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ARCHITECTURAL DRAWING

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FIG. 40
C. D. M.
To add interest to the picture, and more especially to give life to the
shadows, several figures are introduced. It will be noticed that the cart is
inserted at the focal point of the drawing to better assist the perspective.
CHAPTER VI
ARCHITECTURAL DRAWING
It is but a few years since architects' perspectives were "built up" (it
would be a mistake to say "drawn") by means of a T-square and the
ruling pen; and if architectural drawing has not quite kept pace with that
for general illustration since, a backward glance over the professional
magazines encourages a feeling of comparative complacency. That so
high a standard or so artistic a character is not observable in architectural
as in general illustration is, I think, not difficult to explain. Very few of
the clever architectural draughtsmen are illustrators by profession. Few,
even of those who are generally known as illustrators, are anything
more--I should perhaps say anything less--than versatile architects; and
yet Mr. Pennell, who would appear to assume, in his book on drawing,
that the point of view of the architect is normally pictorial, seems at a
loss to explain why Mr. Robert Blum, for instance, can illustrate an
architectural subject more artistically than any of the draughtsmen in the
profession. Without accepting his premises, it is remarkably creditable to
architecture that it counts among its members in this country such men as
Mr. B. G. Goodhue and Mr. Wilson Eyre, Jr., and in England such
thorough artists as Mr. Prentice and Mr. Ernest George--men known
even to distinction for their skill along lines of purely architectural
practice, yet any one of whom would, I venture to say, cause
considerable displacement did he invade the ranks of magazine
illustrators. Moreover (and the suggestion is not unkindly offered), were
the architects and the illustrators to change places architecture would
suffer most by the process.
That the average architect should be incapable of artistically illustrating The
his own design, ought, I think, to be less an occasion for surprise than Architects'
that few painters, whose point of view is essentially pictorial, can make Case
even a tolerable interpretation in line of their own paintings. Be it
remembered that the pictures made by the architect are seldom the
records  of  actualities.  The  buildings  themselves  are  merely
contemplated, and the illustrations are worked up from geometrical
elevations in the office, very, very far from Nature. Moreover, the
subjects are not infrequently such as lend themselves with an ill grace to
picturesque illustration. The structure to be depicted may, for instance,
be a heavy cubical mass with a bald uninteresting sky-line; or it may be a
tall office building, impossible to reconcile with natural accessories
either in pictorial scale or in composition. These natural accessories, too,
the draughtsman must, with an occasional recourse to his photograph
album, evolve out of his inner consciousness. When it is further
considered  that  such  structures,  even  when  actualities,  are
uncompromisingly stiff and immaculate in their newness, presenting
absolutely none of those interesting accidents so dear to the artist, and
perhaps with nothing whatever about them of picturesque suggestion, we
have a problem presented which is somewhat analogous to that presented
by the sculpturesque possibilities of "fashionable trousering." That, with
such uninspiring conditions, architectural illustration does not develop so
interesting a character nor attain to so high a standard as distinguishes
general illustration is not to be wondered at. It is rather an occasion for
surprise that it exhibits so little of the artificiality of the fashion-plate
after all, and that the better part of it, at least, is not more unworthy than
figure illustration would be were it denied the invaluable aid of the living
model. So much by way of apology.
The architectural perspective, however, is not to be regarded purely The
from the pictorial point of view. It is an illustration first, a picture Architects'
afterwards, and almost invariably deals with an individual building, Point of View
which is the essential subject. This building cannot, therefore, be made a
mere foil for interesting "picturesqueries," nor subordinated to any scenic
effect of landscape or chiaroscuro. Natural accessories or interesting bits
of street life may be added to give it an appropriate setting; but the result
must clearly read "Building, with landscape," not "Landscape, with
building."
Much suggestion for the sympathetic handling of particular subjects
may be found in the character of the architecture itself. The illustrator
ought to enter into the spirit of the designer, ought to feel just what
natural accessories lend themselves most harmoniously to this or that
particular type. If the architecture be quaint and picturesque it must not
have prosaic surroundings. If, on the other hand, it be formal or
monumental, the character and scale of the accessories should be
accordingly serious and dignified. The rendering ought also to vary with
the subject,--a free picturesque manner for the one, a more studied and
responsible handling for the other. Technique is the language of art, and
a stiff pompous phraseology will accord ill with a story of quaint humor
or pathos, while the homely diction that might answer very well would
be sure to struggle at a disadvantage with the stately meanings and
diplomatic subtleties of a state document.
