Beginner’s Guide to Drawing Buildings from Imagination: Step-by-Step Tips

Buildings are everywhere—chances are, you’re in one right now! Whether you’re waiting for a bus or sipping your favorite coffee, you’ve seen countless buildings in your daily life. Learning how to sketch buildings from imagination is not only fun but also a great way to sharpen your drawing skills. In this guide, we’ll break down the process step by step so you can start drawing amazing buildings today!

The first thing we need to tackle is perspective—it’s the foundation of drawing buildings! If you’re struggling with perspective, check out our beginner road map for free lessons. Once you’re ready, practice drawing clusters of boxes in different angles and perspectives. These clusters should feel like they belong together, almost like a small neighborhood. Don’t worry about perfection—just give it a shot and have fun!

Now that you’ve drawn your box clusters, it’s time to bring them to life! Add windows, doors, roofs, overhangs—anything you can think of. Remember to keep the perspective consistent with your original block-in. This is your chance to experiment and make mistakes—it’s all part of the learning process! Focus on creating simple buildings that look fun and interesting.

Awesome! You’ve got the basics down, but now it’s time to spice things up. Grab a reference pack or take your sketchbook outside and study real buildings around you. Pay attention to smaller details like unique windows, intricate roof designs, or quirky overhangs. The more you observe and sketch these details, the more you’ll add to your visual library—and the better your imagination drawings will become!

Now comes the exciting part—put away all references and draw purely from imagination! Start with the flow you’ve already established: lay out basic clusters of boxes and gradually add the smaller details you studied earlier. Work from big shapes to small ones and focus on having fun! The more pages you fill with imaginative building sketches, the more confident you’ll become in creating unique designs.

With these tips, you’re ready to start practicing how to draw buildings from imagination! Begin with simple clusters of boxes, add windows and doors, study real-life details, and then challenge yourself by sketching entirely from memory. Just like playing scales on a piano, repetition is key—keep pushing yourself every day! And if you want to track your progress and level up your skills, check out our gamified program below. Happy drawing!