In my experience (and I don't have too much), I found planning everything at the very start of the box helped. Before I even put my pen down, I decided on what the cylinder should roughly look like, and from that I tried to create the proportional square planes. I don't have a tally of how well it worked, but the mindset seemed helpful, at least.
Hi there, I'll be taking a look at your work today.
The Superimposed Lines look like there was considerable effort in minimizing the fraying. However, there appears to be some wobbling and unsteadiness, particularly in the shorter lines.
The Ghosted Lines exercise is good. The lines are relatively straight from the application of the ghosting method, with only some deviation at the starts/stops.
The Planes are generally well-constructed. However, here there appears to be more overshooting and arching than the previous exercise.
The Table of Ellipses has its subjects fit within the bounds set by the boxes and other ellipses. Most ellipses are drawn confidently and with a degree of tightness. However, the larger ellipses are a little more loose and wobbly. Furthermore, the tails of the ellipses (where the pen is lifted) is sometimes not in line with the rest of the ellipse, which should be avoided.
The Ellipses in Planes has some of the ellipses rather wobbly, which is normal due to the complexity of the exercise. Otherwise, the ellipses themselves are confident.
The Funnels exercise has some wobbliness for the same reason as the ellipses. Also, the ellipses are not aligned by the minnor axis. It may help to take time to ghost and plan the ellipse before putting it down on paper.
For the Plotted Perspective exercise, everything is in order except some minor parts of the hatching. Part of the exercise is trying to figure out which boxes are in front of the other boxes through the lines. A few faces, most notably the leftmost one in the first section and the tall middle box of the last section, have faces hatched that make the box appear in front when it looks like it is not.
The Rough Perspective exercise looks good, as everyone sees quality suffer here. The only thing to note is that correction/repeat lines should be avoided except in specific circumstances.
The Rotated Boxes are all rotated, which is the hardest part of the exercise. The same thing about repeated lines in the previous exercise applies here.
Finally, the Organic Perspective boxes flow well and are consistent in their perspective. Once again, there are repeated lines.
Overall, this is complete. Please keep in mind that repeated/correction lines should be avoided. Otherwise, consider working on the ghosting and execution of ellipses.
Next Steps:
250 Box Challenge
Missing line extensions aside, this is good. I'll mark this as complete.
Next Steps:
Lesson 6
Hi there, I'll be looking at your work today.
The Superimposed Lines show an effort to smoothly prevent as much fraying as possible, which is great.
The Ghosted Lines demonstrate a similar effort to keep them as close to the two dots as possible. There is a small amount of overshooting that will be corrected with more practice.
Finally, the Planes exercise is also very well done. The same thing can be said about the overshooting in the previous one.
The Table of Ellipses generally has each ellipse within its bounds. However, in pursuit of this, some execution issues have arisen. Most notably, there are many ellipses that are slightly deformed and wobbly, most notably the larger ellipses. This is natural and is usually caused by trying to rush through them without ghosting and drawing from the shoulder.
The Ellipses in Planes has a very similar issue to the Table of Ellipses, but exacerbated by the difficulty of trying to keep the ellipse touching each of the plane's lines. Otherwise, these ellipses touched the sides for the most part.
Funnels have ellipses largely aligning their minor axes to the line, which is great. However, they experience the same issue previousy mentioned.
The Plotted Perspective exercise has some white-out on it. Generally speaking, it is better to leave your mistakes in so that anyone looking at your work so that there is less ambiguity about the existence of said mistakes. Otherwise, the hatching on some of the box planes spills out, which is a minor mistake; part of this exercise is trying to reason about which objects are in front of which other objects through the lines.
The Rough Perspective shows a degradation in line quality that everyone sees. Despite this, there was a focused attempt to make sure that each box follows the vanishing point, which is great.
The Rotated Boxes have a lot of rows that do not rotate, most notably in the middle row. Otherwise, the boxes are kept tight and the hatching is appropriately applied.
Finally, the Organic Perspective boxes sometimes can be a little repetitive, especially on the second page. This is not a serious issue, but in pursuit of 3D understanding, drawing a variety of orientations is extremely helpful.
Overall, this is complete. The areas to focus on are ellipse execution and box construction.
Next Steps:
250 Box Challenge
Hi there, I'll be looking at your work today.
There was a good effort to guess at the how the lines match up. This is evidenced by the clusters of dots and the frequent successfully converging sets of lines. Overall, this is a strong start.