It would be well for the student, before venturing upon whole subjects, Rendering of
to learn to render details, such as windows, cornices, etc. Windows are a Detail
most important feature of the architectural drawing, and the beginner
must study them carefully, experimenting for the method which will best
represent their glassy surfaces. No material gives such play of light and
shade as glass does. One window is never absolutely like another; so that
while a certain uniformity in their value may be required for breadth of
effect in the drawing of a building, there is plenty of opportunity for
incidental variety in their treatment.
A few practical hints on the rendering of windows may prove
serviceable. Always emphasize the sash. Where there is no recess, as in
wooden buildings, strengthen the inner line of sash, as in Fig. 41. In
masonry buildings the frame and sash can be given their proper values,
the area of wood being treated broadly, without regard to the individual
members. The wood may, however, be left white if required, as would be
the case in Colonial designs. In either case the dark shadow which the
sash casts on the glass should be suggested, if the scale of the drawing be
such as to permit of it. Do not try to show too much. One is apt to make a
fussy effect, if, for instance, one insists on always shading the soffit of
the masonry opening, especially if the scale of the drawing be small.
Besides, a white soffit is not a false but merely a forced value, as in
strong sunlight the reflected light is considerable. If the frame be left
white, however, the soffit ought to be shaded, otherwise it will be
difficult to keep the values distinct. In respect of wooden buildings there
is no need to always complete the mouldings of the architrave. Notice in
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Fig. 41 that, in the window without the muntins, the mouldings have
been carried round the top to give color, but that in the other they are
merely suggested at the corners so as to avoid confusion. Care should be
taken to avoid mechanical rendering of the muntins. For the glass itself, a
uniformly flat tone is to be avoided. The tones should soften vaguely. It
will be found, too, that it is not advisable to have a strong dark effect at
the top of the window and another at the bottom; one should
predominate.
FIG. 41
C. D. M.
The student after careful study of Fig. 41 should make from it enlarged
drawings, and afterwards, laying the book aside, proceed to render them
in his own way. When he has done so, let him compare his work with the
originals. This process ought to be repeated several times, the aim being
always for similarity, not for literalness of effect. If he can get equally
good results with another method he need not be disconcerted at the lack
of any further resemblance.
The cornice with its shadow is another salient feature. In short
shadows, such as those cast by cornices, it is well, if a sunny effect be
desired, to accent the bottom edge of the shadow. The shadow lines
ought to be generally parallel, but with enough variation to obviate a
mechanical effect. They need not be vertical lines,--in fact it is better
that they should take the same slant as the light. If they are not absolutely
perpendicular, however, it is well to make them distinctly oblique,
otherwise the effect will be unpleasant. A clever sketch of a cornice by
Mr. George F. Newton is shown in Fig. 42. Notice how well the texture
of the brick is expressed by the looseness of the pen work. Some of the
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detail, too, is dexterously handled, notably the bead and button
moulding.
The strength of the cornice shadow should be determined by the tone
of the roof above it. To obtain for this shadow the very distinct value
which it ought to have, however, does not require that the roof be kept
always much lighter than it. In the gable roof in Fig. 57, the tone of the
roof is shaded lighter as it approaches the eaves, so that the shadow may
count more emphatically. This order may be reversed, as in the case of a
building with dark roof and light walls, in which case the shadow may be
grayer than the lower portion of the roof, as in "B" in Fig. 44.
FIG. 42
GEORGE F. NEWTON
But the beginner should not yet hurry on to whole subjects. A church
porch, as in Fig. 35, or a dormer with its shadow cast on a roof, as in Fig.
43, will be just as beneficial a study for him as an entire building, and
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will afford quite as good an opportunity for testing his knowledge of the
principles of pen drawing, with the added advantage that either of the
subjects mentioned can be mapped out in a few minutes, and that a
failure or two, therefore, will not prove so discouraging as if a more
intricate subject had to be re-drawn. I have known promising beginners
to give up pen and ink drawing in despair because they found themselves
unequal to subjects which would have presented not a few difficulties to
the experienced illustrator. When the beginner grows faint-hearted, let
him seek consolation and encouragement in the thought that were pen
drawing something to be mastered in a week or a month there would be
small merit in the accomplishment.
FIG. 43
C. D. M.
It is a common fault of students to dive into the picture unthinkingly, A General
beginning anywhere, without the vaguest plan of a general effect, System
whereas it is of the utmost importance that every stroke of the pen be
made with intelligent regard to the ultimate result. The following general
method will be found valuable.
Pencil the outline of the entire subject before beginning the pen work.
It will not do to start on the rendering as soon as the building alone is
pencilled out, leaving the accessories to be put in as one goes along. The
adjacent buildings, the foliage, and even the figures must be drawn--
carefully drawn--before the pen is taken up. The whole subject from the
very beginning should be under control, and to that end it becomes
necessary to have all the elements of it pre-arranged.
