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5:31 PM, Monday September 19th 2022
Hi TotalTempest! I'll be reviewing your work. Let's see:
Organic Intersections:
The line is a bit wobbly, and the excessive lineweight does not help. Remember to apply that only on sections that intersect each other, to clarify which form is on top of which. The sausages can be rounder (like two spheres joined by a tube), but it's something that will improve in time, just keep it in mind. I think that, for the most part, the forms feel solid and like they're falling onto each other, (the long sausage behind does not fall onto anything though), but the shadows that you applied don't help at all.
Here's a corrected version (I'm working on Paint with mouse, so it's not perfect). The important things to remember is that the shadows will get bigger as the form starts to hang and separates from the form underneath; so it won't start thick right away. That suggests that the form is floating and it contradicts what you actually drew. The other aspect is that cast shadows have to follow the contour of the forms they're being cast on; the corrected shadow I made on the lower sausage does that, following the curved surface of the last sausage before reaching the floor.
Finally, be mindful of your contour lines, they're supposed to represent how the form turns and twists in 3D space; so their degree will change depending on how the form behaves. Both ends of the curves have to be the same degree, keep an eye on that.
Animal Drawings:
So, I've been looking at your insect drawings and they're pretty good as far as construction is concerned. You didn't make the animal drawings with as much care. The initial construction most of the time is good (although some intersection lines could help, on the point the bird's head makes contact with the body, for example), but everything on top feels extremely flat.
On your added masses, for example, you rarely did follow the contour of the forms they're sitting on, the best ones here are the ones where you followed the demos. Look at this. Notice that the added forms work like bags of fluor, or sticky gum, they warp and adjust to the construction they're being placed upon.
Your added masses a lot of the time look like blobs that do not adjust to the initial construction, or have random corners. In this demo you can see how that works. Corners usually suggest other forms existing right besides them (like on the shell of a lobster, for example), so try to avoid them unless they're necessary.
Your legs do not look like sausages at all a lot of the time, remember that making intersections on the places where they intersect each other helps a lot to solidify them as 3D forms. Most of the time you didn't construct the feet, instead trying to replicate them by observation. The best in this aspect are the bird's feet, which are actually constructed. You don't have to go overboard with that, but try to build their initial construction, add the planes, then add the toes or divide them where necessary. The intersection of the foot construction with the leg will also help you to solidify the whole thing.
Your heads are better in that they show a clearer path of construction, but still there are problems with how you follow (or don't) the contour of the initial construction. Finally, the main problem I see is that you tend to skip steps or whole sections, instead trying to replicate the animal just by observation. Remember, we're not trying to make pretty pictures here, we're trying to learn about constructional drawing. So, an awkward looking but well constructed animal drawing is better for our purposes than a beautiful, identical animal drawing with zero construction.
So, I'll ask you for 4 more animal drawings:
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One hooved quadruped
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One not-hooved quadruped
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One bird
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One animal of your choice
Add the reference photos to the submission as well.
Keep your line confident and clean, draw from your shoulder, take your time, don't rush it. Keep an eye on the demos, especially the informal ones, so you don't lose track of what you're doing. Follow the steps, from your initial construction, add forms, divide them into planes where necessary, add tertiary forms. Don't forget to add intersections where necessary, and to always take into consideration the forms you're working on when adding extra forms.
That's it, if you have any questions, I'll be around to answer them. Good luck!
Next Steps:
Submit 4 more animal drawings:
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One hooved quadruped
-
One not-hooved quadruped
-
One bird
-
One animal of your choice
Add the reference photos to the submission as well.
3:48 PM, Thursday September 22nd 2022
I still feel like I am struggling a bit. You mentioned that my Insect constructions were better than my Animal constructions, and I completely agree. The insects had very clear segmentation for me to follow, while the animals aren't so clear to me where forms start and end, and I think that is the biggest area I am struggling in. I also feel that I am still struggling with adding forms more organically and I tried to apply your advice the best I could.
I'm not completely sure that I am getting it still, and I'm not sure what questions I should be exactly asking, so I will leave it up to you. These animal constructions took me quicker than my insect constructions, so either I am getting better/confident, or I am being sloppy and missing the point.
10:06 PM, Saturday September 24th 2022
Hi! Here I made all the corrections. Some animals had the same mistakes pointed out before, so I didn't point them out again, but take them in consideration as a whole. I think you worked way too fast for what you had to look out for, so I think you should try again:
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One hooved quadruped
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One non-hooved quadruped
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One bird.
Make them count, observe very carefully where the masses are; where you could lay a footprint for the muzzle, that always gives itself away if you look at the planes of the head. Take a look at the informal demos again; and go back to them and these corrections whenever you have doubts. Remember that it's okay to stop mid drawing and continue it later, is better to do that than to feel overwhelmed and rush it.
That's it, if you have any question, feel free to ask. Good luck!
Next Steps:
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One hooved quadruped
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One non-hooved quadruped
-
One bird.
7:59 PM, Friday September 30th 2022
There were two particular questions that I have encountered while creating these constructions:
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How does constructing the muzzle work when an animal is full profile?
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Do adding masses work by fitting the mass AROUND pre-existing forms?
I decided to push forward and complete the constructions anyways to better apply the previous points that you made.
I appreciate your feedback and have no qualms if you feel that more revisions should be made.
Proko's Figure Drawing Fundamentals
Stan Prokopenko's had been teaching figure drawing as far back as I can remember, even when I was just a regular student myself. It's safe to say that when it comes to figure drawing, his tutelage is among the best.