Hi, thank you for the critique. I've completed both revisions: the organic arrows and constructional drawing. I focused more on the construction of the latter, rather than the details. Kindly let me know what you think.
Correction 1: https://drive.google.com/file/d/17xh90iSf5LSwDMR4eMpYeorbXpj7Cpdp/view?usp=sharing
Correction 2: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1u3BydfrRuZrmavSrxrpAJmvsHiszuHpJ/view?usp=sharing
You're ready for the next lesson.
Next Steps:
Move on to Lesson 3!
You're welcome! The ellipses have a much better weight to them. Be sure to drape the shadows to the underlying forms and use a variety of shapes/sizes for the forms when you draw these for your warm-ups. I'll mark this lesson as done.
Hi, I’m Qrious K and I’ll be critiquing your work.
Pages 1-10
You have a strong start. Many of the lines begin to converge, while some groups do not. I also see a variety of boxes, which is also good.
Pages 11-21
There are more convergences as you draw more boxes. The use of dynamic perspectives creates greater variety.
Pages 22-27
Some of the boxes on page 25 become too dynamic, with a view appearing to be triangular prisms. That said, the rest look fine and hit most of their marks.
Next Steps:
You’re ready for Lesson 2!
Greetings, I’ll be reviewing your work today. Let’s take a look:
Organic Arrows
The 3D folds in your arrow are clear. However, many of them lack perspective and variety. Remember, as you move away from the starting point, the arrow should appear larger.
Contour Lines
These forms are a bit too long and lack mass in the middle. While you have placed ellipses in them, they do not rotate with the axis. As for the curves, they do not overshoot, which flattens out the form. Think of the curves as “C’s”. They should look like the framework of thin ellipses.
Texture Analysis
These textures do transition from light to dark. When you get to this for your warm-up, emphasize the shadows more.
Dissections
If you do not have a black fineliner, please stick to one color, preferably a darker one. It’s difficult to tell what the textures look like. From what I can tell, it looks like many of the textures do conform to the shape. That said, there are several missing textures.
Form Intersections
Many of the intersections appear to be in the right place. Just be sure to emphasize the right areas. For instance, on page two an ellipse intersects a prism. However, you emphasized the edge of the prism, rather than where the ellipse enters the rectangular form. During your warm-ups, add “shine” to the ellipses to make them appear 3D and remember to use an “X” plus a vertical line to construct your prisms.
Organic Intersections
Most organic forms do not sit on each other in a realistic way; recall that gravity is at play here. Many of the forms appear squished into each other, instead of overlapping over one another. Additionally, the shadows tend to outline the forms rather than drape over.
Next Steps:
Try the Contour Lines and Organic Intersections again. Please apply the critique above. After you submit all the necessary pages, you should be able to move on to Lesson 3.
Hello, I’m Qrious K and I’ll be reviewing your work. Let’s get started:
Organic Arrows
You have a good variety of arrows all with different three-dimensional folds and usage of perspective.
Contour Lines
A majority of the ellipses on the first page rotate as they should, following the axis. The curves on the second page overshoot well. One issue on both pages is that the forms are a bit uneven on either end; some ends taper, while others do not. Try to keep these 3D forms smooth and even all the way around.
Texture Analysis
The shadows of your textures are somewhat heavy-handed. Yes, you want to focus on shadows, but you want to create a delicate transition from light to dark as well.
Dissections
These are well-drafted. However, it seems like some of the texture is missing. Don't be afraid to incorporate detail as you transition from light to dark.
Form Intersections
Most of the intersections look good, but others are confusing; it’s as if the right areas are not highlighted (see the cylinder and pyramid on the left of page 2). Think of the space where the forms intersect as the area that should be emphasized.
Organic Intersections
These organic forms are solid. Make sure to incorporate these into your warm-up and overlap the forms in the middle. It’s okay to take more risks in your overlapping
Next Steps:
You get the concepts of this lesson. Move on to Lesson 3.
My name is Qrious K and I will be critiquing your work today. Good job on completing Lesson 2.
