Lesson 3: Applying Construction to Plants
8:21 PM, Tuesday January 28th 2025
thank you so much for taking the time to see my submission
Hi! I'm willing to take a look at your submission, but I cannot see any of the files you've shared.
Hello! Thank you. https://imgur.com/a/ApxMzEJ here it is ????
That's better, I can see them now :)
Organic arrows, Leaves & Branches
The arrows look amazing and feel 3D, well done.
The leaves look good to me. I like that you made the spines also change direction on the twisted leaves, nice attention to detail.
Branches have a few tails sticking out, but that's normal. With more practice
Your construction drawings look solid, but I do have some notes:
on the second page, I would approach drawing this node differently. (Correct me if I'm wrong, but to me, it seems like you tried to draw the two halves of the node directly on the branch, and it makes it look a bit flat.) To add bulk to the branch, I'd draw an ellipse, similar to the second step from the forking branches part of the lesson, and then add details on top. Kinda like this.
when I draw petals that turn, I try to apply the same principles I use for organic arrows. The edges of the petal follow the initial line that establishes the flow, similar to how the second curve of the arrow follows the first. I drew the lines with red, hope this helps you visualize it.
if you feel like the pistil looks too stiff, you can try drawing with a slight curve. Having it bend down slightly due to gravity will make it look more realistic.
for the lotus flowers, I think it's better to ditch the circle and approach drawing the lotus similarly to the daisy demo.
on the second to last page, I'd suggest against filling up the entire leaf with black. That much black draws the eye from the flowers, which I'd argue are much more interesting :) Instead, I suggest drawing just a few thin cast shadows to show off the leaf's veins.
I focused on the mistakes, but you did great! Give yourself a pat on the back :)
If you have any questions or need help, let me know.
Next Steps:
You can proceed with Lesson 4. Have fun!
thank you so much!!your first suggestion is so helpful
This recommendation is really just for those of you who've reached lesson 6 and onwards.
I haven't found the actual brand you buy to matter much, so you may want to shop around. This one is a "master" template, which will give you a broad range of ellipse degrees and sizes (this one ranges between 0.25 inches and 1.5 inches), and is a good place to start. You may end up finding that this range limits the kinds of ellipses you draw, forcing you to work within those bounds, but it may still be worth it as full sets of ellipse guides can run you quite a bit more, simply due to the sizes and degrees that need to be covered.
No matter which brand of ellipse guide you decide to pick up, make sure they have little markings for the minor axes.
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