ABSTRACT

Ruled lines are crisp, clear and precise and ideal for any hand-drawn component (working) drawings (unusual these days, but still occasionally required on site as a sketch detail to explain how some change or new solution can work), but when sketch designing by hand, such lines can look too crisp and impersonal for clients who may be unused to reading technical drawings. For most client drawings a more user friendly, hand-drawn line may be preferable. Indeed this principle applies to plans produced on computer-aided design software too. Hand-drawn

sketch designs are often needed to explain ideas in front of clients and there would be no time for careful ruled lines. Of course, once the design ideas have been agreed, the scheme can be worked up further and proper explanation achieved for larger-sized schemes using ‘walk-through’ computer-generated three-dimensional images – on packages like Google ‘Sketch-up’, but for the initial sketch ideas, traditional hand drawing is still more user friendly, appropriate and faster. Perspective renditions are also still best produced by hand for explaining initial concept schemes and master plans. Ruled lines take time to set up but at least do not demand a steady hand. Although French curves (exible rubber rulers) can be used for even irregular curves, it takes time to bend them to the precise shape required. In the end, practising to achieve a steady hand is an important attribute of the landscape or garden designer in order to make drawing time cost eective. A steady hand can, even in the worst cases, be learned with plenty of practice. e dierence in speed between using French curves and a freehand curve is signicant and so it is recommended that students ‘bite the bullet’ at the start and persevere with freehand drawings as much as possible. Freehand lines, once mastered, give you the advantage of great condence and exibility, as well as speed. You will be able to produce sketches in front of your client, which is a great advantage in resolving a client’s initial lukewarm response to rst ideas. You will nd that regular freehand drawing helps to develop and improve your architectural lettering style – still needed for some plan annotation even in this computer age.