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5:02 AM, Thursday October 13th 2022

Thank you:)

Yes, I've completed the 25 wheel challenge traditionally. Right now I'm doing lesson 7 which is a very big struggle for me traditionally.

The problem is that I already have 3 ellipse guide templates, but I still can't get the right degree for my box to fit my proportions. So yes, I think that using lazy nezumi with photoshop wouldn't be a big deal for this lesson just so I wouldn't need to use ellipse guides.

4:48 PM, Thursday October 13th 2022

According to the lesson 7 overview we can't use digital, so no matter what you're stuck with it now. On the 25 wheel challenge, though, I think you're right that being able to use lazy nezumi is nice because you can focus on just learning how to make the wheels without getting distracted by getting the lines where you want. You're not learning how to walk and chew bubble gum at the same time. That's my impression anyways. I've not touched any work in Drawabox beyond lesson 2.

"Yes, I've completed the 25 wheel challenge traditionally. Right now I'm doing lesson 7 which is a very big struggle for me traditionally. The problem is that I already have 3 ellipse guide templates, but I still can't get the right degree for my box to fit my proportions."

I feel your pain. I'm uncomfortable all the time because I have a baseline level of unrest that almost never goes away. I have to be careful with tasks that increase that anxiety because if it takes me beyond my threshold of tolerance, my brain shuts down. If I keep pushing, I could have a panic attack that worsens my cPTSD as my brain learns "here is something else to add to the list of things I can't do" and "doing this could kill me." Of course I know it can't really make me die, but my brain thinks so and I get a trauma response to the activity when I try it in the future. Fun stuff. But it helps me A LOT when I can break a big, scary task up into little parts even though I can't get credit from Drawabox for all of it. Since it literally is the difference between being able or not able to do the homework here, it's worth it to me.

I couldn't even do the 250 box challenge the right way the first time I saw it. To build myself up I ended up falling back on a drawing skill I already have: I'm pretty good at drawing from observation. I set up boxes in Blender and rotated them all kinds of ways and drew them from observation. My brain saw I didn't die and it started thinking, "Hmm... maybe not ALL box drawing is deadly. Maybe I feel safe doing it like this." Then I let myself sort of do the challenge but drawing the boxes in pencil where I could have the comfort of erasing. It took a long time but finally I got where I could emotionally handle drawing the boxes with feltliners following Uncomfortable's instructions to the letter. I was able to do the whole challenge in 3.5 weeks and I wasn't stressed by it at all. I spaced it out where I was doing about 65 boxes a week and no more than 25 a day. (Granted I've been asked to do some revisions but I think the teaching assistant might have misunderstood my understanding of what I was doing and I'm in conversation with them about it.)

So I dunno. I'm just sharing my two cents. You're on the last lesson. You might be able to tough it out. If not, though, I see no shame in building your confidence doing easier but related drawing assignments. And on that note maybe it could be worthwhile to just practice with the tools before trying to move forward with the homework?

4:03 PM, Friday October 28th 2022

Hey! Sorry for the late reply.

Wow, I feel your pain on this one, it is actually pretty tough for me, I feel sometimes that my brain is exploding, so I can't imagine how hard it can be for you. Yeah I think that tackling one thing at the time and slowing down is a good way to learn if you get way too overwhelmed and anxious. Works for me at least.

I personally just finished lesson 7 today, at first I really really struggled with ellipse degrees, but after taking some time to rewatch the videos about ellipses I kind of got the hang of it I hope. Even if I fail and have to do revisions it's for the best, I'm here to learn, not pass the exam haha.

But yeah, I'm kind of pumped to try out drawing vehicles digitally with lazy nezumi after drawing so much on paper and see how it goes on my free time.

By the way are you planning on finishing drawabox yourself?

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