The Complete Garden Design Course - 2. Drawing Techniques from Udemy

This course will teach you all the essential drawing skills to enable you to develop and communicate your garden designs in a clear, professional and attractive way.

Most garden designers and landscape architects start their training using hand drawing techniques, and continue to use these skills, alongside digital applications, throughout their career to explore different design options and to present their completed designs.

This course starts with the standard guidelines on hand drawing and sketching, and progresses in gradual stages to more advanced skills of portraying garden designs in 3D. To begin with you will learn how to set up your drawing surface and practice the use of all the items of drawing equipment you will need for the rest of the course.

The course continues with lessons on how to use a scale rule and how to draw to scale, and then an introduction to the full range of symbols, line styles, patterns, shadow rendering and annotation techniques you will need to illustrate your garden designs and to develop your individual style of drawing and presentation.

Next the course covers how all these techniques are brought together to create professional, presentation-standard drawings of real-life garden designs, and this is followed by demonstrations on different ways of applying colour to garden plans.

Because the best way to develop drawing skills is through practice, this course includes 37 individual drawing exercises for you to complete in your own time. Demonstrations of the exercises are filmed from above a drawing board, and supported by downloads of instructions, templates and base plans

The presentation of this course also comprises more than 70 slides to accompany a commentary on drawing techniques. The slides display images, sketches, photos and illustrations along with bullet points summarising the main points of the commentary. The bullet points are a useful reminder if you need to look back over the main features of the course. The slides also include numerous examples of illustrated plans and drawings which demonstrate the standard of drawing and presentation you will be able to achieve by the end of this course,

You can take this course either on its own or as part of ‘The Complete Garden Design Course’ series of courses which will give you a thorough grounding in the art of garden design. After completing this series of courses, you will have learnt all the skills you will need to confidently undertake your own garden design projects.

What's inside

Learning objectives

How to set up a drawing surface and the standard guidelines of hand drawing
How to use the essential items of drawing equipment by following a number of exercises
The techniques of drawing to scale and how to use a scale rule
Sketching techniques that will help you develop design ideas and experiment with different garden layouts

A range of symbols, line styles, patterns and lettering that are used to illustrate designs and to help you develop your own style of drawing and presentation
How to bring together the full range of drawing techniques to create a presentation-standard drawing of a real-life garden design
Ways to illustrate your designs in 3d
Different ways of applying colour to a finished drawing

How to set up a drawing surface and the standard guidelines of hand drawing
How to use the essential items of drawing equipment by following a number of exercises
The techniques of drawing to scale and how to use a scale rule
Sketching techniques that will help you develop design ideas and experiment with different garden layouts
A range of symbols, line styles, patterns and lettering that are used to illustrate designs and to help you develop your own style of drawing and presentation
How to bring together the full range of drawing techniques to create a presentation-standard drawing of a real-life garden design
Ways to illustrate your designs in 3d
Different ways of applying colour to a finished drawing

Syllabus

Introduction

Hello

Overview of Course

The Importance of Drawing Skills

The Qualities of Good Presentation

Drawing Equipment

Drawing Equipment Part 1

Drawing Equipment Part 2

Drawing Equipment Part 3

Drawing Equipment Part 4

Loosening Up Exercises

Using Shadow Techniques

Exercise 1

Exercises 2, 3 and 4

Exercise 5

Exercise 6

Exercises 7 and 8

Exercise 9

Lettering

Exercise 10

Developing an Individual Lettering Style

Drawing to Scale

Exercise 21: Adding Shadow Effects

Designing at Different Scales

Reading a Scale Rule

Exercise 11

Exercise 12

Graphic Symbols

Exercise 13

Exercise 14

Exercises 15 and 16

Exercise 17

Exercise 18

Exercise 19

Line Weight and Shadow

Line Weight Demonstration

Exercise 20: Line Weight

Exercise 22: Different Ways of Drawing Shadows

Plan Graphics

Exercise 33: Drawing Steps

Exercise 23: Drawing to Scale

Exercise 24: Adding Different Line Weights

Exercise 25: Adding Symbols and Line Styles

Exercise 26: Adding Annotation

Exercise 27: Adding Patterns

Exercise 28: Adding Shadows

The Completed Presentation Drawing

Colour

Applying Colour Using Felt Tip Pens

Exercise 29: Colouring with Felt Tips

Applying Colour Using Crayons

Demonstration of Colouring with Crayons

Exercise 30: Colouring with Crayons

Reviewing Crayon Techniques

Combining Felt Tips with Crayons

Illustrating the Third Dimension Part 1

Exercise 31

Illustrating the Third Dimension Part 2

Exercise 32: Drawing a Square Planter

Exercise 34: Drawing a Tree

Exercises 35 and 36: Drawing a Garden Wall and Seat

Exercise 37: Drawing Part of a Plan

A Final Word

Goodbye

Good to know

Know what's good

, what to watch for

, and possible dealbreakers

Provides a thorough grounding in hand-drawing techniques, which are essential for exploring design options and presenting completed designs in the field

