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Learn to draw a simple town hall front elevation using a proportion grid, column spacing, step blocks and a clear roofline. Includes practice tasks and checks.
This guide teaches a front-elevation drawing of a town hall facade. You will set a proportion grid, place columns at even spacing, build a step block, and finish a roofline. The method is flat and frontal, so no perspective is needed. All measurements are simple counts or hypothetical examples; measure your own paper and tools. A convention is stated for judging line quality and lettering so valid alternatives are accepted.
Practice materials: Printable downloads are not available for this lesson yet. Use the instructions and four exercises below.
Choose a drawing area on paper. Mark a baseline for the ground and a midline for the top of the main wall. The distance between baseline and midline is the wall height. Divide the wall width into equal column bays: for five columns, use four equal gaps between column centres. Lightly mark vertical guide lines at each column centre.
Use a simple unit: one grid square equals one column width. For example, if a column is two squares wide, five columns times two squares (10) plus four gaps times two squares (8) give a total facade width of eighteen squares. These numbers are hypothetical; adjust to your paper size.
At each column centre, draw a vertical rectangle for the shaft. Keep shafts the same width and height. Add a simple capital as a wider rectangle at the top and a base as a wider rectangle at the bottom. Use the convention that a clean edge is a single continuous line; slight variation in line weight is acceptable if the shape reads clearly.
Check column spacing by counting squares between centres. If the gaps differ, adjust the guide lines before darkening.
The step block sits below the baseline. Draw three horizontal step edges, each wider than the one above, centred on the facade. Use equal step height and equal side overhang. A simple arithmetic check: if each step is one square high and the block is three steps, the total step height is three squares.
Keep step edges parallel to the baseline. The bottom step should be the widest and the top step the narrowest.
Above the capitals, draw the cornice as a horizontal band whose bottom edge lies on the midline, which is the top of the main wall. The tops of the capitals meet the midline, and the cornice sits directly on that line. In the worked example, the shaft, capital and base together fill the wall height up to the midline, so the capital top is at the midline and the cornice rests on it.
Final check: count columns, count step edges, and confirm the roofline is centred. Use the rubric to judge clarity, not exact replication.
Draw a five-column town hall facade on a grid where each column is two squares wide and each gap is two squares. The wall is nine squares high. Add three steps, each one square high, and a pediment two squares high.
Facade width is five columns times two squares plus four gaps times two squares, giving eighteen squares. Mark a baseline and a midline nine squares above it; the midline is the top of the main wall and the cornice line. Place five column centres with two-square gaps. Draw shafts two squares wide and seven squares high, leaving one square for capital and one for base. Draw the cornice as a horizontal line at the midline, directly above the capitals. Draw three step edges below the baseline, each one square high, with the bottom step widest. Add a centred pediment two squares high above the cornice. Check: five columns, three step edges, pediment peak on the middle column centre, and shaft plus capital plus base equals nine squares, with the cornice at the midline.
A facade has three columns, each two squares wide, with two gaps of two squares. What is the total facade width in squares?
Ten squares.
Why: Three columns times two squares equals six squares; two gaps times two squares equals four squares; six plus four equals ten.
Check: Count column widths and gaps separately, then add; confirm the sum matches the marked total width.
A step block has four steps, each one square high. The top step is six squares wide and each lower step is two squares wider. What is the bottom step width?
Twelve squares.
Why: From top to bottom there are three increases of two squares: six plus two plus two plus two equals twelve.
Check: List widths from top to bottom as six, eight, ten, twelve and confirm four steps.
A wall is ten squares high. The cornice sits at the midline. Capitals take one square and bases take one square. How many squares remain for each column shaft?
Eight squares.
Why: Subtract capital and base from wall height: ten minus one minus one equals eight.
Check: Add shaft, capital and base heights: eight plus one plus one equals ten, matching the wall height to the midline.
A pediment is centred over a five-column facade. The middle column centre is at square nine from the left edge. Where should the pediment peak be placed?
At square nine from the left edge.
Why: A centred pediment peak aligns with the middle column centre in an odd-column facade.
Check: Measure from the left edge to the peak and from the peak to the right edge; the two distances should be equal.
No. This is a flat front elevation. Keep all horizontal lines parallel to the baseline and all vertical lines perpendicular to the baseline (parallel to the paper's side edges).
Five is a simple choice. Any odd number works if the centre column aligns with the pediment peak.
The convention accepts slight variation if the shape reads clearly. Use a ruler for guides, then draw freehand if you prefer.
No. They are hypothetical examples. Measure your paper and choose counts that fit.