Mosselmemory

Hi Razgriz! Worry not. Apologies here as well for not seeing this notification until now.

Great job on doing these revisions! I won't pester you with more and will mark this lesson as complete.

I'll give you some final bits of feedback before you move on. On the dissections shape, you want to create a transition from dense to sparse, and you want the shapes on this form to follow the curve of the organic form. I'm not seeing those two things in your example. I'm seeing an improvement when it comes to drawing in cast shadows instead of lines though! The cracks between the stones truly feel like cracks instead of outlines.

Again, take a look at this image to see what I'm talking about.

For your spheres, make sure to go over them only 2-3 times. I see you draw through them more than that.

The intersections aren't fully convincing to me. Just like with how your shapes don't really wrap around the 3D form on the organic dissection page, I think this may suggest that you still struggle to "believe the lie" that everything you draw on the page is actually supposed to be 3D. Drawing is about tricking yourself into this lie. I'm afraid I can't give super specific advice on this, but it's very important. I really recommend you join the Draw A Box Discord server because there's a lot of poeple on there that are much more knowledgeable than I am, and they may be able to help you get more insight into this.

But as for this lesson, I'll mark it as complete! You can move on to lesson 3!

Hi Razgriz,

Great job on the revisions so far! The texture analysis transitions are looking much much better and I can't clearly identify a black or white bar on the sides anymore. Awesome!

I do still see that you outline every form in the middle. This suggests to me that you're still thinking in lines instead of shapes and cast shadows.

Even when you do draw a line, try to approach it like a shapes - because even if a shape is very thin, "actual" lines don't exist in nature! Example

So although your gradient is pretty good, I'm still seeing that outlining happen in the middle. Take a look at this example. See how the scales aren't outlined - but instead the shadows between them are accentuated? That's what you're going for!

I'm seeing that the textures you added on the dissections exercise still suffer from this outlining issue, and there's no transition from dense to sparse. I think for you it might be more valuable to do just one more of these dissections - just a single shape, don't even fill the page. And pay real close attention to how to suggest the texture without outlining. I think this is more important than the intersections exercise - that one is complicated and will come back later anyway.

If you do that, you don't have to do 2 pages of intersections - just do 1. That exercise is complicated and you're not expected to get it yet. It will come back later anyway.

One last note: because you're not drawing light, but you're instead drawing the 3D differences in your forms, you shouldn't draw materials like brass, glass, and chrome that are reflective. Apologies, I missed those on my first look.

This is great to hear!! Good luck!

Thanks so much! You're so right, I really need to stop correcting my mistakes. It's something i keep falling back into. So you're right, that isn't a lineweight issue ahah, but me going over things again to correct them. The note on the importance of size is such a good one. I will make sure to watch this video.

The light I see too now. I wasn't supposed to do form shadows but cast shadows instead (if I got the term right) - on the orange and eggplant I tried to make a gradient from dense to sparse but it was waaayy too sudden.

I'll keep all of these things in mind. Thank you!

Hi there Mjlindo! Great job on finishing this lesson. Here's some feedback:

Arrows:

Very confident lines! Great job! They also don't look wobbly. On the hatching: make sure that you hatch in the arrow's width, not length. Make sure that each hatching lines goes from one end of the arrow to the other (width-wise) and don't make them "fade out" - they should end and start on the border.

Organic Forms:

Very confident, very smooth! Again, very great job! The axis are mostly aligned and on some forms your ellipses get thinner in the middle as the perspective changes. So that's all great. The degree doesn't change on all ellipses, though, so make sure that the ellipses get thinner and thicker depending on that on every form. Your hooks are very nice. They really hook into the form and are nicely rounded. Very sometimes you run into this issue, but not often at all. I do see that you went over some of the hooks several times - make sure to not correct your lines. Ghost, make a mark, and then leave it as is.

Texture analysis:

There's a clear transition from the middle to the light area and I can see you took your time studying these. I'd say that the transition from dark to middle needs just a little more work, though. Right now it looks like one black bar on the right which makes the transition a bit sudden. Use the texture to smooth this out, and don't be afraid to use more black on that side!

I also notice that your pen is sometimes a bit faint and coloring in your black areas is sometimes a bit messy. It may help to use a fresh pen for the lines and outlines of the black areas so that it doesn't get faint, and then use a brush pen or something else to fill the blacks in.

