Posted April 18, 2016 | by Lora Teagarden | in blog, business

Sneak peek into the AREsketches book

A couple months ago, the #ArchiTalks series was on “Tools” and, after fielding some questions on how the AREsketches get created, I decided to cover that in depth as a part of the blog. Fast-forward 2 months and those sketches have been assembled into a newly minted study guide. The AREsketches book published last Sunday and I’ve been so thrilled with the support and turnout – it’s already sold 47 copies! I know that’s nothing if you’re John Green, but it’s a great feeling to continue to see this idea grow.

The reality is I shouldn’t be surprised at how well it’s done so far. After all, you guys have been so supportive along the path and interested in the sketches as they were published. It’s crazy to think that something that started as sharing sketches once a week on Instagram organically grew into 3 sketches a week, then 5, then 6 with a newsletter that provided additional insight, then a book. All because there was a need and an interest from people like you to learn. I love knowing that I’m helping other inspired young architects-to-be in their path to licensure. Because in the end, a passionate young architect bent on making the world better is a major positive in my mind. I’ve also been thrilled to see architecture-adjacent professionals take an interest in the sketches, enjoying learning more about our awesome profession.

Because of all of this, I wanted to give a sneak peek into the first (Yes, there will be more. The second is already in process.) AREsketches book that you guys helped make happen.

I can’t even begin to describe how giddy this sight makes me. The first batch of #AREsketches are in my possession and ready to go to their new owners. The buyers are people testing, friends supporting, and architecture fans alike. It’s been great to see who all is interested in learning more about architecture! If you haven’t gotten your copy yet, go to the link in my profile and grab one! More sketches are being made by the day.

A photo posted by Lora Teagarden (@l2designllc) on Apr 13, 2016 at 3:18pm PDT

After a great deal of research and talking to other awesome architects who’ve published books (Eric Reinholdt and Mike Riscica were invaluable), I decided to publish with Amazon but market and list it on my website as well. Yes, it requires more legwork for me, but I can list it at a cheaper price. This was a big factor for me because I remember what it was like to test and feel like all of the study material options would break the bank before I was able to finish the path to licensure. So even a savings of $8 adds up. Heck, it at least covers the beer/wine/cocktail in celebration after passing one of the tests. A whole other blog could be written about the publishing process, but for now let’s dive into the book!

“Insert wise sayings here”
…that’s literally what I put as a placeholder while finishing the sketches for this first book. The truth is that getting your license is one of the biggest undertakings you will experience in your life, but it doesn’t have to be exceptionally hard or scary. Each person’s path to licensure will be different, but the goal of this book is to help make the process a little easier.

In talking with a friend about the process of studying after I completed my tests, I told him that I would read through the study material but find myself sketching out the idea to make sure I understood the verbiage. He said he tended towards the same thing on occasion. I talked to others who expressed interest in seeing the sketches…and AREsketches™ was born.

Architects are visual people, but so much of the study material is word-based. With ongiong changes to the ARE format, this visual aspect will be even more important to understand. As I thought more about this afterwards, I decided to take my sketches and refine them for sharing. I have been slowly sharing them on Instagram with the hashtag #AREsketches and hosting them on my website. After gathering a bit of a following from those taking their tests or simply interested in architecture, I decided to gather and focus all the information in a book to help those interested in a physical form of the sketches.

Consider it a flipbook. A sketchbook. A study guide. It, as well as your path to licensure, is entirely up to you and what you make of it. Each sketch should take 30 seconds to a couple minutes to understand, some being more complex than others. Read one, or 5, a day. Read 10. Read it all in a day. Scribble in the margins, create your own sketches alongside the ones in this book…mark it up as you please. Dog-ear the pages or don’t. Maybe go crazy with post-its or tab devices. The world is your oyster.

Seriously, I know all that sounds funny, but you know best how you retain and comprehend material. So do what you need to with this book because the point is licensure…the shiny pot of gold at the end of the long rainbow that is testing. It does exist, and you will be an architect. I believe in you and hopefully this book will help.

I get a handful of emails each week from people just like you, working hard towards getting their license. I love hearing from them and I love being able to help. That is the root of where this book was born – because a young licensed architect empowered to make the world better is net positive, so if you ever have any questions or just want to drop me a line – please don’t hesitate. To that end, I’ve listed below all of the places you can find me. The goal is to get you licensed and I’m excited to be on this journey with
you. Good luck!