In yesterday's post about loose architectural sketches, we talked about traditional pencil and pen-and-ink sketches. Today we'll talk about what I call a loose digital sketch. The loose digital sketch begins with a loose manual sketch composing the view and identifying the important elements in the proposed design.

But then the loose digital sketch takes a turn toward photoshop.

Working closely with the designer, the architectural renderer... assembles images in the character of the proposed design, then manipulates them to fit into the appropriate part of the drawing. It's really just that simple, although there is visual, architectural and photoshop skill involved in placing the elements.

As with loose traditional sketches, the purpose of the loose digital architectural rendering is to charm one's client and communicate the essence of the design in the briefest amount of time, saving the architect or interior designer thousands of dollars of unnecessary work in the concept and design development phases.

The digital architectural sketches seen in this post were created for a proposed aquarium project at a resort in Hainan, China. The architect was the multitalented Gregory Cranford of HOK.

(The author is a registered architect and architectural illustrator with years of experience helping architects and interior designers develop and present their ideas in dramatic and cost-effective ways. From concept design to final presentation, we work in your office or from our NYC studio. 413-250-8800.)