Dissection:

Nice variety of textures and you aren't afraid to use enough black. There's some very nice transitions on some of these, like the corn, mushrooms, and sesame seeds, but just like in your texture analysis, you don't go full black on the edges. I also notice that you don't do this transition from dense to sparse enough - make sure that each of your textures has this so that you don't end up drawing every individual scale or feather but instead suggest the texture within the transition area.

Intersections:

You really filled up the page and have a nice variety of shapes. Great job! I do think that you could push the overlap a bit more. The shapes don't touch that much, which makes their intersections less big and often it's just corners intersecting.

When you do these intersections, I see that sometimes you overcomplicate the shape. The intersection changes directions often when this doesn't make that much sense, and you end up getting extra complicated patterns where the shapes intersect. Example of this is where the pyramid cuts the sphere at the bottom right on your 3rd page. When it gets to intersecting to curved shapes, use this guide: another demo. Also note that when something intersects with a cilinder, the edge isn't always curved. There is the flat circle on the cilinder, and if something cuts the cilinder in its length, this is also pretty much a straight line.

Organic Intersections:

These are very nice! They really look like they have weight to them and rest on each other. Otherwise you get this effect, which you don't really struggle with.

Conclusion:

Great stuff! The only real pointers are pushing your black transitions more and perhaps going further with the overlap of shapes. Make sure to not correct any marks you make, and maybe give the intersections a bit more love (in a warming up?) - don't overcomplicate it! You can move on to lesson 3, great work!

Hi there Eger! Great job on finishing this lesson. Here's some feedback:

Arrows:

Generally your lines are very confident and clean - great job! Your hatching also looks great, and I can really see you put care into each line as an individual element, and didn't rush them!

Organic Forms:

Confident again, nice! The axis are mostly aligned and I also see that your ellipses get thinner in the middle as the perspective changes. So that's all great. Sometimes when you draw the outline of your forms, though, you overshoot/undershoot a little and the lines don't connect, but this is not as important as confidence is, so it's only a small thing! One thing I would say, though, is to work a bit on your hooks on the second page. They are a little bit too shallow and too "sharp." Look at this about what might help.

Texture analysis:

For your texture analysis, I'm noticing a bit of wobble in your lines. Try to not give the textures any "random" details, but make every mark intentional. Also make sure to not draw the shapes as icons, but instead indicate the 3D effect in a transition from dense to sparse. The left should be fully black, the right fully white, and the texture should make this transition very smooth. Right now I'm seeing a black bar on the left that isn't really blended in, and I also don't get the impression that the fade to white makes a lot of sense - it's too sudden. I think that the black to medium on the paper texture is pretty good though, and so is the medium to light part on the cracked mud.

Dissection:

Great job on many of these! The lizard skin and the coconut skin have very clear transition from dense to sparse and they look tidy and like you diddn't draw every individual detail but instead suggested the texture - great job! You also break the silhouette on many of these forms, which is good. The fish scales (I think it's fish scales - middle shape on the bottom of the last page) have the issue where you do draw every single scale, though, which you're not supposed to do. Instead do it like with the lizard skin. Try to put that gradient from dense to sparse in everywhere.

Also, make sure to not draw color variation, but only 3D texture. Reflective material like chrome or the colored material like the watermelon weren't really part of this exercise. But don't worry about that for now. The other textures like grass, lizard skin, coconut skin were very good.

Intersections:

I think your intersections generally look pretty good, although I think you could have pushed the overlap a little further. For two curved edges intersecting, take a look at this

Organic Intersections:

This one is hard but you did a great job not losing track and making it clear how the forms lie. There's just one thing, which is that they don't all feel like they have the right weight to them - or that it's not realistic for them to be in this position. I'd expect them to roll off or fall down. Take a look at this to see what I'm talking about. Also make sure that when you add lineweight this is tidy, and ghost your lineweight lines.

Conclusion:

Great job! I will mark this lesson as complete so you can move on to lesson 3. Just keep in mind going forward to suggest the 3D effects of the texture when drawing textures, and completely ignore color and light. Keep in mind line confidence and ghosting as always, and don't overcorrect shapes or add lineweight without ghosting. But all in all, great job!

Hi there Razgriz! Great job on finishing this lesson. Here's some feedback:

Arrows:

For your arrows, make sure to not hatch. Make one confident line and don't correct it. Adding lineweight is fine, but don't do it in little bits. Ghost this lineweight line also. I say this because sometime the lines are a little wobbly. With hatching too, make sure to not just move your hand back and forth and do all the lines in one go, but focus on each invidivual line when hatching! Your confidence on the big lines improves a lot in the second page. Keep it up!

