LECTURE NOTE

ON
BASIC PRINCIPLES OF
ARCHITECTURAL
DESIGN & DRAWING

ARC 323 & QUS 311

Department of Architectural
Technology, The Federal
Polytechnic, Ado-Ekiti
1.0. INTRODUCTION

The course is an introduction to the study of the fundamentals of architecture as it relates to the design and
drawing of buildings. Hence a brief definition of the following terms is very important. The terms are: Architecture,
Design, Drawing and Building.

i. Architecture: Architecture is the process and the final creation of man-made environment in ways that
is functional, economical to build and emotionally appealing to the user and the independent viewer.
ii. Architectural Design: Is the continuous integration of ideas in order to come out with the most
acceptable solution. It is not a copy work of others hence it must be original.
iii. Drawing: Drawing is the graphic representation of idea, thought or design.
iv. Building: Is any structure that is used for human habitation.

1.1. ARCHITECTURAL DESIGN FUNDAMENTALS:

These are Efficiency and Appearance.
i. Efficiency: Involves combining all practical aspect necessary to produce a building that is skilfully
functional.
ii. Appearance: This is the visual aspects of it. It is the aesthetic or external appearance of the building. Its
component includes: Form and Shape, Ratio, Proportion and Scale, Balance, Aesthetics and Unity or
Harmony.
i. Form and Shape: is the external appearance of the building as shown in Figure 1a.

Figure 1a: Form and Shape

ii. Ratio: is the comparison of the parts to one another

iii. Proportion: The relationship of the building element and the whole building example in Figure 1b.

Figure 1b: Proportion

iv. Scale: As in Figure 1c, this is the dialogue between human and the building.

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 Figure 1c: Balance Figure 1d: Scale

v. Balance: The placement of object for strength and stability, example in Figure 1d.
vi. Aesthetics: This is the features that are incorporated in the design of the building to make its
appearance beautiful and acceptable.
vii. Unity or Harmony: is the final appearance and sense of completeness of the building.

1.2. REQUIREMENT FOR ARCHITECTURAL DRAWING

i. Artistic Ability: One should be able to have a freehand drawing ability.
ii. Study Habit: One should always be hardworking and willing to learn
iii. Neatness: One should be neat and presentable at all times
iv. Speed: One should not only be hardworking but combining with speed to beat time.
v. Accuracy: Drawing should be accurately presented and free of unnecessary errors.
vi. Good Understanding of Parallel Drawing: One should be conversant with simple straight lines drawing
as a prelude e.g. isometrics, axonometric etc.

1.3. ARCHITECTURAL DESIGN ELEMENTS

Architectural design elements are: Lines, Form, Colour, Tones and Texture.

i. Lines: Line is path of point in space to form objects of different shapes. It is the starting point of all
compositional work and with the abstract relationship line, colour, form and space a pure beauty is
attained.

Figure 2a: Lines

ii. Forms: Form is a three dimensional shape or shapes.

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 Figure 2b: Forms

iii. Colour: Is the one that creates mood which gives a building its final finish.

Figure 2c: Colours

iv. Tone: Tone is the contrast between light, dark and halftone in building.
v. Texture: Texture is the contrast on the surface of a building.

L= Light, S= Shade and SH= Shadow.

Figure 2d: Tone Figure 2e: Texture

EXERCISE

a. Measure and draw the width and height of the Doors and Windows in your classrooms and compare the
proportion with your class width and height.

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2.0. DRAWING MATERIALS AND TOOLS/EQUIPMENTS

2.1. MATERIALS
There are difference types of materials required for drawing practice. Some of these are Pencils, Papers,
Erasers, Tapes, Ink etc.
i. Pencil: Is a common material that is pointed for writing or drawing and usually black and draw fine
lines on white background. Pencil can be lead in wood or clutch with varying degree of hardness and
softness from 9H-6B. They are categorized into Hard, Medium and Soft grades from 9H-4H, 3H-HB and
2B-7B respectively.

