Drawing of the Cathedral of Santiago De Compostela

With these instructions we are going to learn how to draw the façade of the cathedral of Santiago de Compostela. What we learn can be used to draw any other building or place.

6B pencil

2B pencil

Rubber

Rule (not mandatory)

Bracket

Carthage

Drawing paper (I used an A3 blog)

First of all make sure that the whole building will enter the sheet with its proper proportions. To do this we will draw the geometric shapes that approximate the drawing. That is to say, we will draw the general form without doing any type of detail. As we are going to draw shapes it is very important that the horizontal lines are real, if not it will seem that the building is falling, and the vertical ones, the same. That's why we're going to use the square and the ruler.

Seeing the drawing in a mirror helps us see if the sketch is well done.

Important! This step must be done with the 2B pencil, which paints lighter than the other. You should not squeeze too much. If you make a mistake, nothing happens, it is a matter of trying until everything is well proportioned. The normal thing is to use the rubber a lot in this step.

When we have all the sketch it's time to start drawing more details, but don't get obsessed, just draw the biggest and most eye-catching, also use the 2B.
After or at the same time we can start coloring, that is, shading. Start from less to more, even if something is black do not paint it black directly, you have to go little by little, raising the tone homogeneously. Now you can use the 6B pencil, it is a very soft and very dark pencil, therefore, you must be careful not to stain what you do not want to stain.

To blur never use your finger, if you do it can not be erased, use a cloth, paper or if you have a blur.

Slowly you move through the drawing and add more and more details.

If you are copying it from an image it is not a bad idea to enlarge it to see the shadows well. To give light to your drawing you can leave areas blank, blurred with the pencil very gently or erase with the eraser. The last option is the best one to create concrete and very defined lights. Don't be afraid of contrasts! But note that colors are often degraded. The more exact the shadows and lights are, the more realistic our drawing will be. This doesn't mean that if it's not wrong, you can give it all the artistic touches you want. To make it 100% realistic we have the cameras.

Tip: In order not to stain with your own hand you can put it on a piece of paper or turn your drawing around.

It is recommended to use spray lacquer to fix the drawing and not to spoil it, but before that make sure it is all finished and sign it!