Organic Forms:

Your organic forms look pretty good! Do make sure that the axes are kind of in the middle of the ellipse, and they don't drift to the top or bottom. Also, as the ellipses change their orientation, they become narrower and wider. Your ellipses don't really change in width this much, except for one on the left, so this is something you could improve. Also make sure to draw through your ellipses 2-3 times. Don't draw them just once, or go over them 4 times, like I see in some of them.

Your C's hook nicely around the forms on the second page, but I would watch out for this: Demo And also keep in mind the changing of degree of these, even though they aren't ellipses.

Texture analysis:

For your texture analysis, I can really see that you put a lot of time into these, but it's not necessary to draw every individual feather or scale! Instead, this exercise focuses on creating a transition from dense to sparse marks. This wage, the left of the texture is fully black, and the right is fully white. I think you struggle with messyness a little bit on this one, as some of your lines are hatchy instead of fluid and confident. I think that is in part because you draw every individual element, which is too much work. I would really like you to redo this exercise and create a very clear transition from full black to full white.

Dissection:

Your dissections suffer from the same issue of drawing every single detail, and you hatch on many of them. Don't hatch! Remember, you're not supposed to represent actual light, but this is about drawing the 3D differences in the texture. So if something is darker, don't hatch it to represent that. Keep it light, but only indicate the 3D differences. Some of your shapes are empty also. If you fill these in with these improvements, that could help a lot.

Intersections:

You didn't intersect your boxes on the first page, and I think this made you struggle more with the rest of the exercise, because it only gets more complicated from there. You did great on the ball intersecting with the box on the bottom left of the page marked as "4" though! This one very clearly follows the curve of the ball. The right edge of that ball, though, doesn't make the same amount of sense. When intersecting these forms, it can help to not just draw the side you see, but to draw through the forms in a sort of "x-ray vision" so that you can see the whole intersection even in the area that is covered. But when it comes to boxes, you need to make sure that the intersections follow the box's perspective, and don't go into a different direction. I think if you redo this page and this time really pay attention and look at examples, it will go much better. Don't rush it!

Organic Intersections:

This one is really good! Apart from previous issues with somewhat wobbly lines and correcting your lines (don't correct them), you can clearly see where the shapes are, which ones are top. There's just one thing, which is that they don't all feel like they have the right weight to them - or that it's not realistic for them to be in this position. I'd expect them to roll off or fall down. Take a look at this to see what I'm talking about.

Conclusion:

This is a very great start! But I don't think you took the time for all exercises, and some of them are unfinished. I'd like you to:

1) Redo one texture analysis. This time, pay attention to the 3D effect instead of each individual element. Create a very clear transition from dense (full black) to sparse (full white).

2) Finish the dissections on your page that are empty right now. Make a clearer transition from dense to sparse again and don't draw every individual element. Also make sure to not rush it, don't hatch, and think well about each mark you make.

3) Add more boxes to your first page of Form Intersections so that there's more overlap, and then draw the intersections they have. You can also choose to redo this page from the start.

4) Redo one page of intersections that mixes boxes and other shapes.

Make these, send them to me and I will look at them and then mark your stuff as complete!

Hi there Stochy! Great job on finishing this lesson. Here's some feedback:

Arrows:

On your arrows, I'm missing a little bit of confidence and speed. Sometime the lines are a little wobbly, like the arrow on the top right. It also looks like you didn't draw the lines in one motion, but did them in sections. That's generally not advisable, as you get the overlap and crossing lines. Your hatching looks great though, and I can really see you put care into each line as an individual element, and didn't rush them! But try to not be too perfectionistic. Confidence & Speed > Accuracy. You will learn the accuracy with time!

Organic Forms:

Your organic forms struggle a little bit with the same wobble, but generally these are really good! Your axis are mostly aligned and it's neat. Two pointers: as the ellipses change their orientation, they become narrower and wider. I see you did this a little bit (especially on the form all the way on the right), but not on all of them. Your C's hook nicely around the forms on the second page, but I would watch out for this: Demo

Texture analysis:

For your texture analysis, I really like the transition from the middle to the lighter area. You can really see the texture fade out, nice job! But I think you could have spent more time analysing the texture, as I sometimes feel like you put in a lot of detail in a short time - the individual marks don't look super tidy. In your notes I see you refer to "lines" but I advise against seeing textures this way. Remember - you're drawing the shapes and "shadows" not the lines and patterns you see. It's about thinking in 3D. Also I'd say that the transition from dark to middle needs just a little more work. Right now it looks like one black bar on the right which makes the transition a bit sudden. Use the texture to smooth this out, and don't be afraid to use more black on that side!