Figure 2a: Types of Pencil and Grading of its Leads

ii. Papers: (Drawing or detail) It is a thin sheet, light with strong fibres for superior erasing quality folding
strength, toughness, fine grain etc. Tracing paper is a thin transparent paper upon which drawings are
made in pencil or ink. Tracing papers can be treated with oils, wax or not. Paper sizes ranges from A4-
A0 for international standard, while American national standard ranges from A-E.

Figure 2b(i): Papers and International Sizes

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 Figure 2b(ii): Papers and International Sizes

iii. Erasers: Are soft materials that are used to erase mark of pencil or ink on drafting paper or tracing
paper. It can be vinyl, rubber, electric or ink.

Figure 2c: Eraser

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 iv. Speed: These are materials used to fasten drawing papers or sheets on board and they are: Masking
tape, clips, staplers etc.

Figure 2d: Use of Draftsman’s Stapler and Drafting Tape as Fastener

v. Ink: The ink in use is waterproof or non-water proof and is of different colours. It is usually in a bottle
and refilled into ink holder of the pen.

Figure 2e: Ink and its filling to Pen

2.2. DRAWING TOOLS / INSTRUMENT
The tools commonly used for building drawing are: T-square, Set squares, Pen, Protractors, Scale Rule, Dividers,
Compass, Templates, Drawing Board etc.
i. T-square: It is a long straight edged blade with T shape head that plastic, wood, aluminium etc., which
is used to draw straight lines (Figure 2f(i)).

Figure 2f(i): T-Square and its parts

ii. Set-Square: This is a triangular shaped adjustable or fixed that is used in conjunction with the T-square
to draw various angles. Common types of it are: 45oor 60/30o set-squares. It can be made of wood
plastic, steel or even aluminium (Figure 2f(ii)).

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 Figure 2f(ii): Different Types of Set Square

iii. Pen: A fountain pen usually filled with ink and of different sizes of 0.1mm-2.0mm thickness. It is used
perpendicular to the paper for best results (Figure 2f(iii)).

Figure 2f(iii): Drawing Pen and its Part

iv. Protractor: This is an instrument for setting angles other than those obtainable with the common 45o
or 60/30o triangular set-squares (Figure 2f(iv)).

Figure 2f(iv): Protractor and its Parts

v. Scale Rule: It is a plastic, wooden, aluminium scale that is used to proportionally reduced buildings on
smaller sheets of paper. Scale rules can be engineers, architects and can be in metric or imperial
(Figure 2f(v)).
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 Figure 2f(v): Sides of Metric Scale Rule with Different Scales

vi. Dividers: These are two legged instrument that is used to divide distance into required units or for
transferring distances (Figure 2f(vi) below).

Figure 2f (vi): Divider and Different Types of Compass

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 vii. Compass: An instrument that is used to draw circles with one and made to receive pencil and the other
for pinning to the paper (Figure 2f(vi) above).

viii. Lettering Templates: These are simple instruments of various types for use to represent shapes or
letters of different reduced scales such as 1:50, 1:100, 1:200, 1:250 etc. (Figure 2f(vii)).

Figure 2f(vii): Lettering Template

ix. Drawing Boards: These are rectangular boards on which paper is placed or mounted for drawing or
drafting (Figure 2f(viii)).

Figure 2f(viii): Drawing Boards

x. Ellipse and Furniture Templates: These have labelled precise cut-outs of ellipse and furniture in various
sizes, scales and projections to quickly add the ellipse shape on drawings without mathematics or
plotting etc. (Figure 2f(ix)).

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 Figure 2f(ix): Ellipse and Furniture Template

2.3. DRAWING EQUIPMENT GENERALLY

Equipment use for drawing includes Drafting machine and Computers etc.
i. Drafting Machines: These are the machines used to display the combine use of T-square, board,
setsquare, scales and protractor which helps speed up drawing. It has some mechanical parts that
enable easy adjustment to convenient height. (Figure 2g).

