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When Ankrom Moisan Architects designer Sam Yerke has an initial idea for a project, he often sketches it out on paper.

鈥淓veryone has certain way of thinking through ideas, and some people do it by hand,鈥� he said. 鈥淚 have to draw it out to really imagine it 鈥� to test whether they’re good ideas.鈥�

A love of drawing influenced Yerke’s decision to study architecture, and putting pen to paper continues to play a role in his work at Ankrom Moisan’s Portland office. This ranges from sketches while studying different building design options to more finished architectural renderings that he draws with colored markers.

鈥淲hen I was younger, I wanted to find a profession where I could draw and make money,鈥� Yerke said. 鈥淚’ve always been drawn to the tactile experience of drawing by hand as opposed to using a computer.鈥�

Despite the prevalence of digitally produced architectural renderings, hand-drawn varieties still fill a niche in the industry, according to Yerke and Portland-area architectural illustrators.

鈥淭he fact that it’s still around is a sign that it has benefits that digital media does not,鈥� he said. 鈥淚t has a warm, cozier feeling that people are drawn to.鈥�

Sometimes, clients prefer this look to computer-generated renderings. Oftentimes the rougher appearance of a drawing or watercolor painting, compared to a photo-realistic digital rendering, better conveys to clients and the public that a building design is still in progress, illustrators said. In the early stages of design, drawn or painted renderings help set the scene, look and feel of a project. They also are easily relatable to a wide audience and can be powerful motivators for raising donations during capital campaigns for projects.

鈥淚t’s a way of personalizing it,鈥� said Martin Kyle-Milward, a St. Helens-based architectural illustrator who contracts with Portland-area architecture firms. 鈥淢ost people still respond to hand-painted, hand-drawn (works). They can tell. Some of these (digital) renderings now 鈥� it looks like you’re looking at the building, but it doesn’t have a soul.鈥�

The advent of digital renderings cut into the business of independent architectural illustrators, but the industry is evolving. Kyle-Milward, who for more than a decade has produced mostly watercolor renderings for architecture firms, said in recent years he’s been called in earlier in the design process when the project is still purely conceptual.

鈥淣ow, it’s more we do the work before the architect inputs (the design) into the computer,鈥� Kyle-Milward said. 鈥淵ou do sketches so they can show potential clients 鈥� We provide the pretty pictures for the promoters 鈥� the money people.鈥�

Dawn Carlton, a staff designer at Portland-based Hennebery Eddy Architects, specializes in watercolor renderings and usually produces one or two a year. Those serve specific purposes, such as convincing a potential client to hire the firm to design a project, she said.

鈥淔or proposals where there isn’t a design yet, it’s an idea,鈥� she said. 鈥淪o a watercolor illustration is a little looser.鈥�

That loose quality can be exactly what a project design team is looking for in an initial rendering, especially if it will be distributed widely or used for fundraising, Carlton said. This was the case in a project for the Oregon Rail Heritage Foundation when exhibits weren’t set yet.

鈥淲e want to show what it can be and let it inspire others’ imaginations,鈥� she said. 鈥淪ometimes with digital renderings they’re so photo-realistic they give the impression that everything is final.鈥�

Traditional architectural illustration techniques have remained constant, but computer 3-D modeling, paint and photo editing programs are changing the industry, said Richard Hoyen, a Portland-based watercolor architectural illustrator. More designers are producing renderings that merge traditional drawing and painting techniques with computer-generated graphics, he said.

鈥淚’ve seen some pretty good hybrid work where the boundaries are blurred,鈥� Hoyen said. 鈥淭hat intrigues me because it has the best of both worlds.鈥�

For presentation-quality renderings, architectural illustrators often start their work with a building outline printed from a digital 3-D model before drawing details 鈥� such as landscaping and people 鈥� that bring the image to life. Illustrators then scan finished drawings or paintings into a computer where they can digitally manipulate the renderings using programs like Photoshop.

鈥淚t’s really a mixture of digital and traditional tools,鈥� Yerke said.

Illustrators in collaboration with the design team put a lot of thought and consideration into choosing the best angle, lighting and time of day for a planned project in a rendering. They give the same care to the 鈥渆ntourage,鈥� paying close attention to the clothing, hairstyles and ages of the people populating the rendering.

鈥淲hat you’re evoking is the spirit of use and the people that are there,鈥� Hoyen said. 鈥淎ll these things can be shown long before you’ve designed the space itself.鈥�

This is one reason why a drawing or painting prevails as a catchy way to convey the story of how a space will be used, he said.

鈥淧art of it is the flexibility,鈥� Hoyen said. 鈥淚t does have a style. It’s always somewhat suggestive rather than literal. It’s one of those things about illustration that’s always intriguing.鈥