Similar to the first part, there was a good effort in trying to keep the convergences to the theoretical vanishing point. However, unlike the rapid convergences of the previous section with the marks on the page, these naturally declined in how many would converge due to the inherent difficulty of not being able to see a VP. That is normal and to be expected. Something to point out, however, is that there were a good number of sets of lines that were parallel. Examples include boxes 61, 65, and 79. This is generally to be avoided as the specific set of circumstances that will enable these parallel lines is rare, as discussed in both Lesson 1. The challenge text repeats the reminder several times to make sure all of the box lines converge to something.
The boxes with rapid convergence are generally well-executed and show a continuation of the skills of the first 50 boxes. However, the previously mentioned issue of parallel lines resurfaces here every so often for the shallow convergence boxes, though less frequently. Other than this, there appeared to be significantly more wobbliness in these boxes than the first 100 boxes, so make sure to revisit Lesson 1's section on smoothness and practice ghosting.
Overall, the main issue to address is the parallel sets of lines, and a secondary issue is line quality. Please reread the section in Lesson 1's section on vanishing points and the detailed explanation on 0-point perspective if you have time. Otherwise, I think this is complete.
Next Steps:
Lesson 2
Hi there, I'll be looking at your work today.
A large majority of cylinders were done very well. There is a large variety of foreshortening and accompanying degree shift in the ellipses, and the lines are done confidently with minimal issues. Most cylinders matched their minor axes to the initial line, but there were some cases that had large deviations, usually the ellipses with greater degree. This is normal, but something to watch out for and potentially improve on. The only other issue to be aware of is that there were a good number of cylinders that had significant degree shift, but appear as if there was no consideration for foreshortening. The most prominent examples are cylinders 128, 132, and 144, where the edges are parallel to each other. This was more of an issue towards the end, but otherwise, the rest of the work is excellent.
There was considerable effort in ensuring that each ellipse had contact points on each edge of the planes. When done right, the cylinders look good and three-dimensional. However, there are two main issues to be aware of, and they are related.
First, very consistently, there are boxes that have sets of edges that are parallel to each other. There were a few cases where almost the entire box was orthographic, such as cylinder 209. Constructing cylinders in perspective is the intention of this challenge (along with trying to make the box proportional), so make sure that the bounding box that defines it is also in perspective.
Second, there are many cylinders (or rather, their boxes) drawn without a Y. This causes one of the sets of lines of the box to have a vanishing point to infinity. As a result, these boxes are forced into two-point perspective, and a dimension of convergence and foreshortening is removed, which feeds into the previous issue. Examples include cylinders 179, 184, 190, 199, 227, and 235.
I think there should be some extra time consciously making sure that the box is in three-point perspective and without parallel lines, then drawing the cylinder in it. I have requested some revisions as such.
Next Steps:
10 cylinders in boxes. Remember the Y method and to make the lines not parallel.
Hello, I will be taking a look at your work today.
The Super Imposed lines exercise is done well. The lines follow a clear trajectory set out by the original line. The only issue is that there is fraying on both ends of the line.
The Ghosted lines are done very well. Most lines are straight, which is a strong first step, and most lines begin on one dot. The next step is to make sure that the line ends on the opposite dot, but that is for the future.
Finally, the planes suffer mainly in wobbling and not always starting on the dot and often overshooting. This is more of an issue with the plane than its internal lines, suggesting that there may be some rushing. Make sure to apply the ghosting method and be patient.
The Table of Ellipses has ellipses that fit within bounds and generally has no overlap. However, some ellipses look a little wobbly, especially the ellipses of greater degree (more circular) and the smaller ones. Ghosting applies here as it does with lines.
The same thing can be said about the Ellipses in Planes exercise. Most ellipses fall into their bounds and touch the four edges, but sometimes, the execution suffers.
The Funnels exercise is very well done. Almost all ellipses fall onto the central line and fit within the funnel. This is generally very challenging.
As an extra note, I see a few extra markings throughout that suggest some ellipses may be rushed or ghosted a little too close to the page. It may help to draw from the shoulder more, as that can give more control over the height of the pen from the page.
The Plotted Perspective is completed with only minor errors. A few of the boxes have some of their hatched faces not matched correctly to the plane (the leftmost boxes of the last row are notable) and the back lines are slanted. Both are not as important as the other aspects such as the foreshortening and box construction, and should be considered as extras.
Much of what was said about line quality can be repeated for the Rough Perspective exercise. Generally, due to its complexity, line quality will suffer, but it is important to remember that line execution is important. However, most boxes generally go towards the vanishing point, which is good.
The Rotated Boxes are done very well, and showcase the changing of box vanishing points and convergences. The only things to note are, once again, in line quality. Remember that hatching and emphasis lines should be done with high quality.