Figure 2g: Drafting Machine

ii. Computer: This is the use of some of the Computer Aided Design such as AutoCad, Revit, Sketch-Up,
Chief Architect etc. (Figure 2h).

Figure 2h: Use of Computer Aided Designs

2.4. MAINTENANCE OF DRAWING MATERIALS TOOLS AND EQUIPMENT

It is the work undertaken in order to keep every facility in its normal working condition. Maintenance of
drawing materials tools and equipment is to be given serious attention for their longevity. Drawing items has to
be tidy, clean, dusted, washed, serviced, and covered, to avoid heat, dust and dirt from affecting the items.

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2.5. CLEANLINESS
Cleanliness when drawing is very important and it is achieved by conscious efforts such as:
i. Cleaning of offensive hands all the time,
ii. Constant clearing of graphite from pencils from the drawing environment,
iii. Wipe pencil point with clean cloth, do not work with your sleeves or hand on paper to avoid sweat
effect,
iv. Avoid unnecessary sliding of instruments on board etc.

EXERCISES:
i. Fold and setup your Drawing paper according to the A4-A0 and draw a labelled T-square, Protractor,
Scale Rule, Circular Elliptical Template and a Compass.

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3.0. CONVENTIONAL REPRESENTATION IN ARCHITECTURAL DRAWING

Different conventional methods and representations used on architectural drawings for lines, openings,
materials, fittings, fixtures furniture.

It should be noted that lines have different meanings and can be pictorial or symbolic.

i. Lines: There are various types of lines used on drawing for construction and setting out. Some lines are
made tight, broken, strong to represent finish, hidden, object lines etc. (Figure 3a).

Figure 3a: Floor Plan Showing Different Usage of Lines

ii. Openings Representations: This is a drawing representation for doors and windows either wood or
metal made. However, there are no hard and fast rules because variation exists in usage.

Figure 3b: Different Types of Opening and their Indications

iii. Fittings Representations: This is used to represent sanitary fittings in plan or elevations.

Figure 3c: Different Types of Sanitary Fittings

iv. Materials Representation: This is a conventional line indication of materials in general uses.
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 Figure 3d: Graphical Representations of Building Materials in Plans, Sections and Elevations

v. Furniture Representations: This is a conventional indication of domestic furniture/fittings drawings.

Figure 3e: Furniture Representation in Plans

EXERCISES
i. Use scale 1:50 Template to draw using a HB pencil the plan of the following; Bath, Shower tray, Wash
hand Bash, Sink, Cooker, Fridge and Water closet, A dining table, cushion set, Bed and Wardrobe.

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 4.0 DRAWING CODING LAYOUT AND REPRODUCTION

4.1 Coding Drawing: Coding of drawing is a simple numbering system that helps to sort out drawing. The
coordinated building communication (CBC) uses coding of letters and number internationally for easy
reference.

Figure 4a: Coding of Drawings

4.2 Drawing Layout: Layout of drawings involves the proper arrangement of the title block and margins either
horizontally or vertically. Folding of drawing ensures title block is on the face.
4.3 Drawing Reproduction: Drawing reproduction involves the repeating of same drawing. This could be in
large quantities, fast in production and economical in term of cost of producing the original. This requires
the use of Equipment/Machines. Machines for reproduction are Photocopier, Ammonia Printer, Computer,
Scanner, Plotter etc.

i. Photocopier: Photocopying machine that is using a photographic process using camera for making
copies of any kind.

Figure 4b: Photocopier Figure 4c: Scanner

ii. Scanner: This is a device that captures images from photo graphic prints, posters etc. for computed
editing and display.

4.4. Maintenance of Drawing Producing Machines: Maintenance of the above machines is usually preventive
(daily) corrective and predictive by covering sensitive parts after use to avoid dust, moping to keep them
dry, checking for sufficient compound before operation, greasing, tightening of moving parts etc.

