Check Out NMA    Learn More About our Partnership
Close and Enjoy Drawabox Ad-free

Returning back to DrawABox, and Starting Lesson 4 with Insectophobia

2:52 PM, Sunday June 18th 2023

Hi everyone!

I took an extended break from the lessons for well over half a year due to a mixture of work burnout and my fluctuating personal health. I stopped at Lesson 4 and only briefly returned to sketch out a few insects but quickly drop off soon after. But after some reassessments in perspective, I would like to see this to the end.

My current major blocked right now is my insectophobia.

Practicing has certainly helped overcome quite a few of my fears. I can handle pictures of wasp and bees and moths through repeated viewing, but I still visibly get cold sweats and incredibly nauseous and disgusted with nearly every other creepy crawly - strangely enough, this doesn't extend to crustaceons or arachnids, surprisingly.

So just to summarise, because of my break:

1) Can I continue with Lesson 4 or is it recommended to go through previous lessons/exercises?

2) Is it possible for me to draw the same handful of insects/arachnids but in different variety (i.e. position and action) as homework submission

Thanks for taking the time to read through!

Report
3 users agree
6:17 PM, Sunday June 18th 2023

  1. You can continue where you left off, but I would strongly encourage you to start by reviewing all of Lesson 0, then spending a week or two doing longer warmups of the exercises you've encountered already, being sure to review their instructions so you can continue forward applying them correctly.

  2. Yes, that's fine. Your entire submission could ostensibly be of one kind of insect, as long as the references are different so you're not just redrawing the exact same image. I would also recommend looking into crustaceans - this is something we'll be producing more demos on in the future, when our overhaul reaches lesson 4, as these essentially provide us with the same kinds of characteristics as insects that make them relevant for this lesson, but without as much risk to those with arachnophobia or entomophobia.

0 users agree
6:24 AM, Wednesday June 21st 2023

What about starting off with something like "robotic insect" or "insectoid spaceships?" (Google search those terms and choose the more insect-like ones.) You get the 3 masses and armor plates, but maybe without the "yuck factor?" Only you can tell if it makes a difference to you, of course!

If your end drawing looks like an insect, maybe it's just fine starting with something that's not exactly an insect.

The recommendation below is an advertisement. Most of the links here are part of Amazon's affiliate program (unless otherwise stated), which helps support this website. It's also more than that - it's a hand-picked recommendation of something I've used myself. If you're interested, here is a full list.
Faber Castell PITT Artist Pens

Faber Castell PITT Artist Pens

Like the Staedtlers, these also come in a set of multiple weights - the ones we use are F. One useful thing in these sets however (if you can't find the pens individually) is that some of the sets come with a brush pen (the B size). These can be helpful in filling out big black areas.

Still, I'd recommend buying these in person if you can, at a proper art supply store. They'll generally let you buy them individually, and also test them out beforehand to weed out any duds.

This website uses cookies. You can read more about what we do with them, read our privacy policy.