A complete guide to drawing, perception, and analysis for architects and designers

The observation and drawing of real objects are the starting points for the designer's visionary constructions and inspirations. A longtime favorite of architectural students, Douglas Cooper's Drawing and Perceiving: Real-World Drawing for Students of Architecture and Design instills an understanding of the basic principles of drawing that are universal to all design disciplines—mass, volume, form, contour, texture, shadow, and more—as it explores the knowledge, rational thought, and expressiveness that designers rely on to create successful drawings.

Now including a CD featuring Cooper's own dynamic instruction, this new Fourth Edition combines theory and technique to prepare students of architecture and design to carry on a dialogue between their perceptions of the physical world and their understanding of the elements of design.

This is the new edition of a 1993 book; changes, if any, are not identified. Evolving from drawing courses taught by Cooper (Carnegie Mellon University) to first-year architecture students, this book teaches the foundations, taking the point of view that drawing is fundamentally a tactile and kinesthetic act (for which the author gives credit to Kimon Nicolaides and his book The Natural Way to Draw). Theory, exercises, and examples combine to present the art of drawing as an "act of making rather than as an act of viewing." This might be the one drawing book architecture students need, and certainly should interest art students and others outside of architecture as well.
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From Leonardo da Vinci to Louis Kahn, the world's great designers and architects have used the observation and drawing of real objects to inform and inspire visionary constructions. This book prepares students of architecture and design to carry on a similar dialogue between their perceptions of the physical world and their understanding of the elements of design. It instills an understanding of the basic principles of drawing that are universal to all designdisciplines-mass, volume, form, contour, texture, shadow, and more-as it explores the knowledge, rational thought, and analysis that design professionals rely on to create successful drawings. This combination of technique, theory, and analysis equips the designer with a powerful set of tools, crucial to both the creative process and the successful career.

This work discusses the knowledge, rational thought, and analysis that should be part of each step in the drawing process. It covers the basics of drawing that are universal to all design disciplines: mass; volume; form; shape; contour; texture; light; dark; shadows; and orthographic projections.

Includes bibliographical references (p. [197]-200) and index.

DOUGLAS COOPERis the Andrew Mellon Professor of Architecture at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, where he has been awarded the Henry Hornbostel Teaching Award. He is also an internationally known artist whose panoramic murals can be found in locations across the United States and Europe.

Preface.

Acknowledgments.

Chapter 1. Engaging the Visual World.

Chapter 2. The Order of Appearance.

Chapter 3. When Order is Made.

Appendix A. Perspective: Office Method.

Appendix B. Perspective: One-Point Magic Method.

Appendix C. Shadow Projection in Orthographic Views.

Appendix D. Shadow Projection in Perspective Views.

Bibliography.

Glossary.

Index.

About the CD-Rom.