Project Info

Duration: Nov 2009 – 2021

Client: Architette Studios

Role: Illustration Designer

Mediums: Pencil, Ink, Procreate

Over 180 skyline drawings later, the Skyline Series is one of my best-selling lines.

Research

The inspiration for these drawings started during my college days while studying abroad in Rome, Italy. We visited various outdoor courtyards and spaces called piazzas, and drew what we thought a map of the area would look like. Taking these drawings a step further, I cut section and elevation drawings through the map. This earned me an internship with my professor the following summer.

The Skyline Series developed naturally through research of each city’s geography, history, architecture, popular tourist destinations and/or motifs. I locate these as points on a map and extract the skyline from there.

Sketching

I began with hand sketches for the older skylines, but once introduced to the iPad Pro and Apple Pencil, I went digital with this phase depending on the type of commission.

Results

Drawing these skylines feels like traveling to each location and uncovering its structure and beauty from within. I am proud to say they have been featured at the White House, various magazines, logos, and are favorites for gifts and weddings. I am excited to share more skylines in the future.

Lessons Learned

There is not one definition for what classifies art as being “good”, but there are some general elements in design that can make something pleasing to the eye. Over the years of illustrating skylines as described in this case study, I have learned about alignments, hierarchies, proximity, balance, repetition and movement. My experience in learning the balance between all of these elements has taught me to look beyond the physical line work and into how they are perceived.

Further Reading

If there were a book to describe how it feels to be immersed in one of my skyline drawings, “The Poetics of Space” by Gaston Bachelard” would be the one. “No space is too vast or too small to be filled by our thoughts and our reveries.”

As an ex-architect, I can appreciate the emotions evoked from the types of spaces and itineraries we encounter, which is evident through the balance of detail and accuracy in each drawing.