Turn Your House Photo Into a Sketch

Turning a house photo into a sketch

A sketch of a home is one of the most thoughtful gifts there is. Realtors give them to buyers at closing, families give them when parents sell the house everyone grew up in, and new homeowners frame their first place.

Houses are also one of the most reliable subjects to sketch. Straight lines, windows and rooflines translate cleanly into a drawing, and even a simple phone photo can give a striking result.

Choosing the photo

• Stand across the street

  Shooting from further away and zooming in slightly keeps the walls straight. Standing close with a wide lens makes the house lean backwards.

• Shoot on an overcast day

  Soft light shows brick, siding and trim without the hard shadows that swallow windows and doors.

• Move the car

  Cars, bins and hoses in the driveway all end up in the drawing. A few minutes of tidying makes a big difference.

• Include a little of the garden

  A tree, a path or a flower bed frames the house and gives the sketch a sense of place. Just keep branches from covering the front.

Styles that suit it

• Pencil Sketch. Architectural and precise, with fine hatching. The classic closing-gift look, and the style of the first example above.
• Watercolor Sketch. Pencil lines under soft color washes. Warm and homely, and it keeps the garden's colors.
• Ink sketch. Lively pen lines that feel like a page from an artist's sketchbook.

Questions people ask

I am a realtor. Can I make these for clients?

Yes. One pack of credits covers many homes, and paid packs give watermark-free files at up to 4K for framing. Add the address and closing date beneath the sketch when you print it.

Can I use a screenshot from a map service?

It is better not to. Map screenshots are low resolution, usually cluttered, and not yours to reuse. A photo you take yourself, or the listing photo you have rights to, will give a much sharper sketch.