Includes 37 individual drawing exercises with demonstrations, instructions, templates, and base plans, offering ample opportunity for hands-on practice and skill development

Covers a comprehensive range of drawing techniques, including setting up a drawing surface, using drawing equipment, drawing to scale, and applying color to garden plans

Explores the use of symbols, line styles, patterns, shadow rendering, and annotation techniques, which are crucial for illustrating garden designs and developing a personal drawing style

Requires learners to acquire felt tip pens and crayons, which may pose a barrier to entry for some students depending on their access to art supplies

Is part of 'The Complete Garden Design Course' series, suggesting that learners may need to take other courses to gain a thorough grounding in the art of garden design

Activities

Be better prepared before your course. Deepen your understanding during and after it. Supplement your coursework and achieve mastery of the topics covered in The Complete Garden Design Course - 2. Drawing Techniques with these activities:

Practice Basic Sketching Techniques

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Review fundamental sketching techniques to improve freehand drawing skills before starting the course. This will make it easier to grasp more advanced concepts.

Browse courses on Sketching

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Gather basic sketching materials: pencils, erasers, and paper.
Practice basic shapes: lines, circles, squares, and triangles.
Sketch simple objects from observation: plants, pots, or garden tools.

Review 'Drawing for the Absolute Beginner' by Mark and Mary Willenbrink

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Build a strong foundation in drawing fundamentals before the course begins. This book will help you grasp the basics of drawing.

View Perspective for the Absolute Beginner: A Clear... on Amazon

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Obtain a copy of 'Drawing for the Absolute Beginner'.
Work through the exercises in the book, focusing on line work and shading.
Practice drawing simple objects and landscapes.

Practice Drawing to Scale

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Reinforce the skill of drawing to scale, a crucial aspect of garden design. Regular practice will improve accuracy and efficiency.

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Select a simple garden plan or object.
Choose a scale (e.g., 1:50 or 1:100).
Redraw the plan or object to the chosen scale, ensuring accurate measurements.
Repeat with different scales and plans.

Four other activities

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Create a Symbol Library

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Develop a personal library of garden design symbols to speed up the drawing process. This will also help to develop a personal style.

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Identify common garden elements: trees, shrubs, paths, etc.
Design a unique symbol for each element.
Draw each symbol neatly and consistently.
Compile the symbols into a reference sheet.

Review 'Landscape Graphics' by Grant Reid

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Expand your knowledge of landscape graphics and presentation techniques. This book will provide inspiration and advanced techniques.

View Landscape Graphics: Plan, Section, and... on Amazon

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Obtain a copy of 'Landscape Graphics'.
Browse the book, paying attention to different drawing styles and techniques.
Experiment with applying some of the techniques to your own garden designs.

Redesign Your Own Garden (on Paper)

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Apply the learned drawing techniques to a real-world project. This will solidify your understanding and improve your design skills.

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Measure and sketch your existing garden layout.
Develop a new garden design incorporating elements learned in the course.
Create a presentation-quality drawing of your redesigned garden.

Create a Portfolio of Garden Design Drawings

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Showcase your drawing skills and design abilities in a professional portfolio. This will be useful for future projects or career opportunities.

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Select your best garden design drawings from the course and other projects.
Organize the drawings in a logical and visually appealing manner.
Add descriptions and annotations to each drawing.
Create a digital or physical portfolio to showcase your work.

Career center

Learners who complete The Complete Garden Design Course - 2. Drawing Techniques will develop knowledge and skills that may be useful to these careers:

Garden Designer

A garden designer creates aesthetically pleasing and functional outdoor areas. This course is a fundamental building block for any aspiring garden designer, as it provides the necessary drawing skills to develop and communicate their ideas. A garden designer relies on hand-drawn plans, especially in the early design stages, and must be able to produce professional quality drawings. This course covers equipment use, scale drawing, symbols, line styles, and color application, which are crucial in creating comprehensive and attractive garden designs.

See salaries and explore the career path for Garden Designer

Landscape Architect

A landscape architect designs outdoor spaces, blending natural elements with human needs. This course directly aligns with the foundational skills required, emphasizing hand drawing techniques pivotal for conceptualizing and communicating designs. Landscape architects use these drawings to explore design options and present finalized plans. This course's instruction on drawing to scale, using symbols, line styles, and rendering techniques is essential. The numerous drawing exercises provided help build a strong foundation in the practical application of these skills.