EXERCISES
1. Draw a title block horizontally and vertically on A4, A3, A2 and A1 papers.
2. State the maintenance procedure the following machines:
i. Photocopier ii. Drawing Printer iii. Scanner.

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 5.0 TYPES OF DRAWING
Drawing or graphic representation was developed along two distinct lines as Artistic and Technical drawing.

Figure 5a: Artistic Representations of a Sub-urban and Urban Centre

Artistic drawing figure is the drawing used to express aesthetic philosophy or other abstract ideas for time
immemorial since books or prints do not exist; people look at sculptures and drawings as sources of
information. Technical drawings were used earlier to convey instructions on how to construct, dams, theatre
etc. Technical drawing is any drawing used to express technical ideas itself was categorized in to Mechanical
Drawing (Precision Drawing) and Building (Architectural) Drawing.
There are three types of Architectural drawings in existence viz: Preliminaries, Presentation and, Working and
Detail drawings.

i. Preliminary Drawing: Preliminary drawings are prepared during promotional stage of building
development.

ii. Presentation Drawing: Presentation drawing are meant to convey the proposed building attractively in
its natural settings and not normally dimensioned.

iii. Working &Detail Drawings: Working drawings are usually orthographic in nature. It is the technical
direction in graphic form that is needed by various tradesmen to complete a building project. It is
dimensioned and specifications attached.

EXERCISES
A box measuring 30 x 30cm is placed on a table of 1m height above the ground.
i. Produce the artistic impression of the box
ii. Draw the box using technical instrument to scale 1:20
iii. Draw the same box to a scale of 1:5 and give all its measurements.

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6.0. ARCHITECTURAL WORKING DRAWING
Architectural working drawing as discussed above is divided into seven types namely:
i. Site plan iv. Section vii. Schedule.
ii. Floor plan v. Elevation
iii. Roof plan vi. Details

i. Site Plan: Site plan is the drawing that shows the relationship between the proposed building and its
natural or artificial settings. Architects do understand the optimal building site location by carrying out
a site inventory and resource analysis of soil, vegetation services, climate, topography aesthetics, land
use as well as obstructions on the site.
Steps in Drawing Site Plan:
a. Site sketching by physical site inspection, noting the regulations, orientation, total area, property
line, services etc.
b. Scaling the drawing.
c. Site designing by proposing the new building, new street, contours, services etc.

Figure 6a: Site Plan

ii. Floor Plan: Floor plan is the Horizontal section view of a building viewed from 1.2-1.5m above which
shows the building components, layout of walls and arrangement of rooms.
Steps in Drawing Floor Plan:
a. Scaling and layout on board, d. Dimension the drawing,
b. Drawing walls, doors, windows etc., e. Lettering titles, notes and symbols,
c. Drawing details e.g. stair case, f. Checking the plan.

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 Figure 6b: Floor Plan
iii. Roof Plan: Roof plan is the top view of the building showing the overall arrangement of roof system.
Steps in Drawing Roof Plan
a. Scaling the outline drawing of Floor Plan,
b. Offset round the perimeter walls of Floor Plan, the Eaves line of 600-750mm,
c. Indicate directions of falls,
d. Setting roof members to show components,
e. Labelling and dimensioning of components etc.

Figure 6c: Roof Plan

iv. Section: Section is the theoretical cutting through of the building vertically and showing the cut
members. Details are normally enlarged from the section.
Steps in Producing Section:
a. Picking the section line from plan,
b. Drawing all members cut by the plane,
c. Labelling the components,
d. Giving the dimension of members

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 Figure 6d: Section

v. Elevation: Elevation is the drawing that shows how a building look like if viewed from any of the sides
it shows the height and width of the building. It is drawn from the plan and of the same scale. Elevation
can either be exterior or interior but generally are of four types depending on the usage. Elevation can
be drawn in relation to the frontal view or the North direction. For Frontal view related elevation, we
have the front, rear, left and right elevations while in the North related view there is the North, South,
West and East views respectively.
Steps in drawing Elevation Section:
a. Establish a scale and use the plan,
b. Establish reference lines,
c. Draw roof lines,
d. Establish door and window heights and width,
e. Draw stair footing height where applicable,
f. Check the elevation very well in order not to miss any element.

