Sketch: Looking across the Amstel

Sketch of Berlin’s Museum Island

Here is a sketch of Berlin’s Museum Island I completed some weeks ago for one of my friends. You might recognize the Bode Museum as the domed building on the left side of the page. The right half of the sketch may seem faithful to the actual physical view of this scene, but upon expert inspection, it would…

Sketch of Poznan, Poland

Here is a glimpse of my Tuesday night of last week: 

Sketch of New York City

One observation from making this: New York city architecture seems to be dominated by rectangles, layered in often repetitive, simple ways that collectively make a breathtaking sight. It was sometimes hard to restrain myself from adorning the buildings with the European-style design I usually do and sticking with the repetitive rectangular shapes. (Notice I had almost no self control…

Teleportation through Sketching

There are many possible motivations for sketching: an obvious one is to remember the physical appearance of an object or scene; another is to represent a concept or feeling by illustration; yet another is to feel indefatigably rich as the limit of possible designs you can create is imagination itself. The list can go on, but I want…

Sketch of Amsterdam

Amsterdam is my favorite city to sketch. I get to use the most creativity when sketching this city because each building has its own idiosyncratic character, which somehow does not look like an over-elaborate mess when placed next to all the other buildings. For many European cities, you have to obey certain architectural schemes and shapes…

Sketch of Makkah

Below is a sketch of Makkah I made while in Saudi Arabia this winter. (Click on it for a bigger version.) Makkah is unlike any place I have felt before. I say “felt” rather than “seen” because Makkah is more of an emotional, spiritual experience than a city. The presence of the Kaa’ba in Masjid al-Haram, the largest and…

Character Sketch of Rome

Today’s quick sketch: I tried to capture the essence of simple Roman buildings—not the ones you see near major tourist hubs, but the buildings on the side streets. The buildings where locals gather to drink wine and have discussions over nothing. These low-key sights are the foundational essence of cities.

Sketch of Nice, France

Here is my most recent sketch, of Nice in the French Riviera. Like with all my sketches, this scene isn’t a physical location in the city; it’s imaginary, but it does employ the “essences” of the city, so you still (hopefully!) know it’s Nice. By “essences,” I mean the architectural style, maybe a famous monument (e.g….

A New City and a New Instagram

It’s finals week right now at USC, and I need ways to keep myself sprightly and creative. And so, I turn to the blank page and let myself go:   This is just an imaginary city street, based off of styles from different European architecture. Also, I want to add that this site (The Quantum…