Digital Drawing for Landscape Architecture: Contemporary Techniques and Tools for Digital Representation in Site Design

Digital Drawing for Landscape Architecture won the “Award of Excellence” from the 2012 Professional Awards and Student Awards by the American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA).

For a hundred years, pencil, pen, markers, and watercolor have been the principal tools of representation for landscape architects and urban planners. Today, those hand-powered aids have been replaced by computers and Computer-aided design (CAD). Digital Drawing for Landscape Architects bridges the gap between the traditional analog and the new digital tools and shows you how to apply timeless concepts of representation to enhance your design work in digital media.

Building on the tried-and-true principles of analog representation, Digital Drawing for Landscape Architecture explores specific techniques for creating landscape design digitally. It explains the similarities and differences between analog and digital rendering, and then walks you through the steps of creating digitally rendered plans, perspectives, and diagrams. You’ll explore:

• Computing Basics
• Raster and vector images
• Setting up the document
• Base imagery and scaling
• Hand-drawn linework and diagrams
• Text, leaders, and page layout
• Color, shading, and textures
• Creating a section elevation
• Perspective drawing
• Techniques for using the newest versions of Adobe Illustrator, Photoshop, and Acrobat as well as older versions

With more than 500 full-color drawings and photographs alongside proven techniques, Digital Drawing for Landscape Architects will help you enhance your skills though a unique marriage of contemporary methods with traditional rendering techniques.

Bradley Cantrell is Principal of and Partner in Visual Logic Inc. and a founding partner in LND Digital Workshop, digital media training and consulting. He is also Assistant Professor, School of Landscape Architecture, Louisiana State University. He received an MLA II from the Harvard University Graduate School of Design with a concentration in digital site representation and interactive spaces.

Wes Michaels is a principal of Spackman+Mossop+Michaels Landscape Architects and a partner in LND Digital Workshop, digital media training and consulting. He is also an Assistant Professor of Landscape Architecture, Louisiana State University. He received an MLA from the Harvard University Graduate School of Design.