Finally, the Organic Perspective exercise has many sets of box lines that are parallel, and in some cases, are diverging. This may be caused by rushing and guessing and not planning out the box enough, causing the shallow foreshortening to turn out flat. Without this, boxes do not follow the perspective rules laid out in the lesson and will not look 3D.
In conclusion, these exercises are complete, and the main area to improve is in line execution. Remember the levels discussed in the Ghosted Lines exercise, and aim for the second level. There will be a lot of time to practice in the coming 250 Box Challenge and warm-up exercises to hone the skills learned here.
Next Steps:
250 Box Challenge
Thanks for taking a look at my work. Here is the requested revision: https://imgur.com/a/YQNZPgu
I did try the extra points with the mirroring on the bottom, but I think I made the corners too small and they don't show up very well.
Hello, I'll be taking a look at your work today.
For the most part, the arrows are done well. They have flow and expand as the arrowhead approaches the viewer. There are a few things to watch out for. Some of the shading at the bends is done wrong: the shading should always be on one "side" of the arrow so that the direction of the arrow is clear. This is seen in the small arrow at the very top and the arrow with the forked tail (not sure what to call it). Other than that, some of the overlap and hatching lines are a little messy, which can ruin the illusion of a smooth continuous ribbon the arrow represents.
The flow of a leaf is generally good. However, leaves with more complicated center lines appear to be enclosed in a way that betrays the center line's intent. This is best seen in the pecan leaf, which looks like the center line is not being followed because of this. In the case of the pecan leaf, the line on the left can be curved to match the center line more closely. Furthermore, some leaves such as the fig and maple leaves should have each arm broken down. This will help with the overall flow of each of these sub-parts, which can look a little flat without this consideration. Otherwise, the leaf edge details look a little zig-zagged, which should be avoided.
There was considerable effort put this exercise. The only criticism is that there are tails showing. The best way to help with this is to ghost more and to draw from the shoulder, as with any lines in this course. This is an extremely common issue that everyone faces.
For the most part, the plants are done well. There are a few notable areas of improvement:
Some of the petals can look very flat, ruining the 3D nature of the subject. The edelweiss is the best example of this, where its petals look like they are not flowing at all. This is caused by an overly stiff center line. This extends to a few of the leaves and petals on other subjects as well.
The mushroom's stalk should have its ellipses shift their degrees. Note the demo's first step, where the bottom ellipses have a wider degree than the ellipses at the top, and how there is a gradual transition. This informs the viewer the orientation of the mushroom. Contrast that with the cactus, which does not have this issue as much because of the degree shift.
Everything about the branches/leaves sections apply here as well.
I think this is done. Good luck on the next lesson.
Next Steps:
Lesson 4
Hi there, I'll be taking a look at your work today.
I don't have much to say here. Everything is done with confidence and it appears that the shoulder is being activated. Good work.
There are some execution issues on the ellipses. A lot of the time, ellipses are not tight, and can also be wobbly. This also occasionally leads to an ellipse or two on the page not fitting its bounds. This is something that is remedied over time with practice, but for now, focus on the ghosting and the motion of the shoulder. See this section on drawing through the ellipses for more info (although the number of times an ellipse is drawn through is NOT an issue here).
Additionally, the funnels exercise has many ellipses not aligned by the minor axis. This is generally very challenging to do, and it appears that the funnels have been set up unevenly, making this even harder. While this is not the main focus of the exercise, keep this in mind for the future, as it will be important for future lessons.
The lines are all very high quality. This is generally the first thing that is lost in this section as juggling line quality and box construction is extremely difficult.
The plotted perspective and rough perspective boxes are done well, and I don't have anything to add.
The rotated boxes exercise has two small things to note. First, the horizontal row of boxes does not appear to be rotating. Second, the corners of the formation appear to be missing. There should be 25 boxes in total.
Finally, the organic perspective boxes are done well. There were a small number of boxes in 2-point perspective, which should be avoided. Make sure that the difference between the different perspectives is understood. Also, overlaps in boxes could benefit from added line weight.
The quality of work is high, especially in the lines. Feel free to move onto the 250 box challenge.
Next Steps:
250 box challenge
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.
We use cookies in conjunction with Google Analytics to anonymously track how our website is used.
This data is not shared with any other parties or sold to anyone. They are also disabled until consent is provided by clicking the button below, and this consent can be revoked at any time by clicking the "Revoke Analytics Cookie Consent" link in our website footer.
You can read more about what we do with them, read our privacy policy.