Next scheme out the values. This is the time to do the thinking. Do not Arrangement
start out rashly as soon as everything is outlined in pencil, confident in of the Values
the belief that all windows, for instance, are dark, and that you may as
well make them so at once and be done with them. This will be only to
court disaster. Besides, all windows are not dark; they may be very light
indeed. The color value of nothing is absolute. A shadow may seem
almost black till a figure passes into it, when it may become quite gray
by comparison. So a window with the sun shining full upon it, or even
one in shade, on which a reflected light is cast, may be brilliantly light
until the next instant a cloud shadow is reflected in it, making it densely
black. Arrange the values, therefore, with reference to one general effect,
deciding first of all on the direction of the light. Should this be such as to
throw large areas of shadow, these masses of gray will be important
elements in the color-scheme. An excellent way to study values is to
make a tracing-paper copy of the line drawing and to experiment on this
for the color with charcoal, making several sketches if necessary. After
having determined on a satisfactory scheme, put fixatif on the rough
sketch and keep it in sight. Otherwise, one is liable, especially if the
subject is an intricate one, to be led astray by little opportunities for
interesting effects here and there, only to discover, when too late, that
these effects do not hang together and that the drawing has lost its
breadth. The rough sketch is to the draughts man what manuscript notes
are to the lecturer.
Do not be over-conscious of detail. It is a common weakness of the Treatment of
architectural draughts man to be too sophisticated in his pictorial Detail
illustration. He knows so much about the building that no matter how
many thousand yards away from it he may stand he will see things that
would not reveal themselves to another with the assistance of a field-
glass. He is conscious of the fact that there are just so many brick
courses to the foot, that the clapboards are laid just so many inches to the
weather, that there are just so many mouldings in the belt course,--that
everything in general is very, very mathematical. This is not because his
point of view is too big, but because it is too small. He who sees so much
never by any chance sees the whole building. Let him try to think
broadly of things. Even should he succeed in forgetting some of these
factitious details, the result will still be stiff enough, so hard is it to re-
adjust one's attitude after manipulating the T-square. I strongly
recommend, as an invaluable aid toward such a re-adjustment, the habit
of sketching from Nature,--from the figure during the winter evenings,
and out of doors in summer.
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FIG. 44
C. D. M.
The beginner is apt to find his effects at first rather hard and
mechanical at the best, because he has not yet attained that freedom of
handling which ignores unimportant details, suggests rather than states,
gives interesting variations of line and tone, and differentiates textures. A
good part of the unpleasantness of effect will undoubtedly be found to be
due to a mistaken regard for accuracy of statement, individual mouldings
being lined in as deliberately as in the geometrical office drawings, and
not an egg nor a dart slighted. Take, for example, the case of an old
Colonial building with its white cornice, or any building with white
trimmings. See the effect of such a one in an "elevation" where all the
detail is drawn, as in "A," Fig. 44. Observe that the amount of ink
necessary to express this detail has made the cornice darker than the rest
of the drawing, and yet this is quite the reverse of the value which it
would have in the actual building, see "B." To obtain the true value the
different mouldings which make up the cornice should be merely
suggested. Where it is not a question of local color, however, this matter
of elimination is largely subject to the exigencies of reproduction; the
more precisely and intimately one attempts to render detail, the smaller
the scale of the technique requires to be, and the greater the difficulty.
Consequently, the more the reduction which the drawing is likely to
undergo in printing, the more one will be obliged to disregard the finer
details. These finer details need not, however, be absolutely ignored.
Notice, for instance, the clever suggestion of the sculpture in the
admirable drawing by Mr. F. E. Wallis, Fig. 45. The conventional
drawing of the façade, Fig. 46, is a fine illustration of the decorative
effect of color obtainable by emphasizing the organic lines of the design.
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FIG. 45
FRANK E. WALLIS
The elements in a perspective drawing which present most difficulties Foliage and
to the architectural draughtsman are foliage and figures. These are, Figures
however, most important accessories, and must be cleverly handled. It is
difficult to say which is the harder to draw, a tree or a human figure; and
if the student has not sketched much from Nature either will prove a
stumbling-block. Presuming, therefore, that he has already filled a few
sketch-books, he had better resort to these, or to his photograph album,
when he needs figures for his perspective. Designing figures and trees
out of one's inner consciousness is slow work and not very profitable;
and if the figure draughtsman may employ models, the architect may be
permitted to use photographs.
