing. I had no idea what to do with it. My sketchbook stayed empty for a long time, admittedly most of the semester.
Several months and much misery later, I had an epiphany: Paper don’t care what I put on it! Really, it doesn’t. Paper does not care if you’re good, bad, or ugly. Your architectural education is about plain, honest observation. That’s the secret to a good sketchbook; that’s what they’re trying to teach you with those 3,000,000 required sketches. It’s not about pretty stuff (though that never hurts) and it’s not about realistic pictures. Your sketchbook should record your ideas through descriptive words, drawings, and even objects (maps, photos, collages, postcards, get creative). Think of each drawing as a statement: “Interesting Brick Patterns”, “Good Landscape Shade”, “Marion Forbes in a Train Station.”
Don’t worry if you’re crap at first because, seriously, everybody is. Keep at it and stay aware of good spaces, nice details, and memorable moments. When you start to read and create drawings like text, you’ll have both a successful sketchbook and a good start to killer presentation drawings. So always ask yourself what the thesis of each drawing is and never be afraid of simple answers.
submitted by Haley Allen