Do you avoid drawing people in your

sketches because "it's just easier"?


You're not alone in this. Most sketchers are not struggling because they try and fail. 

Most are simply avoiding drawing people altogether.

"Drawing People is not my forte..."
"I usually leave the people out because it's easier."
"I'm not confident drawing people at all!"

Sound familiar?

I get it. I used to do the same.

People feel intimidating. They move. They bend. They look "wrong" fast.

Next to a tree or a building, it's so much easier to just leave them out.


One stiff figure with the wrong proportions, floating instead of standing, and the good sketch you were proud of starts to feel ruined.


So you make the safe choice. You close the sketchbook with the streets empty and the plazas deserted.

No life.

No movement.

No one walking through.

Here's the thing: It was never about talent, and it was never about anatomy.

Nobody showed you the simple way in.

So you kept avoiding the one skill that would bring your sketches to life.

A scene without people often feels dead.

A space without scale is hard to read.
And a sketch without life is much harder to connect with.

Your lines can be great. Your perspective can hold. And the scene can still feel lifeless, empty, and boring.

That’s what people add, and nothing else really replaces:

  • life
  • movement
  • scale
  • story

A figure walking through tells the eye how tall the doorway is. A few more suggest a moment, a time of day, a place that’s actually used. Without them, it’s just an empty set.

This isn’t about saving a sketch. A strong drawing stays strong. It’s about the difference between a scene that’s technically correct and one that feels alive, and that difference is almost always the people.

Now imagine this…

You’re sitting in front of a busy café, and drawing people doesn’t scare you anymore. You drop a figure in to set the scale, then a few more to fill the terrace, walking, sitting, mid-conversation. They land where you want them. They stand on the ground or sit on benches. They complement the mood and atmosphere of the sketch. And the scene comes alive under your pen.

That’s not a talent you’re born with. 

It's a way of seeing, knowing what to look at, what to simplify, and what to ignore.

The trick I learned from an architect, not an anatomy book

Years ago, during my studies, I was presenting a new design concept. Loose, half-baked drawings of an organic form.

The professor kept stopping me with one question: "How big is it?"

I didn't have a clean answer. There was no scale on the drawing, no number, nothing to measure it against. The form was loose, so it was confusing.

Then he spotted the counter in the restaurant part of the section. He took my pen, and right next to it, in about half a second, drew one quick gesture of a human figure.

That was it. Suddenly the scale was obvious. Not just to him, to anyone who looked at it.

One loose figure. No anatomy, no detail. And the drawing finally said what I meant.

That's the shortcut. And it can be taught. Let me show you how.

Introducing...

Drawing People in Perspective

A self-paced online course that gives you the architect's approach to figures. Practical, fast, and built for real scenes, not academic figure drawing.

Inside, you'll learn:

  • Simple tricks for drawing people quickly and confidently
  • Easy rules for proportion, poses, and movement
  • How to place people in perspective so they stand on the ground instead of floating
  • A practical way to use figures to define scale, so a building reads clearly at a glance
  • How to suggest a crowd, a walk, a moment, with just a few marks

The goal isn't to turn you into a figure-drawing expert. It's to make people the part of the sketch you reach for, not the part you avoid.

What you get when you join

This is the full, edited training from the 2-hour LIVE workshop, rebuilt into a course you can move through at your own pace.

  • The complete method, broken into 17 bite-sized lessons. Short, focused videos you can watch in order or jump back to when you're stuck on one thing.
  • A practical 18-page PDF handout. The rules, examples, and reference you'll keep open in your sketchbook.
  • Printable worksheets and practice materials. So you're not just watching. You're drawing, and you walk away with figures already in your book.
  • Recorded Q&A section with answers to commonly asked questions
  • Lifetime access + Free future updates. Revisit any lesson, anytime, on paper or iPad.

All of it for a one-time $49 USD during launch. That's 50% off the regular $99 price, and it's yours for life. Offer ends June 29.

The self-paced course includes 17 bite-sized lessons 👇


Quick to go through and simple to implement!

  Welcome! Start Here
Available in days
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  Drawing People in Perspective - Lessons
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  LIVE Workshop Replay
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After this course, you'll be the sketcher who adds people on purpose.



Is this for you?


✅ This is for you if:

  • You can draw buildings and scenes, but you leave the people out because it feels easier
  • Your sketches feel technically fine and a little lifeless, and you know people are the missing piece
  • You want a simple way to draw figures without overthinking anatomy
  • You want to use people to show scale and story in your architectural or urban scenes
  • You've avoided this skill for a while and you're ready to finally start


❌ This is not for you if:

  • You want a full academic figure drawing or anatomy course
  • You're after portrait work or polished character illustration
  • You already draw people in perspective with full confidence

Meet Your Teacher

David Drazil, MSc.


Architect | Content Creator | Speaker | Author

I'm a trained architect, author, and the creator of Sketch Like an Architect. I've taught more than 15,000 students how to sketch with confidence, on paper and on iPad.

I'll tell you a secret. I struggled with drawing people too. It's one of the most avoided skills in sketching, and for a long time I understood why.

Then I worked out that the problem was never anatomy. It was approach. Once I started teaching figures the way a sketcher actually needs them, simple, fast, and believable, the fear disappeared for my students. This course is that exact method.

Try it for 30 days, risk-free.

Go through the lessons. Do the worksheets. Add people to a few real sketches.

If it doesn't give you a simpler, more confident way to draw figures, email me within 30 days and I'll refund you. No hard feelings.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do I need to be good at drawing people already?

No. This course is built for people who avoid figures or feel stuck on them. You start from where you are.

Do I need to know anatomy?

No. That's the whole point. You'll learn to draw believable figures with simple rules and shortcuts, not muscles and measurements.

How is this different from free tutorials on YouTube?

Free tutorials show you a finished drawing. This gives you the method behind it, in order, with worksheets so you actually practice and a handout you keep. You leave with figures already in your sketchbook, not just a video you watched once.

Is this for urban sketchers or architects?

Both. The method works the same whether you're sketching a city street or showing scale in a design drawing.

I've tried to improve before and didn't stick with it. Will this be different?

This is one focused skill, taught in short lessons, with practice built in. It's small enough to finish and useful enough to keep using. That's what makes it stick.

What do I get, and how long do I have access?

The full edited 2-hour training in bite-sized lessons, an 18-page PDF handout, and worksheets. Lifetime access and free future updates.

What if it's not for me?

You're covered by a 30-day money-back guarantee. If it's not the right fit, email me for a refund.

Don't see your questions here?

If you have any questions, just let me know via email at david@sketchlikeanarchitect.com and I'll get back to you ASAP!

Get Drawing People in Perspective
Only $49 — 50% off, launch price ends June 29
One payment. Lifetime access. 30-day money-back guarantee.