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FIG. 46
HARRY ALLAN JACOBS
Unhappily for the beginner, no two illustrators consent to render
foliage, or anything else for that matter, in quite the same way, and so I
cannot present any authoritative formula for doing so. This subject has
been treated, however, in a previous chapter, and nothing need be added
here except to call attention to an employment of foliage peculiar to
architectural drawings. This is the broad suggestive rendering of dark
leafage at the sides of a building, to give it relief. The example shown in
Fig. 47 is from one of Mr. Gregg's drawings.
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FIG. 47
D. A. GREGG
The rendering of the human figure need not be dealt with under this
head, as figures in an architectural subject are of necessity relatively
small, and therefore have to be rendered very broadly. Careful drawing is
none the less essential, however, if their presence is to be justified; and
badly drawn figures furnish a tempting target for the critic of
architectural pictures. Certainly, it is only too evident that the people
usually seen in such pictures are utterly incapable of taking the slightest
interest whatever in architecture, or in anything else; and not infrequently
they seem to be even more immovable objects than the buildings
themselves, so fixed and inflexible are they. Such figures as these only
detract from the interest of the drawing, instead of adding to it, and the
draughtsman who has no special aptitude is wise in either omitting them
altogether, or in using very few, and is perhaps still wiser if he entrusts
the drawing of these to one of his associates more accomplished in this
special direction.
The first thing to decide in the matter of figures is their arrangement
and grouping, and when this has been determined they should be
sketched in lightly in pencil. In this connection a few words by way of
suggestion may be found useful. Be careful to avoid anything like an
equal spacing of the figures. Group the people interestingly. I have seen
as many as thirty individuals in a drawing, no two of whom seemed to be
acquainted,--a very unhappy condition of affairs even from a purely
pictorial point of view. Do not over-emphasize the base of a building by
stringing all the figures along the sidewalks. The lines of the curbs would
thus confine and frame them in unpleasantly. Break the continuity of the
street lines with figures or carriages in the roadway, as in Fig. 55. After
the figures have been satisfactorily arranged, they ought to be carefully
drawn as to outline. In doing so, take pains to vary the postures, giving
them action, and avoiding the stiff wooden, fashion-plate type of person
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so common to architectural drawings. When the time comes to render
these accessories with the pen (and this ought, by the way, to be the last
thing done) do not lose the freedom and breadth of the drawing by
dwelling too long on them. Rise superior to such details as the patterns of
neckties.
We will now consider the application to architectural subjects of the
remarks on technique and color contained in the previous chapters.
To learn to render the different textures of the materials used in Architectural
architecture, the student would do well to examine and study the Textures
methods of prominent illustrators, and then proceed to forget them,
developing meanwhile a method of his own. It will be instructive for
him, however, as showing the opportunity for play of individuality, to
notice how very different, for instance, is Mr. Gregg's manner of
rendering brick work to that of Mr. Railton. Compare Figs. 48 and 49.
One is splendidly broad,--almost decorative,--the other intimate and
picturesque. The work of both these men is eminently worthy of study.
For the sophisticated simplicity and directness of his method and the
almost severe conscientiousness of his drawing, no less than for his
masterly knowledge of black and white, no safer guide could be
commended to the young architectural pen-man for the study of
principles than Mr. Gregg. Architectural illustration in America owes
much to his influence and, indeed, he may be said to have furnished it
with a grammar. Take his drawing of the English cottages, Fig. 50. It is a
masterly piece of pen work. There is not a feeble or tentative stroke in
the whole of it. The color is brilliant and the textures are expressed with
wonderful skill. The student ought to carefully observe the rendering of
the various roofs. Notice how the character of the thatch on the second
cottage differs from that on the first, and how radically the method of
rendering of either varies from that used on the shingle roof at the end of
the picture. Compare also the two gable chimneys with each other as
well as with the old ruin seen over the tree-tops. Here is a drawing by an
architectural draughtsman of an architectural actuality and not of an
artificial abstraction. This is a fairer ground on which to meet the
illustrators of the picturesque.
FIG. 48
D. A. GREGG
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FIG. 49
HERBERT RAILTON
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FIG. 50
D. A. GREGG
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FIG. 51
WALTER M. CAMPBELL
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FIG. 52
HERBERT RAILTON
FIG. 53
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FIG. 54
C. F. BRAGDON
FIG. 55
Mr. Campbell's drawing, Fig. 51, is a very good example of the Examples
rendering of stone textures. The old masonry is capitally expressed by
the short irregular line. The student is advised to select some portion of
this, as well as of the preceding example to copy, using, no matter how
small the drawings he may make, a pen not smaller than number 303. I
know of no architectural illustrator who hits stonework off quite so
cleverly as Mr. Goodhue. Notice, in his drawing of the masonry, in Fig.
