How to Draw a House

هەنگاو بە هەنگاو

1. هەنگاو 1

   Block in the big square of the house.

   Everything else gets measured against this, so draw it in one motion rather than in short careful passes. A slightly lopsided shape drawn confidently is more use than a perfect one built out of twelve nervous strokes, because you can correct a shape and you cannot un-see a hesitant line.

   چاودێری بکە Drawing it small to leave room for detail. The big shape is most of the drawing - use the space.

   پشکنین It should fill most of your page, with a margin all round.

2. هەنگاو 2

   Put a triangle on top for the roof.

   The base of the triangle sits exactly on the top of the square - same width, no overhang yet. Aim for a roof about a third of the total height; that is the proportion that reads as an ordinary house.

   چاودێری بکە Making the roof too shallow, which turns the house into a shed.

   پشکنین The roof should be roughly a third as tall as the wall.

3. هەنگاو 3

   Extend the roof slightly past the walls on both sides.

   Real roofs overhang. Two short lines poking out past the corners is a tiny change that immediately makes the house look built rather than diagrammed.

   چاودێری بکە Making the overhang enormous, which reads as a bandstand.

   پشکنین The overhang should be small - about the width of a window frame.

4. هەنگاو 4

   Draw a light guide line across the wall for the windows.

   This is the same trick as the eye line on a face: put the ruler down before the features, not after. Windows at different heights are the most common thing that makes a house look rushed, and this one line prevents it entirely.

   چاودێری بکە Skipping the guide and placing each window by eye.

   پشکنین The line should be horizontal and cross the whole wall.

5. هەنگاو 5

   Draw the door, slightly off-centre, sitting on the ground.

   Off-centre looks more natural than dead middle and leaves room for a window beside it. The bottom of the door must sit exactly on the bottom of the wall - a door that floats is very noticeable.

   چاودێری بکە Leaving a gap under the door.

   پشکنین The door's bottom edge should be ON the wall's bottom edge.

6. هەنگاو 6

   Add a window on the guide line.

   A square with a cross through it is enough. Keep it small relative to the wall - beginners routinely draw windows so large the house looks like a shopfront.

   چاودێری بکە Drawing the window bigger than the door.

   پشکنین The window should be smaller than the door.

7. هەنگاو 7

   Draw the second window to match the first.

   Compare it to the one you just drew rather than to your idea of a window: same size, same angle, same distance from the centre. This is the comparison habit that fixes proportion everywhere, and a pair is the easiest place to practise it because the error is obvious once you look for it.

   چاودێری بکە Making the second window smaller - it usually happens because your hand is more cramped on that side.

   پشکنین Both should sit the same distance from the centre line.

8. هەنگاو 8

   Add a chimney on one slope of the roof.

   Put it on the slope rather than at the peak, and make its sides vertical even though the roof is sloping. A chimney that leans with the roof is the classic beginner tell.

   چاودێری بکە Drawing the chimney perpendicular to the roof slope.

   پشکنین Both chimney sides should be vertical, like the walls.

9. هەنگاو 9

   Draw a ground line running behind the house.

   One horizontal line either side anchors the house to the earth. Without it the building floats, no matter how well you have drawn it - the same reason a cast shadow matters on an apple.

   چاودێری بکە Drawing the ground line touching only the corners.

   پشکنین The line should pass behind the house and out both sides.

10. هەنگاو 10

    Add the door handle and a little smoke.

    Detail is suggested, never itemised. A handful of marks in the right places lets the eye fill in the rest, and drawing every one flattens the drawing into texture. Put them where they matter and stop early.

    چاودێری بکە Adding detail evenly all over, which removes the contrast between busy areas and quiet ones.

    پشکنین Step back. You should still read the big shape first, detail second.

11. هەنگاو 11

    Go over the lines you want to keep, and lose the guides.

    This is the step that turns a construction drawing into a finished one, and it is the one most people skip. Press harder on the outline and the features; leave the small stuff light. That difference in weight is what makes a drawing look deliberate rather than traced, and it costs thirty seconds.

    چاودێری بکە Going over everything at the same weight, which flattens the drawing back out.

    پشکنین The outline should be clearly darker than the smallest details.