A hands-on workshop for architects & designers

Tuning sketching skills for professional mastery

Proportion going off. Perspective giving in. Texture that never quite reads. Most design students hit the same wall — this workshop gives you the empirical rules to close that gap, on paper, in one sitting.

5core techniques
3workshop segments
33+years, facilitator's practice
Pen-and-ink line sketch of Vidhana Soudha, Bengaluru, drawn by facilitator Ravi Krishnan

— Vidhana Soudha, drawn by Ravi at an Urban Sketchers Bengaluru meet


Where students get stuck

The gap between what you see and what lands on paper

Sketching is how designers capture objects, buildings and environments as one functional, aesthetic system. Architecture and design students feel the shortfall the moment the pencil hits paper — and it tends to show up the same four ways.

Proportion going off every time

A window that starts true and ends up a head too tall by the third floor.

Perspective giving in

Lines that were supposed to converge quietly wander toward two different horizons.

Material or texture not showing up

Stone, glass and timber all rendered in the same flat, characterless stroke.

Misplaced strokes obscuring clarity

One stray line and the read of the whole composition falls apart.

What the workshop covers

Five techniques, applied systematically

Each of these gaps has an empirical fix. The workshop walks through them in order, from the first mark on the page to the final, professional finish.

Framing & composing

Choosing what stays in focus and what falls away, based on the goal of the drawing.

Perspective & scale

Setting perspective lines as key markers, so every element sits where it should.

Light & shadow

Grading stroke weight and density to pull elements out of light and into shade.

Material, surface & texture

Rendering techniques that tell stone apart from glass, and glass apart from timber.

Finish

The last pass that takes a working sketch to something you'd put your name on.

Scope of the workshop

Three segments, one running thread

Sessions build from observation, to storytelling, to invention — each stage asking a little more of what's now on the page.

1

Sketching as a tool for capturing real life

Indoor — rendering set-up props, working through form, light & shadow and surface.
Outdoor — translating complex scenes: perspective, figure-ground composition and scale.
2

Sketching as a tool for storytelling & narratives

Generating visual stories that build record-keeping habits and sharpen observation and communication.

3

Sketching as a tool to foster imagination

Making sketching a habit for ideation — exploring objects, environments and spaces before they exist anywhere else.

How it's delivered

Primarily hands-on. The facilitator demonstrates through co-creation, working alongside participants rather than lecturing at a board, and gives feedback tuned to what each person is actually drawing.

What you'll see referenced

Examples drawn from the facilitator's own portfolio and field sketches, used to show what's possible once these techniques become habit rather than effort.

Before you arrive

What to bring

×10A3 size white sheets
×1A4 size sketchbook
HB–6BRange of pencilsplus eraser and sharpener
1.0 / 2.0 / 0.05Fountain pen (black ink) or micron black penin these tip sizes
OptionalWatercolor

Ravi Krishnan, architect and designer

Your facilitator

Ravi Krishnan

Architect & designer

33+ years in technology-led design, spanning enterprise software design, digital content and eLearning at IBM, Wipro and Suzlon.

An active member of Urban Sketchers Bengaluru, Ravi captures the city's built environment in a distinctive line-drawing style — the same practice this workshop is built around.

B.Arch, NIT Trichy · M.Des, IDC School of Design, IIT Bombay · Executive MBA, IIM Lucknow.

Bring the workshop to your students

Two ways in

Run it as a cohort session for your institution, or reserve an individual seat in the next open workshop.

For institutions

Book a batch session for your architecture or design department — the format works for a single studio group or a full-year cohort.

  • Scheduled around your term calendar
  • Indoor and outdoor sketching sessions included
  • Materials list shared with students in advance

Opens your email client, addressed to Ravi directly.

Drafted — check your email app to send it.

For students & individuals

Join the waitlist for the next public cohort — seats are limited to keep the hands-on feedback close.

  • Small group, direct feedback on your own sketches
  • Open to students and practicing designers alike
  • No prior sketching experience required

Opens your email client, addressed to Ravi directly.

Drafted — check your email app to send it.