See salaries and explore the career path for Landscape Architect

Technical Illustrator

A technical illustrator creates detailed drawings and diagrams that explain how things work, often for engineering or scientific purposes. This course may help a technical illustrator with its instruction on drawing to scale and developing diverse graphic symbols. The variety of drawing exercises in the course can help an illustrator build skills necessary to produce detailed diagrams. The course's emphasis on using different line styles and patterns are also helpful for a technical illustrator.

See salaries and explore the career path for Technical Illustrator

Drafter

A drafter prepares technical drawings and plans used in the architecture and engineering fields. This course will help a drafter by teaching how to use drawing equipment, techniques for drawing to scale, and how to use graphic symbols. This course covers a variety of skills that will improve a drafter's ability to create clear and attractive technical drawings.

See salaries and explore the career path for Drafter

Architectural Drafter

An architectural drafter prepares technical drawings and plans for buildings. The skills acquired in this course will help an architectural drafter improve drafting skills and learn to draw to scale. Some architects use hand drawings in the early stages of their planning process, so learning to draw using standard guidelines will help an architectural drafter. Though this role commonly uses CAD software, the ability to manually create detailed drawings is beneficial.

See salaries and explore the career path for Architectural Drafter

Horticultural Consultant

A horticultural consultant provides expert advice on plant care and garden design. While many horticultural consultants do not need to hand-draw, this course can help one communicate design ideas to clients. The course provides useful skills in illustrating designs using 3D techniques, as well as exploring different ways of applying color. All of these skills may help a consultant better present their vision to clients.

See salaries and explore the career path for Horticultural Consultant

Urban Planner

An urban planner works on the development and organization of cities and towns. While the typical work of an urban planner would involve digital drafting techniques, the hand-drawing skills taught here may be useful during preliminary brainstorming sessions. This course will help an urban planner by teaching them to draw using standard guidelines and developing symbols, line styles, and plan graphics.

See salaries and explore the career path for Urban Planner

Exhibit Designer

An exhibit designer creates displays for museums and other venues, and this course may help in the design process by teaching students to use drawing equipment and to create drawings to scale. An exhibit designer can also benefit from the section on illustrating designs in 3D, as well as using colors and patterns to make more attractive visual displays. The drawing exercises will help build skill with hand drawing techniques.

See salaries and explore the career path for Exhibit Designer

CAD Technician

A CAD technician uses computer software to create detailed technical drawings and plans. Although the daily work of a CAD technician would involve digital tools, having a strong foundation in hand drawing can be helpful when communicating ideas. A CAD technician may find that this course's instruction on using drawing equipment, drawing to scale, and developing a variety of plan graphics will improve their skills. The course will also provide a foundation in the use of color.

See salaries and explore the career path for CAD Technician

Set Designer

A set designer creates environments for theater, film and television productions. This course may help a set designer in learning how to draw to scale, which is important for planning how a set will be constructed. This course also teaches students how to apply color to a drawing, and how to draw in 3D. These are useful when demonstrating what a finished set will look like.

See salaries and explore the career path for Set Designer

Exhibition Designer

An exhibition designer creates engaging and informative environments for museums and galleries. This course may help an exhibition designer in developing drawing skills to present designs. This course can help by teaching students how to draw using a scale rule, and how to apply different colors to a plan. By taking this course, an exhibition designer can better demonstrate how an exhibition will look.

See salaries and explore the career path for Exhibition Designer

Interior designer

An interior designer creates functional and aesthetically pleasing spaces inside buildings. This course may help an interior designer by teaching drawing techniques, such as shadow rendering, as well as how to draw to scale. While interior design plans involve indoor spaces, this course will help develop the designer's drawing skills by demonstrating how to use drawing equipment, and developing an individual lettering style.

See salaries and explore the career path for Interior designer

Construction Estimator

A construction estimator analyzes project plans to determine material and labor costs. While this role typically does not involve extensive drawing, this course can be helpful in interpreting plans, and in understanding the various symbols and drawing styles. Learning how to use a scale rule, as well as understanding line weights and shadows, may help construction estimators when working with plans. This course helps develop visual literacy, making the estimator more effective in their role.

See salaries and explore the career path for Construction Estimator

Illustrator

An illustrator creates visual images for books, magazines, and other media. This course may help an illustrator improve their hand-drawing skills to create detailed and attractive drawings. An illustrator may find the drawing exercises helpful for developing a unique drawing style, as well as learning a variety of lettering styles. This course also discusses using different line styles, patterns and shadows.

See salaries and explore the career path for Illustrator

Project Manager

A project manager coordinates and oversees projects from start to finish. While this role may not directly involve drawing, gaining skills in visual communication through this course will enhance plan review and communication with technical teams. Knowing how to read and interpret scaled drawings, symbols and line styles can help a project manager better understand project plans, and the course's lessons on color and presentation will help a project manager present their ideas to stakeholders.

See salaries and explore the career path for Project Manager

The Complete Garden Design Course - 2. Drawing Techniques

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