Lesson 1: Lines, Ellipses and Boxes

3:23 PM, Monday November 6th 2023

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Thank you so much for taking a look at my first lesson assignment!

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5:25 AM, Tuesday November 7th 2023

Hi, congratulations on getting started with dab! I hope my comments can be of help, which are based on Elodin’s guidelines.

Superimposed lines: your lines fray mostly on one end, which is good! There’s some arching happening with the longer lines, which can be corrected by intentionally trying to pivot your shoulder in the opposite direction of the arching. I get the impression that you were trying to control your pivots like this hence why it there are arches both above and below the line — it’ll be important to keep practicing this when you return to the exercise in warmups. When you return to the exercise, it might also be a good idea to practice with some curved lines like in uncomfortable’s reference sheet for the homework. Overall a good first try, so I consider it passed.

Ghosted lines: noticing more arches, wobbles throughout here. It feels like you might be relying more on your elbow here, especially as none of the lines reach the lengths of the superimposed lines. I’d recommend redoing this exercise for one page, and really trying to make sure you’re using your shoulder the whole time. Experiment with different lengths so you can feel how your shoulder works at shorter and longer lengths.

Planes: Likewise with the ghosted lines — as the lines are curved and wobbly, it feels like you would benefit from redoing the exercise for one page and making absolute sure you’re using your shoulder throughout. I would also make an effort to make sure that your vertical and horizontal lines inside each plane are angled properly, because some aren’t perpendicular in a way that respects the angle of the plane. Good experimentation with different shapes. Remember to resist the urge to redo some of the lines even if they’re misaimed (I struggle a lot with this too, so don’t worry!)

Tables of ellipses: it will be important to make sure that your ellipses aren’t overlapping, as quite a few are in your submission. I’d recommend redoing this page as well and really making sure each ellipse doesn’t overlap, which can be done by ghosting each ellipse as carefully as you ghost each straight line. Overall good variety of ellipses!

Ellipses in planes: Overall well done. I imagine you’ll get better at fitting the ellipse properly inside of the plane by redoing the tables of ellipses and being mindful of how the shape of the ellipse interacts with the shapes around it. I consider this a pass :)

Funnels: well done as well, great placement of center lines. Some of the ellipses aren’t fitted in properly, but like I said, that’ll probably be addressed with the tables of ellipses exercises. Pass!

Plotted perspective: very well done, very clear and easy defined shapes! You have a talent for this! Pass!

Rough perspective: your sense of perspective is really good, but the earlier problems with curved and wobbled lines reappear here. I also notice that you tried redoing some lines, which ultimately makes the shape messier and harder to read. Since the exercise is more about perspective and foreshortening, which you did really well, and you’ll have time to practice drawing straight and confidently lined cubes with the 250 box challenge, I’ll also consider this a pass. if you do the 250 box challenge, it’ll be essential to apply what you’ve learned from trying to use your shoulder while redoing the exercises I’ve recommended.

Both of your rotated boxes and organic perspectives are incredibly well done in my opinion, hats off. The sense of perspective in each is extremely strong. While it’s not perfect as there are still some curved and wobbly lines, I notice a lot more straight lines that show the fruits of your practice so far. Those are cause to be proud of yourself, in my opinion!

Next Steps:

i’d recommend trying another page of the ghosted lines, planes, and tables of ellipses, in that order. Remember to focus deeply on using your shoulder, and not letting your wrist or elbow take over. Don’t be afraid to cover nearly an entire page of ghosted lines with a wide range of different lengths if you need to, as that exercise will be the most important step in focusing on using your shoulder. Pace yourself, and remember to apply that level of concentration you found in forcing yourself to use your shoulder with ghosting your ellipses and getting them to not overlap.

When finished, reply to this critique with your revisions.
9:55 AM, Wednesday November 8th 2023

Thank you so much for your enthusiastic and intelligent comment, it really helped me a lot. Based on your advice, I will focus on using the shoulders in my next exercises. Once again, thank you for your generous assistance.

11:23 PM, Sunday November 12th 2023

Of course! Good luck!

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