Organic Arrows
These have a convincing 3D effect and most show perspective. Try a wider variety of arrows for your warm-ups.
Contour Lines
The first forms could use more variation in the ellipses. These ellipses should turn as the axis moves from left to right or up to down. A few accomplish this turn, but not all. The second forms look very good. The curves are overshot as they should be.
Texture Analysis
Your textures have good detail. However, you focus a bit too much on outlining the shapes (see the texture gradients). Remember to capture the shadows, not the shapes.
Dissections
The dissections are well-illustrated; they transition from light to dark in a convincing way. Some, like the corn, could conform/curve to the underlying form more, but other than that, they’re good.
Form Intersections
You indicated nearly all of the intersections (save for a pyramid on page 3). Now incorporate these shapes into your warm-ups, especially cylinders and spheres. Try adding a highlight to the spheres to emphasize their three-dimensionality.
Organic Intersections
While the organic forms do overlap, their sense of weight is confusing. On the second page, it’s difficult to tell which way the forms are oriented. They seem to be stacked instead of lying on top of each other. The shadows tend to outline the forms instead of being curved in a realistic way.
Next Steps:
Do one more page of the organic intersections.
Nice work on completing Lesson 2. Here's the critique:
Organic Arrows
Think of the curves of the arrows as folds. Many of them have a three-dimensional effect, but some, e.g., the right-hand arrows on page one, flatten out so they appear 2D.
Contour Lines
The forms look good. The ellipses align with the axes on the first page and the curves are properly overshot on the second page. Make sure to keep the forms even from top to bottom when you draw these for your warmup (see the form on the left-hand side on page one).
Texture Analysis
Your textures indicate shadow and contrast. They also transition well from left to right on the gradient.
Dissections
The textures conform to the rounded forms and break the contours, with an exception of the “brushed metal”. That one looks like it could be more rounded and break out more. Most of the textures are heavy in shadow. I recommend adding greater contrast so you can analyze the textures better.
Form Intersections
These look fine. Just remember to emphasize the intersections with darker lines. There is a rectangle of the bottom of page 1 which appears to have no intersections. Practice drawing pyramids during your warm-ups; they are somewhat disjointed on pages 2 and 3.
Organic Intersections
The forms have realistic weight to them and the shadows are shaped correctly. Recall that the 3D should be sausage-like. The top form under the smaller on the second page isn’t quite there.
Next Steps:
You understand the concepts of Lesson 2! Move on to Lesson 3.
Awesome drawing and an awesome movie!
Thank you for trying the ellipses again. The shapes are definitely getting smoother! That said, I did see some that use a diagnol line as an axis. I created a few ellipses to show how they should touch the planes instead. That document is attached below. Note how the ellipses touch all four sides of the quadrilaterals. You seem to understand the concept so I'll mark this exercise as done.
https://drive.google.com/file/d/17_4KdMyYNcQN_AaIIISFJ-4qtqtJGDKw/view?usp=sharing
Next Steps:
Incorporate all the Lesson 1 exercises into your warm-up routine, especially the ellipses in planes. Move on to the 250 Box Challenge. Best wishes on your assignments!
I'd been drawing as a hobby for a solid 10 years at least before I finally had the concept of composition explained to me by a friend.
Unlike the spatial reasoning we delve into here, where it's all about understanding the relationships between things in three dimensions, composition is all about understanding what you're drawing as it exists in two dimensions. It's about the silhouettes that are used to represent objects, without concern for what those objects are. It's all just shapes, how those shapes balance against one another, and how their arrangement encourages the viewer's eye to follow a specific path. When it comes to illustration, composition is extremely important, and coming to understand it fundamentally changed how I approached my own work.
Marcos Mateu-Mestre's Framed Ink is among the best books out there on explaining composition, and how to think through the way in which you lay out your work.
Illustration is, at its core, storytelling, and understanding composition will arm you with the tools you'll need to tell stories that occur across a span of time, within the confines of a single frame.
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