Much suggestion for the sympathetic handling of particular subjects may be found in the character of the architecture itself.  The illustrator ought to enter into the spirit of the designer, ought to feel just what natural accessories lend themselves most harmoniously to this or that particular type.  If the architecture be quaint and picturesque it must not have prosaic surroundings.  If, on the other hand, it be formal or monumental, the character and scale of the accessories should be accordingly serious and dignified.  The rendering ought also to vary with the subject,—­a free picturesque manner for the one, a more studied and responsible handling for the other.  Technique is the language of art, and a stiff pompous phraseology will accord ill with a story of quaint humor or pathos, while the homely diction that might answer very well would be sure to struggle at a disadvantage with the stately meanings and diplomatic subtleties of a state document.

[Side note:  Rendering of Detail]

It would be well for the student, before venturing upon whole subjects, to learn to render details, such as windows, cornices, etc.  Windows are a most important feature of the architectural drawing, and the beginner must study them carefully, experimenting for the method which will best represent their glassy surfaces.  No material gives such play of light and shade as glass does.  One window is never absolutely like another; so that while a certain uniformity in their value may be required for breadth of effect in the drawing of a building, there is plenty of opportunity for incidental variety in their treatment.

A few practical hints on the rendering of windows may prove serviceable.  Always emphasize the sash.  Where there is no recess, as in wooden buildings, strengthen the inner line of sash, as in Fig. 41.  In masonry buildings the frame and sash can be given their proper values, the area of wood being treated broadly, without regard to the individual members.  The wood may, however, be left white if required, as would be the case in Colonial designs.  In either case the dark shadow which the sash casts on the glass should be suggested, if the scale of the drawing be such as to permit of it.  Do not try to show too much.  One is apt to make a fussy effect, if, for instance, one insists on always shading the soffit of the masonry opening, especially if the scale of the drawing be small.  Besides, a white soffit is not a false but merely a forced value, as in strong sunlight the reflected light is considerable.  If the frame be left white, however, the soffit ought to be shaded, otherwise it will be difficult to keep the values distinct.  In respect of wooden buildings there is no need to always complete the mouldings of the architrave.  Notice in Fig. 41 that, in the window without the muntins, the mouldings have been carried round the top to give color, but that in the other they are merely suggested at the corners so as to avoid confusion.  Care should be taken to avoid mechanical rendering of the muntins.  For the glass itself, a uniformly flat tone is to be avoided.  The tones should soften vaguely.  It will be found, too, that it is not advisable to have a strong dark effect at the top of the window and another at the bottom; one should predominate.