Figure 6e: Elevation

vi. Details: Details are the enlarged portion of the section or plan for much specific information.
Steps in producing Detail Drawing:
a. Choose the scale to be used,
b. Select the area needing the detail by circling,
c. Blow the indicated part to the scale required,
d. Elaborate other information required.

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 Figure 6f: Details at Roof
vii. Schedules: Schedules are tabular description of the quantity, symbol, measurements sketches of Doors
and Windows used in the building drawing.
Steps in producing Schedule:
a. Create the required table based on the required information,
b. Identify the doors, window symbols, measurement, quantity, location and type from the plan.

Figure 6g: Door Schedules

EXERCISES
You are required to produce a working drawing of a simple Two Bedroom House on a plot of 15 x 30m.
Using a scale of 1:100 for site plan, 1:50 for floor plan, roof plan, section, elevations and scale 1:10 for
details.

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7.0. APPLICATION OF ANTHROPOMETRICS IN BUILDING DRAWING
Anthropometrics is the measurements of size and shape of human body for comfort in and around the building
in space and applied to set standard for designs of building components, units and spaces.

Figure 7a: Principles of Anthropometrics

Principles of Anthropometric are based on the fact that people by reasons of Age, Sex physique and disability
show wide range of body and dimension reach. Hence average Human figure is used for Architectural criteria.

Building Space Requirement Figure 25a-b

Space requirements entail the space needed by humans to move and utilize the various spaces in building.
ITEM AREA CIRCULATION TOTAL
Sink 0.8 x 1.8m 0.72m2 2.16m2
2
Refrigerator 0.7 x 0.6m 0.21m 0.63m2
2
Cooker 0.6 x 0.5m 0.15m 0.45m2
TOTAL 3.24m2
Table 1: Table showing Space Requirement and Analysic

EXERCISES
Design a space requirement for your giving room that has a set of chairs, bookshelves, TV stand and centre
table, add circulation space to be 50% of the individual space and arrange the furniture to get good functional
circular.

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8.0. PERSPECTIVE DRAWING
Perspective is the art of drawing solid object in three dimension on a flat two dimensional surface. So as to give
the right impression of the relative height, width, depth, distance etc. It is a pictorial drawing method of
representing building very much as the lens of a camera records an image on film. It is a most helpful tool for
the architect or owner to sell the proposed building.

8.1. Principles of Perspective

These are based on the optical illusion that:
i. All parallel lines tends to converge,
ii. All perspective rays are radiating from a single source,
iii. Buildings are to be drawn as seen not as they are known,
iv. Buildings appear to get smaller as they recede.

Figure 8a: Principles of Perspective Drawing

8.2. Types of Perspective

They are three, namely:
i. One Point, ii. Two Points, iii. Three Points.

The difference being in the number of vanishing points they have.

- One Point with all lines recedes to the only point e.g. rail line it is suitable for interior views.
- Two Points with the two vanishing points but vertical parallel lines do not vanish but horizontal lines do e.g.
building viewed at a distance corner.
- Three Points has three vanishing points and no parallel edges parallel to the picture plane e.g. Tall building.
Generally two points perspective is most often used and both two and three points perspective are most suitable
for exterior views.

