Lesson 1: Lines, Ellipses and Boxes

3:38 PM, Wednesday September 22nd 2021

Draw a Box Lesson 1 - Google Photos

Draw a Box Lesson 1 - Google Photos: https://photos.app.goo.gl/VWy76ZKMjXmckxEaA

I've used a different pen and paper for the super imposed and ghosted lines assignments then I got a new pen/paper for the other assignments.

The assignments were pretty fun since I've gone through most of them years ago.

The most difficult one was the organic perspective, most of my boxes felt distorted and had drastic foreshortening.

Not sure how could I make multiple rotated boxes feel like they are on the same perspective?

2 users agree
5:20 PM, Wednesday September 22nd 2021

Your submission struggles with boxes. Specifically there are errors in the rotated box exercise (image 13) and the organic perspective exercise (images 14 and 15).

(13) In your rotated box exercise, the edges of the outermost boxes do not bend very much compared to their neighbours, resulting in a feeling that they are not being rotated very much if at all.

(14/15) In your organic perspective exercise, some boxes have sets of lines that are not parallel, leading to a sense of foreshortening that is inconsistent across the exercise. This leads to an effect where certain boxes are distorted. Examples where I see this distortion:

  • image 15, middle scene, second from the top: This one looks like a wedge because of the dramatic foreshortening from one side of the cube to the other.

  • image 14, right scene, fourth from the top: We can see both the top and the bottom of box, which in 3D space is impossible.

  • image 14, right scene, third from the top: Just like the first one mentioned, thie one feels more like a wedge or a pyramid because of the foreshortening applied to it in the context of the other boxes.

  • image 14, middle scene, third from the bottom: Another wedge.

That said, your lines and ellipses are confident/smooth and their contact with their targets (images 6 and 7).

12:18 PM, Thursday September 23rd 2021
edited at 2:15 PM, Sep 26th 2021

Thanks so much BOWTIEBUCK XD

In image 15/14, I knew there was distortions and foreshortening.

I understand how they're wrong, I'm not sure though how I would've fixed them.

I was using the Y method for drawing the boxes, in some I had angles lower than 90deg, maybe that caused the distortion?

I guess these things will improve with the 250 boxes challenge XD

edited at 2:15 PM, Sep 26th 2021
1 users agree
8:07 PM, Friday September 24th 2021

Superimposed lines: Your lines start strong from the initial mark, which is good. There is a bit of fraying for the long lines but that is too be expected. Good start.

Ghosted lines: Your lines are a bit wobbly and even swerve to meet the endpoints. So it seems like you were focused on accuracy over line confidence. Remember that your goal in ghosting lines is to execute confident, smooth lines. I recognize this because this is a mistake I am working to overcome myself. From my experience, it helps to remember that a wobbly line is mainly caused by three things: drawing from the wrist, drawing too slowly, and/or correcting your line as you go. Avoid these three things and the rest is just practice. Your later exercises do not have these issues as severely so it's clear that you improved! Keep at it.

Ghosted planes: Very well done! Your lines here are very confident, don't overshoot nor undershoot too much, and the accuracy is greatly improved. Excellent work. Keep this up.

Ellipses: Some of your ellipses are a bit loosely drawn through, which adds to the wobbliness. Some of them (top left table for instance) are not as tightly packed as they should be and float a bit. But this should get better with practice. Try to draw through your ellipses confidently and swiftly, and ideally only twice, and make them tight and packed together while making the most of the space you have.

Ellipses in Planes: Pretty good, though your ellipses do miss the edges by a bit, but this is an accuray issue that does not matter too much. Your confidence definitely improved with your lines and ellipses. Good job.

Funnels: My biggest criticism with your funnels submission is that the minor axes are very small. This makes it a bit more difficult to see if the outermost ellipses are cut evenly along the line. Even then, I can see that the ellipses are not exactly aligned properly for some of these funnels. I don't think you should do this over, but I do highly recommend that you use Funnels as a warmup going forward.

Plotted Perspective: No major mistakes. Good job.

Rough perspective: Well done. Lines are a tad wobbly but that is not a huge deal, this gets better with practice, so this exercise was done well and served its purpose.

Rotated boxes: To be honest I do not fully understand what you mean by "making multiple rotated boxes feel like they are on the same perspective". But it's not what you should really be worried about. You did the exercise pretty well, though I think your outer boxes could have been rotated a bit more. The rotation of these boxes is not too significant, you should have tried to rotate them a bit more.

Organic perspective: I can see why this was the hardest one. Your boxes are indeed very distorted. Try to keep in mind how each set of lines has a vanishing point and must converge towards that point. Also your boxes' Y's should never have angles less than 90 degrees (unless the foreshortening is very dramatic which should not be the case in this exercise) That will help your boxes appear more cohesive and less distorted. The 250 box challenge will help you with this.

Next Steps:

250 box challenge with Funnels as warmup. You can choose one or two more exercises as warmups as well.

This community member feels the lesson should be marked as complete. In order for the student to receive their completion badge, this critique will need 2 agreements from other members of the community.
2:22 PM, Sunday September 26th 2021

Thanks so much RACISBACK for your detailed feedback! XD

Will take your suggestions moving forward +1

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