Sketching Life Online Workshops
Learn how to design a sketch from start to finish.
A practical system to observe, decide, and build a scene on location.
Work faster.
Simplify complex scenes.
Sketch with confidence when time is limited.
Current focus: Shadows-First
Scenes of Santiago, Chile
Next LIVE Series Begins In
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Online LIVE Workshops via Zoom
WHEN: Thursdays at 10am PST / 19:00 CET (see full dates below)
Series of 4 Workshops, $115
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Four guided workshops over the selected month
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Live sessions with Q&A and feedback
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Replay access included
You’ll Learn How To:
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Sketch scenes in increasing difficulty each week.
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Build a sketch in two parts: ink first, watercolor second.
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Share your progress in the community for connection
LIVE participants receive real-time guidance and feedback.
What to Expect
We meet live on Zoom for 1.5 to 2 hours of immersive sketching. Each session is guided step-by-step, just like being there in person — and recorded in HD so you can rewatch and refine at your own pace.
You’ll only need your usual sketching kit and watercolors
(Full materials list in the FAQs below.)
February Series – Scenes of Santiago, Chile
Dates:
Thursdays: 12, 19, 26
Tuesday: 24
Start Sketching While you Wait:
12 full workshops designed to build skills progressively.
Best-Of-2025 Workshops — $97
Full HD 1080p video
12 workshops organized into three learning paths:
• Foundations — perspective, form, and line clarity
• Watercolor & Composition — shadows, shapes, and color choices
• Advanced Techniques — complex architecture + night sketching
You’ll sketch scenes of Portugal, Brazil, Mexico, Morocco, Vienna, Paris, Marseille, and San Fransisco.
That’s 24+ hours of structured, narrated instruction designed to help you level up.
Student Artwork Gallery
Frequently Asked Questions
Are video recordings available?
Workshop replays
• Replays are available the day after each live class.
• You can watch them until the next month’s workshop series begins.
What materials and supplies should I have?
From a full art box, to additional tools than can be bought on Amazon.
- Small pocket sketchbook for quick practice drawings.
- Watercolor sketchbook or block minimum (A4 size)
- (1) color pencil (blue color preferred)
- Watercolors: add colors: ultramarine blue, yellow ochre, indian red, burnt sienna, lemon yellow, urban grey,
- Brushes: 1 mop brush, 2 round brushes, 2 flat brushes
- Permanent ink pens: Min. (3) line size pens or a fude nib fountain pen filled with ink, a black brush pen.
- Two waterbrushes diluted with waterproof grey or black ink. One dark and one light. Test your mixes for best results (Noodler’s Lexington Gray suggested)
- Water/ cup and paper towel
If I am completely new to urban/ architecture sketching, Is this workshop appropriate for me?
Yes absolutely and it is encouraged. We will work through foundation building for the complete beginner in a fun hit-the-ground-running way.
If I am more advanced will I still find value in this course?
The exciting thing about this workshop is that it will equip you with new ways to SEE. You will get unique professional architectural trained methodologies while discovering Alán’s particular technique and approach. But more than that you will return home with a boost of inspiration and vision to continue in your journey.
What if I cancel at the last minute?
Because we are a small group, last minute cancellations are nonrefundable.
Finish sketches faster with the Shadows-First Method
A simple, proven approach I use when the light is moving fast and I’m short on time.
This will be valuable for you if you want to…
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Sketch confidently without overthinking composition
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Add depth and life instantly with simple shadow placement
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A method you can use anywhere, from cafés to cityscapes
Your free download is a designed and printable PDF for you to take on-location.
Workshop Image Gallery
Images from New York. Mexico, Portugal and Brazil
Alán Ramiro Manning
@seethelines
Alán Ramiro, an urban sketcher and educator based in Lisbon, combines his decade of architectural experience with a passion for travel and creativity. Through his workshops, Alán shares transformative techniques—like his innovative “sketching shadows first” approach, designed to help sketchers infuse personal experiences and energy into their art. Inspired by his studies abroad in Barcelona and a philosophy of embracing creativity through necessity, Alán’s teaching goes beyond replication, guiding participants to capture the essence of time, place, and spirit in every sketch.
I really enjoyed this course by Seethelines! I would highly recommend anyone seeking to start or improve their travel/urban sketching, to take part in the course. Alán is not only shares expert knowledge of sketching and watercolour but also inspires to enjoy the whole process from start to finish. It was a great experience following and trying out the process for myself. I’m already a fan of his work but looking out for any more courses by Alán!
Great course breaking up the sketching process in proper phases. I am partial to organized approaches 😀 Main necessary knowledge for a great start imparted & good practical examples demonstrated. There’s everything here for a beginner & some good ideas for a more seasoned sketcher.
Wow, I really enjoyed this class! Alan breaks the material down into steps simple enough for a beginner, but there is plenty of content for an intermediate watercolorist as well. His tips on perspective were especially useful. The scene we painted was quite complex. It included plants and trees, buildings, water and boats. It was fun to paint and very informative. Thanks, Alan! I look forward to enrolling in more of your classes!
Hello, we are the New York City chapter of the international group called Urban Sketchers. We had the pleasure of collaborating with Alán Ramiro Manning in November 2022 and presented our members with the opportunity to take his workshop “See the Lines-Shape and Sharpen the World Around You.”
Alán was very enthusiastic about these workshops and willing to collaborate with us. We met a few weeks before to talk about his ideas for the workshop, review his portfolio, pick a location, scout out sketching spots and discuss how to facilitate his workshop for our membership. I know he also went back multiple times on his own to the location to sketch and scout out the venue.
Alán gave two sessions, three hours each; both sessions sold out and were given in an indoor space in downtown Manhattan. The response from attendees was enthusiastic, and we look forward to working with Alán again on his next visit to New York.