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2:34 AM, Saturday October 24th 2020

hello sorry for the bother, i did ask this question in the discord but i couldnt really get an answer, in the chest challenge we arnt required to draw the circle ellipse thing if we are working on tradtional is that correct? i dont think the video for this explained how to draw the chest without the circle, im not sure if this is the correct way of drawing a chest but https://imgur.com/a/DHPRvpR

i draw a normal box and then i extended the lines further (the green lines) and then attach red lines and connect it that way.

also when you draw the chest you start of by drawing the ground plane first, would it be find if i still used the 'y' method to draw the inital box?

1:36 PM, Sunday October 25th 2020

No, you're certainly still required to use the ellipse technique shown in the video regardless of whether you're drawing traditionally or digitally - the tools you use aren't relevant, the concept itself does not change. I've taken your image and added yellow lines to it to make the following explanation a little clearer:

The red lines and their corresponding yellow lines are not equal in length (in 3D space). The further the lid is raised using this method, the longer it has to be, meaning that it does not actually work. This is why we draw a circle in 3D space with the point where the red and yellow lines meet as its center. The edge (both yellow and red) serve as the circle's radius - it remains the same length in 3D space, and so the circumference of the circle is what you'd want to follow to find the proper end point of that edge.

And yes, using the Y method would still be fine. All that matters in the technique you use is that it continues to follow reality. Objects cannot physically be getting larger or smaller as they move around in space (aside from basic perspective making us perceive them to be larger/smaller). The Y method is an exercise primarily, forcing us to think more about how our sets of parallel lines converge towards a shared vanishing point, but that doesn't mean we can't use it as a technique when drawing as well.

2:37 PM, Friday October 30th 2020

okay thanks for clearing that up, how do i draw the ellipse at the right size without guessing? i don't have an ellipse guide or anything sadly just a pen and ruler.

http://imgur.com/a/Q6TGCG7

someone told me to double the distance of the box and then draw the ellipse but im not sure if this is correct. also im a bit confused at what you mean by

where the red and yellow lines meet as its center. The edge (both yellow and red) serve as the circle's radius - it remains the same length in 3D space

2:51 PM, Friday October 30th 2020

The corner I'm referring to, where the yellow and red lines meet in this image (basically where the hinge for the chest would be) is where the lid is pivoting from, the point around which it is rotating. So this would serve as the center of the ellipse.

This is why your own diagram (this one) is a correct start (at least at step 1), because it places the ellipse's center in the correct place.

The only thing to keep in mind is that when placing this ellipse, you need to make sure that the properties we explored in the cylinder challenge, about how to draw an ellipse that actually represents a circle in 3D space, are holding true. That is, ensuring that the minor axis goes towards one vanishing point, and the lines defined by your contact points go towards the other vanishing points.

What you have drawn there in step 2 is an adequate approximation, but it is technically not correct because it does not meet the criteria for an ellipse that represents a circle in 3D space. That said, even though it's not correct, for the purposes of positioning the lid, it is close enough. So it's up to you if you want to go for close enough, or 100% accurate.

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