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 Figure 8b: Types of Perspective Drawing
8.3. Classes of Perspective
Perspective is classified into three viz:
i. Normal,
ii. Bird’s Eye View,
iii. Frogs Eye View.
- A Normal Perspective is the one mostly used for illustrations because the vanishing point is on the horizon
line.
- Bird’s Eye View (Avail Perspective) has the building below the observer’s eye in the same way the bird sees
the building as it flies.
- The Frog’s Eye View Perspective has the level below the object as the frog sees the building above.

’
Figure 8c: Classes of Perspective Drawing

8.4. Methods of Perspective Drawing

Methods of perspective drawing are three:
i. Approximate,
ii. Mechanical,
iii. Computer.
Approximate perspective is used mostly for preliminary studies and presentations and the finish drawing will
be similar to those drawn mechanically or by computer. It is better to learn how to use the approximate
perspective before attempting the other methods. Mechanical perspective is of several types but all based on
the same principles. Computer perspective uses computer aided design like
AutoCAD, ArchiCAD etc. It is faster, accurate, ease of recollection.

8.5. Terms or Elements of Perspective

Terms (elements) of perspective are many and the best way to learn them is to practice the way they are
constructed. They are:
i. Picture Plane (PP), iii. Station Point (SP),
ii. Ground Plane (GP), iv. Horizontal Line (HL),

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 v. Vanishing Point (VP), x. Cone of Vision (COV),
vi. True Height Line (THL), xi. Angle of Vision (AV),
vii. Visual Rays (VR), xii. Eye Level (EL),
viii. Vanishing Lines (VL), xiii. Object (O).
ix. Centre of Vision (CV),

i. Picture Plane (PP): A transparent imaginary plane of projection, transparent vertical plane upon which
the perspective is drawn. The lower part of the plane interest the ground plane and on the plan portion
view of the layout, it appears as a line parallel to the ground plane and usually is placed between the
station point and the object.

ii. Ground Plane (GP): It is the horizontal plane which is represented by a line on the elevation portion of
the layout. GP is always parallel to the horizontal line and represent by the intersection of the picture
plane and the ground. This is the place that the view is standing in plane.

iii. Station Point (SP): Is the origination of the usual rays as the object is observed through the picture
plane. It will appear as a point in both plan and elevation which will fall on the horizontal. This
determines the view of the object; this determines the favourable position of the observed.

iv. Horizon Line (HL): Is the eye level of the viewer. It is the intersection of the sky and the ground and
therefore only represented on the elevation position of the drawing. It is usually placed above the
ground plane and the level determine the height of observation since it is always at the eye level and
parallel to the ground plane and passes through the picture plane.

v. Vanishing Point (VP): Is made of the left and right vanishing point for two points perspective or central
for the one point perspective. This is a specific point or points located on the horizon line where all
parallel lines drawn in the perspective coverage.

vi. True Height Line (THL): It is a vertical line of the object touches the picture plane, the line will appear
full length on the finished perspective thus providing a convenient method for projecting true height.

vii. Visual Rays (VR): Are imaginary lines drawn from the station point to any specific point with the
designated scope of the plane layout of the object. The point at which this projected lines passes
through the picture plane will determine the location of that point in perspective.

viii. Vanishing Lines (VL): Horizontal lines of the object which coverage on the vanishing point.

EXERCISES
a. Visit a major road then draw how they recedes from your standing point for one point perspective.
b. Draw your class from a corner and observe how the walls and roof vanish for two points perspectives.
c. Define and draw all the perspective elements of a box measuring 30 x 30cm placed at your eye level.

