1. Gain and improve skills

I believe that urban sketching regularly can expand your skill set and hone the ones you already have. I’m not just talking about technical drawing skills–also abilities related to observation, composition, and creativity. Skills I think urban sketching helps with:

Perspective: One-point, two-point, three-point. etc., considering the perspective of a whole scene and complex forms, not just a rectangular prism, as is typically the focus of beginner drawing classes
Composition: Choosing a scene and a focal point, figuring out what you find interesting or important and arranging it purposefully in the frame, practice golden ratio and other composition techniques
Observation: Learning how to absorb and analyze the scene with all your senses, notice and appreciate details, understand what makes the atmosphere of a place what it is
Drawing people: When sketching a scene from observation, there are limitless activities people could be doing and limitless diversity (in every sense of the word) of people themselves
Capturing movement and energy: Makes you consider how to convey both the movement of people, vehicles, animals, etc., and the energy or vibe of the scene itself
Color: There is so, so much to learn and experiment with regarding color. Urban sketching is a perfect opportunity to do this.
Light and shadow: Sketching outdoors in particular allows for real-world practice of sketching light and shadow.
Creating the illusion of details (“abstraction”): This is a crucial ability of urban sketchers. We don’t sketch one thing for hours or days and are not aiming for realism. With practice, you’ll learn how to determine what details are worth spending time on and how to create an illusion of intense detail.
Become a more efficient, confident creator: For me, this is one of the most transformational aspects of urban sketching. With limited time and materials, urban sketching pushes you to adjust your creative process in a way that allows for quicker decision-making. Over time, you will become more confident in your decisions and also get better at embracing “mistakes” and “imperfections.” It was also a game-changer to be able to work faster. I can produce an urban sketch I am fully satisfied with in an hour, whereas when I started, most sketches were seriously unfinished or took 2+ hours. Life is busy, and it’s nice to feel like I can urban sketch with more limited time and also expend less energy to do so.

*Me at the International Urban Sketchers Symposium in Toulouse, France, 2026*

2. Be a part of a local and global community

There are over 500 Urban Sketchers chapters around the world. You can enjoy sketching with your local community, and if you travel, you can drop in and sketch with the chapter in the city you are visiting. There are few activities in the world that have this perk AND do not cost money.

It’s fulfilling to connect with others who share the same passion and interest, and it’s fun to engage with each other about one another’s work. You never know where the networking and friendships might lead,

3. Document your life

One of my favorite aspects of urban sketching is that it is like creating a visual, analog journal. Photos are great–I really like photography–but nothing compares to spending 1-2 hours observing a scene in-person and capturing it on your paper through your personal “lens.” It is brought up frequently in urban sketching books and videos that sketching a scene will help you remember it in a much more detailed manner than if you only relied on a photograph.

When I look through my sketchbooks, it really does feel like a diary. I make sure to mark the date, time, and location of my sketches. Some sketchers even include written commentary to supplement their sketches. I care about documenting my life, and doing this through such an enjoyable and creative process makes it all the more special and personalized.

4. Memorialize and preserve culture, places

I mentioned that urban sketching can be used as a way of personal documentation, but it can also be applied on a larger scale, to your community and culture. There are numerous cases of USk chapters sketching a historical building before it is demolished or majorly renovated, or sketching an important event like a “No Kings Day” march.

There’s something powerful and soul-stirring about collectively working to keep a memory alive.

My USk chapter had the opportunity to memorialize a historical space just this summer. Our group sketched at a historical coal pocket in the Philadelphia neighborhood of Manayunk to preserve the site and to raise awareness of a petition to stop a developer from building an apartment complex at the location. It felt good to sketch for a good cause.

*My urban sketch of Logan Square in Philadelphia*

5. See your surroundings in a new way

I encourage you to go to your town center and spend 1-2 hours urban sketching there. I guarantee that the process of closely observing a scene for this extended period of time will have you noticing details about your home that you hadn’t before.

It’s not just the static visual, like building structure, that you will observe. You’ll notice patterns in foot traffic, the diversity and behavior of people, the smells of the local cafe or the garbage truck or the chlorine of the fountain, how the sun’s changing position casts various shadows, and the overall energy and atmosphere of a place–all the details that define a place that only reveal themselves through prolonged observation.

For me, this leads to feeling more appreciative of a place and more interested in life.

6. Ground yourself

I’ve heard a number of people say that they consider urban sketching to be “meditative.” In our screen-obsessed, fast-paced, capitalist society, this is a quiet activity that requires sustained attention and in-person interaction. Studies have shown the benefits of drawing to be numerous and significant. The same is true with in-person experiences and interactions compared to screen-based interactions.

Personally, I’ve noticed the positive impact that sketching and attending USk meetups has on me. The most succinct way I can describe it is that I come away from the meetup with an overwhelming feeling that my cup is full. I feel that drawing in general has a way of regulating my nervous system. If I scroll on my phone for 30 minutes versus drawing for 30 minutes, the difference in how I feel after is immense. Socializing with fellow sketchers at the meetups is the cherry on top.

7. Drawing with purpose

A lot of people want to get better at drawing, start learning how to draw, or just draw more often in general, but finding the motivation to do this and deciding what to draw can be barriers.

All the positive reasons mentioned previously are motivating.

Urban sketching removes the “what should I draw” obstacle because the location gives you direction, and the time limit (usually meetups are 1.5-2.5 hours) forces you to make a decision about what your subject is and get to drawing.

No matter how long the session, you can end it with a sense of achievement. You did something, and you have the proof.

8. It’s free (and fun!)

One of the tenets of urban sketching is that the chapter meetups are free. For those of us living in the U.S., we know that free, social events are rare to come by. These free meetups are available on a global scale and are open to everyone.

And finally, on top of all these great things, urban sketching is just plain ol’ fun! If all the other reasons listed don’t convince you that urban sketching is worth your time, at least give it a shot for the joy of it.

8 Reasons to Start Urban Sketching