Dissection:

Your dissections are already looking a bit tidier - great! You also broke the silhouette, which is very good. I do still see some of the untidy lines, and like you put in a looot of detail. That isn't always necessary for these. Use the transition from the previous exercise to accentuate the texture on the transition, but don't draw out every individual feater, stone, brick, etc.

Intersections:

Very full pages with lots of forms - awesome! They don't all seem to intersect where they could, though. Also make sure that when you intersect, that this intersection actually follows the right perspective. Look at the pyramid and the cube intersecting at the top right on the page marked with the "3": the top right corner on the pyramid doesn't follow the box's perspective. I also see that you often draw the intersections very slowly and with a lot of wiggle. You can fix this by thinking and ghosting first before you put your pen on the paper. When two curved edges intersect, they make a sort of "c" intersection, as you can see here. I don't see any of these drawn in your example. When it comes to the pages full of only boxes, though, that one is looking great!

Organic Intersections:

This one is hard but you did a great job not losing track and making it clear how the forms lie. There's just one thing, which is that they don't all feel like they have the right weight to them - or that it's not realistic for them to be in this position. I'd expect them to roll off or fall down. Take a look at this to see what I'm talking about.

Conclusion:

Awesome stuff! I'd say to just watch your line confidence and push your black transitions further, as well as use transitions on organic forms and not just in the texture analysis. I would like you to draw in the intersections you've missed in your 4 pages of intersections, but it's not a requirement for moving on. I will mark this lesson as complete, but feel free to send pictures of the intersections to me if you make more!

Hi there Absolute! Great job on finishing this lesson. Here's some feedback:

Arrows:

Generally your lines are very confident and clean - great job! When it comes to adding lineweight and hatching, I would advise to treat each line with just as much care, and make sure to ghost. Sometimes I see that your lineweight strays a bit from the original line. With hatching too, make sure to not just move your hand back and forth and do all the lines in one go, but focus on each invidivual line when hatching!

Organic Forms:

Confident again, nice! The axis are mostly aligned and I also see that your ellipses get thinner in the middle as the perspective changes. So that's all great. On one of your organic forms where you drew the full elipses, you did correct the lines and went over them again - try to not do that. And I see that with the forms where you drew only the hooks, they hook nicely except for just a few at the end with missing hooks. Also keep this in mind: Demo

Texture analysis:

You made very clear decisions about where to put your marks and there's a clear transition from the middle to the light area. So that's awesome. I'd say that the transition from dark to middle needs just a little more work, though. Right now it looks like one black bar on the right which makes the transition a bit sudden. Use the texture to smooth this out, and don't be afraid to use more black on that side!

Dissection:

Nice variety of textures and you also break the silhouette which is great! Sometimes I feel like you try to draw every single detail, which isn't always necessary. Like with the fish scales on the first page, or the feathers on the second - you drew out every individual scale and feather. It's better to just suggest thse shapes, and going from dark to light can really help with this. That way, you only really draw the texture on the transition area.

Intersections:

You really filled up the page and have a nice variety of shapes. great job! I do think that you could push the overlap a bit more. The shapes don't touch that much, which makes their intersections less big. There's also the fact that often when you deal with circles, you intersections have too many straight edges. Especially when a cilinder intersects with a ball, you tend to follow the shape of the cilinder, but you should have a more curved edge as it follows the surface of the ball. When it gets to intersecting to curved shapes, use this guide: another demo

Organic Intersections:

These are very nice! They really look like they have weight to them and rest on each other. I saw only one time where you shaded the wrong form, and great job in not correcting it but leaving it as is! The result still looks very clean and nice. I don't have anything to improve about this one.

Conclusion:

Great stuff! The only real pointers are pushing your black transitions more and perhaps going further with the overlap of shapes. You might want to try the Dissections exercise again, but it's not a requirement. You can move on to lesson 3, great work!

Oh!! I understand! Thanks, and okidoki, I'll keep it in mind!