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9.0. ONE POINT PERSPECTIVE DRAWING PROCEDURE
General procedure for producing a normal mechanical perspective are (1) Scale the drawing (2) Index all
perspective elements using numbers (3) Label all perspective elements using letters (4) Identify the various
lines used and (5) Revisit the drawing process stage by stage to ensure accuracy.
One Point Perspective Drawing Procedure Steps in producing a one point perspective Figure 33
- Draw the Plan (P) to scale
- Draw the Station Point(s)
- Draw the Picture Plane (PP)
- Draw lines from station point to corners of plan
- Draw the Elevation
- Determine the Eye Level Height (EL)
- Draw Centre of Vision (CV)
- All construction lines should be light
- Cross check the procedure to ensure accuracy.
Below sketch shows a perspective procedure for one point perspective by labelling and indexing. (1P)
Plan, (2St/O) Station Point/observer, (3 CV) Centre of Vision, (4 COV) Cone of Vision, (5PP) Picture Plane,
(6 HL//EL) Horizon Line/ Eye Level, (7 VP) Vanishing Point, (8 GL) Ground Level, (9 AV) Angle of Vision,
(10 THL) True Height Line.

Figure 9: Perspective Drawing, Using One Point Method

EXERCISES
Construct a one point perspective of your bed room by locating all the components on the floor plan to a scale
of 1:50.

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10.0. TWO POINTS PERSPECTIVE DRAWING PROCEDURE
Steps in producing a Two Points perspective
- Draw the Plan to scale (P)
- Draw Station to scale (S)
- Draw the Centre of Vision (CV)
- Draw Picture Plane (PP)
- Draw lines from Station Point(s) to the Picture Plane parallel to plan for Vanishing Points (VP)
- From Vanishing Points (VP) draw Horizontal Line to determine the Eye Level (EL)
- Draw elevations and the True Height Line (THL)
- From height line determine Ground Level Based on scale.
- Cross check the procedure to ensure accuracy.
Below sketch shows a perspective procedure for one point perspective by labelling and indexing. (1P)
Plan, (2St/O) Station Point/observer, (3 CV) Centre of Vision, (4 COV) Cone of Vision, (5PP) Picture Plane,
(6 HL//EL) Horizon Line/ Eye Level, (7 VP) Vanishing Point, (8 GL) Ground Level, (9 AV) Angle of Vision,
(10 THL) True Height Line.

Figure 10: Perspective Drawing, Using Two Points Method

Above sketch shows a perspective procedure for two points perspective by labelling and indexing. (1P)
Plan, (2St/O) Station Point/observer, (3 CV) Centre of Vision, (4 COV) Cone of Vision, (5PP) Picture Plane,
(6 HL//EL) Horizon Line/ Eye Level, (7 VP) Vanishing Point, (8 GL) Ground Level, (9 AV) Angle of Vision,
(10 THL) True Height Line.

EXERCISES
Construct a Two Points Perspective of your class room to scale of 1:50.
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11.0. TRACING OF DRAWING
The principal objective of tracing drawing is to produce a finished work through practice in manipulation of the
instruments. Tracing can be in pencil or in pen and done by placing a terracing paper on the drawing sheet.
Sheet for improved visibility placing a white backing

11.1. Steps in Tracing Drawing

Good tracing is achieved Accuracy, Speed, Legibility and Neatness.
- Accuracy is the exactness in tracing without errors or mistakes.
- Speed fastness in tracing to save time, it comes with study and practice.
- Legibility is the clarity of tracing to serve as a medium of communication to others effectively.
- Neatness is the cleanliness of the drawing to covey its accuracy and legibility.

11.2. Procedure for Tracing

This involves:
- Getting instruments around, - Layout of sheet,
- Tidying work area, - Correct holding or positioning of pen,
- Preparing the board - Timing for ink to dry,
- Selecting the pen, - Control of line thickness.
- Testing and correcting instrument,

11.3. Order of Tracing

- Mark all points in pencil directly,
- Draw horizontal, then vertical then incline lines,
- Ink arrow heads notes,
- Draw left to right, up to down etc.

Figure 10: Perspective Drawing, Using Two Points Method

Stencilling is the process of using pen and template to draw shapes and write information on the drawings.

Practice: Use drawing pens to trace a simple finish pencil working drawing given to you. Demonstrate how to
hold pens for tracing drawing and how to maintain them.