8, how the stones are picked out and rendered individually in places and
how this intimate treatment is confined to the top of the tower where it
tells against the textures of the various roofs and how it is then merged in
a broad gray tone which is carried to the street. Mr. Railton's sketches are
full of clever suggestion for the architectural illustrator in the way of
texture. Figs. 7 and 52 show his free rendering of masonry. The latter is
an especially very good subject for study. Observe how well the texture
tells in the high portion of the abutment by reason of the thick, broken
lines. For a distant effect of stone texture, the drawing by Mr. Jaccaci,
Fig. 53, is a fine example. In this the rendering is confined merely to the
organic lines of the architecture, and yet the texture is capitally expressed
by the quality of the stroke, which is loose and much broken. The
general result is extremely crisp and pleasing. For broad rendering of
brick textures, perhaps there is no one who shows such a masterly
method as Mr. Gregg. As may be seen in his sketch of the blacksmith
shop, Fig. 48, he employs an irregular dragging line with a great deal of
feeling. The brick panel by Mr. Bragdon, Fig. 54, is a neat piece of work.
There is excellent texture, too, in the picturesque drawing by Mr. Harvey
Ellis, Fig. 55:--observe the rendering of the rough brick surface at the
left side of the building. A more intimate treatment is that illustrated in
the detail by Mr. C. E. Mallows, the English draughts man, Fig. 56. In
this drawing, however, the edges of the building are unpleasantly hard,
and are somewhat out of character with the quaint rendering of the
surfaces. Mr. Goodhue uses a similar treatment, and, I think, rather more
successfully. On the whole, the broader method, where the texture is
carried out more uniformly, is more to be commended, at least for the
study of the beginner. Some examples of shingle and slate textures are
illustrated by Fig. 57. It is advisable to employ a larger pen for the
shingle, so as to ensure the requisite coarseness of effect.
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FIG. 56
C. E. MALLOWS
FIG. 57
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FIG. 58
C. D. M.
To favorably illustrate an architectural subject it will be found An
generally expedient to give prominence to one particular elevation in the Architectural
perspective, the other being permitted to vanish sharply. Fig. 58 may be Problem
said to be a fairly typical problem for the architectural penman. The old
building on the right, it must be understood, is not a mere accessory, but
is an essential part of the picture. The matter of surroundings is the first
we have to decide upon, and these ought always to be disposed with
reference to the particular form of composition which the subject may
suggest. Were we dealing with the foreground building alone there
would be no difficulty in adjusting the oval or the diamond form of
composition to it.* As it is, the difficulty lies in the long crested roof-line
which takes the same oblique angle as the line of the street, and the
influence of this line must be, as far as possible, counteracted. Now the
heavy over-hang of the principal roof will naturally cast a shadow which
will be an important line in the composition, so we arrange our
accessories at the right of the picture in reference to this. Observe that
the line of the eaves, if continued, would intersect the top of the gable
chimney. The dwelling and the tree then form a focus for the converging
lines of sidewalk and roof, thus qualifying the vertical effect of the
building on the right. As the obliquity of the composition is still
objectionable, we decide to introduce a foreground figure which will
break up the line of the long sidewalk, and place it so that it will increase
the influence of some contrary line, see Fig. 59. We find that by putting
it a little to the right of the entrance and on a line with that of the left
sidewalk, the picture is pleasingly balanced.
[Footnote *: See footnote on page 62.]
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FIG. 59
C. D. M.
We are now ready to consider the disposition of the values. As I have
said before, these are determined by the scheme of light and shade. For
this reason any given subject may be variously treated. We do not
necessarily seek the scheme which will make the most pictorial effect,
however, but the one which will serve to set off the building to the best
advantage. It is apparent that the most intelligible idea of the form of the
structure will be given by shading one side; and, as the front is the more
important and the more interesting elevation, on which we need sunlight
to give expression to the composition, it is natural to shade the other,
thus affording a foil for the bright effects on the front. This bright effect
will be further enhanced if we assume that the local color of the roof is
darker than that of the walls, so that we can give it a gray tone, which
will also make the main building stand away from the other. If, however,
we were to likewise assume that the roof of the other building were
darker than its walls, we should be obliged to emphasize the
objectionable roof line, and as, in any case, we want a dark effect lower
down on the walls to give relief to our main building, we will assume
that the local color of the older walls is darker than that of the new. The
shadow of the main cornice we will make quite strong, emphasis being
placed on the nearer corner, which is made almost black. This color is
repeated in the windows, which, coming as they do in a group, are some
of them more filled in than others, to avoid an effect of monotony. The
strong note of the drawing is then given by the foreground figure.