Housesketching: A Closer Look At This Creative Approach

I've been drawing buildings since I was a kid—wonky little treehouses, crooked castles, and later, street scenes from trips I took with my sketchbook. But drawing architecture well, especially in a way that feels expressive instead of stiff, took me years to figure out.

That's why I picked up Housesketching by Albert Kiefer. This book isn’t just another how-to manual—it’s a refreshingly loose, creative guide that made me rethink how I approach drawing homes and cityscapes. If you're interested in sketching houses but feel intimidated by straight lines and rigid perspective rules, this book is a game-changer.

Whether you're deep into urban sketching already or just starting to experiment with drawing buildings, Housesketching gives you practical tools and inspiration to loosen up and enjoy the process. Kiefer has a relaxed teaching style that reminds me of chatting with an art friend who tells you, “It's okay if the lines aren't perfect.”

Housesketching: A Refreshingly Loose Approach to Architecture

There are a lot of books about urban sketching out there—I’ve reviewed many of them, like The Urban Sketcher and Urban Sketching for Beginners. What makes Housesketching different is its tone. It doesn't try to turn you into an architect—it invites you to tell stories with your drawings. Kiefer leans into exaggeration, playful color, and personal expression. That clicked with me.

His use of alcohol markers and bold ink lines brings personality into every sketch, but the beauty is that his methods work no matter your medium—I've tried his tips using watercolors, brush pens, and even just pencil. I particularly love how he encourages you to develop your own style and take risks instead of chasing perfection.

When I first flipped through the book, I was struck by how lively his sketches were. They weren’t polished in the way I expected architectural drawings to be—but that’s what made them feel so alive. The proportions were often exaggerated, lines danced rather than marched, and the colors weren’t strictly realistic. And somehow, this made the buildings feel more real. More human.

Key Points

• You don’t need to master perspective to enjoy sketching houses—you just need to understand enough to suggest space convincingly.
• The book emphasizes editing, simplifying, and exaggerating instead of copying buildings exactly, which helps your sketches feel more alive.
• There are 15 step-by-step demos with QR codes to short videos that show you how Albert draws—this made a huge difference in understanding his flow.

What the Book Covers (and How It Helped Me)

The book walks you through sketching on location and from reference photos, choosing compelling compositions, using contrast to lead the eye, and incorporating color. What I appreciated most is how it addresses the mental side of sketching—giving yourself permission to interpret rather than copy.

Albert talks a lot about seeing buildings not as technical puzzles, but as characters. That idea changed everything for me. I started looking at a little bakery near my house not just as a boxy structure with windows but as a character in the neighborhood’s story. That kind of mindset makes sketching way more fun.

Using Perspective (Without Getting Stuck in It)

If you're like me, you've spent hours trying to nail vanishing points and ended up with a lifeless drawing. Kiefer shows you how to imply perspective without becoming a slave to it. His advice helped me relax when tackling awkward angles or streetscapes, something I struggled with even after years of drawing. You can also explore more on this idea in my post about understanding perspective in urban sketching.

In one of the demos, he draws a row of townhouses with quirky roofs, and he doesn't get bogged down with rulers or precision. He establishes just enough of a perspective hint to anchor the drawing, and then lets his lines roam free. That demo helped me understand that architectural sketches can suggest reality without being photographic. This is especially freeing when you’re drawing on location and don’t have hours to plan out a perfect layout.

Color Choices That Bring a Scene to Life

Kiefer’s marker palette is bold but thoughtful. I’ve adapted it to watercolors—drawing on techniques I share in my watercolor urban sketching guide—and found his color logic still holds up. He pushes you to make creative decisions that turn drab buildings into eye-catching scenes.

Before reading Housesketching, I used to obsess over getting roof colors and shadows “right.” But Kiefer shows you how color can be expressive. Warm shadows? Go for it. Blue walls just because? Sure. Since applying this mindset, my sketchbooks have started to feel more like creative playgrounds and less like homework assignments.

Composing Sketches with Character

From cropping a corner of a house just right to adding quirky details that tell a story, Kiefer’s ideas feel very in tune with what makes sketching fun. I noticed a big difference in my sketches when I started thinking about “guiding the eye” and not just drawing everything I saw.

Albert emphasizes editing what you see—he’ll move a lamppost, delete a car, or slightly enlarge a window if it helps the composition. This gave me permission to sketch like an artist, not a photocopier. And it reminded me that I’m not just documenting—I’m designing a picture.

Who This Book Is For (and Who Might Skip It)

This book is best for:

• Beginners who feel overwhelmed by drawing architecture.
• Artists who want a looser, expressive sketching style.
• Fans of urban sketching looking for inspiration.

It might not be ideal if you’re seeking detailed architectural drawing instruction or textbook-style perspective breakdowns. In that case, check out The Urban Sketching Handbook: Understanding Perspective.

But if you want to learn to see buildings like characters in a story, this is the book for you.

If you're more into structured, traditional approaches to drawing buildings, or you're studying architectural rendering seriously, you might not find what you need here. But for artists who want to sketch the world around them with more personality and looseness, it’s incredibly helpful.

How I Use It in My Own Sketching Practice

Since reading Housesketching, I’ve started carrying a smaller sketchbook with me just for building sketches. Whether I’m out in my neighborhood or browsing my urban sketching reference photos, I’ll do a quick 15-minute sketch inspired by Kiefer’s approach.

I’ve also recommended it to students in my urban sketching workshops, especially those who get hung up on clean lines or “doing it right.”

And when I need a quick burst of inspiration, I revisit the final section of the book with Albert’s colorful project breakdowns. They remind me that the most engaging sketches aren’t perfect—they’re personal.

One exercise I repeat regularly is to take a photo of a house or building and draw three versions of it: one fairly representational, one simplified and exaggerated, and one completely playful or whimsical. This came straight from Kiefer’s advice and it’s a fantastic way to train your creative thinking.

Also, his section on storytelling through sketching—adding tiny details like flower pots, bicycles, or laundry lines—helped me realize how small additions can turn a boring sketch into something with soul. That’s something I bring up a lot when teaching simple urban sketching techniques.