EXERCISES
Trace the simple plan given to you in pen and ink with points 0.2, 0.3, 0.5, 0.8 and 1.2mm.

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12.0. FREEHAND DRAWING (ARTS)
Artistic drawing is an aspect of mental development, imaginative, creative and aesthetics through what the eye
sees, what the mind imagine and what is translated in a graphic form. Training in freehand drawing consists of:
i. Training the eye,
ii. Training the hand to express what is seen simultaneously.

12.1. Materials and Tools for Freehand Drawing

They are water colour, sponge, ink, erasers, brush, pen, spray gum, knife etc.

Figure 12a: Materials and Tools for Freehand Drawing.

Freehand rendering shows the effective of relative sizes, depth, width, light and darkness as well as the solidity
of the building.

Figure 12b: Freehand Rendering (a, b and c)

12.2. Shading
This is to give a feeling of recession, solidity and depth to buildings. Shade is that surface of a building in
darkness, light is that surface subjected to rays. Halftone (casting edge) is the intersection between light and
dark sides. Shadow is the image of the building casting on ground or other object.

EXERCISE
a. Use a HB pencil and draw 10 lines each horizontally, vertically, circular, triangle, square, rectangle and
diagonally.
b. Place a box outside your class on a sunny day at around 10am and produce the tonal effect of the box.

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13.0. APPLICATION OF COLOUR
Colour is the decomposition of white light into the seven colours spectrum of red, orange, yellow, green, blue,
indigo and violet. Some colours are good on buildings while some are not.

Figure 13a: Colour Wheel

13.1. Principles of Colour Harmony

Principles of colour harmony consist of two laws:
i. Colours must be related
ii. One colour must dominate.

Colour harmony consists of:

i. Single colour with neutral,
ii. Harmony of adjacent colours,
iii. Harmony of complementary colours.

EXERCISE
Obtain the seven primary colours and mix them up to obtain the secondary and intermediate colours.

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14.0. COMPUTER AIDED DRAWING
Traditionally, Drawing is prepared using the instruments outlined in week 2, but their accuracy depends on the
skill of the drawer, is more cumbersome, modifications and repetition as well as time consuming, hence the
popularity of Computer Aided Drawing is the application of conventional computed techniques with the aid of
one or many graphic data processing systems available to analyse, modify and finalize graphic solution.

14.1. Computer with CAD

Computer Aided Drawing is the process of preparing of a building drawing on the screen of a computer.
- Since using instrument is time consuming susceptible to error, difficulty in modification and repetition and
cumbersome.
- Computer used in drawing has the advantage of producing neat, fast, retrieve, and make amendments etc.
easily. The basic hardware components includes the key board, mouse, monitor, UPS, scanners, printer,
plotter etc. Application of the computer to draw coordinates, layers, simple shapes edit drawing, save
drawing, erase drawing, copy etc.
Hardware is the set of all the physical components of computer system which can be seen or touched.
Software on the other hand is a set of electronic instructions for computer that makes the hardware to
perform the given task. The components of computer hardware are input devices, central processing unit,
output devices. The input devices convert information given by the user into electrical signals and sent to the
computer system. Central processing unit is the nerve centre of the computer, receives information and
processes it and sends it to the output devices. The output devices display or print the end product of the
given task. The Computer Aided Drawing software is either operating or application software. The operating
software systems are MS DOS, Windows, Window XP etc. Application software systems are MS Office,
AutoCAD, CorelDraw etc.

EXERCISE
Draw a simple block layout using a computer from creating title block to full dimensioning.

FURTHER READINGS
Architectural Draughtmanship by Fresiser Reekie.

Architecture: Form, Space, and Order, 2nd Edition by Francis D. K. Ching

Drawing and Designing with Confidence: A Step-by-Step Guide by Mike W. Lin

Reading Architectural Working Drawing by Edward J. Muuer.

Technical Drawing 7th Edition by Gieseke, Michael Speneer and Dygdon.

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