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5:38 PM, Thursday May 13th 2021

The ghosting method has three stages to it. In the first one - the planning phase - we ask ourselves what a given mark is meant to contribute to our drawing, or to our understanding of how that construction exists in space. There are circumstances where a mark simply doesn't do much - for example, if you've got some contour lines on the surface of a form, adding another probably isn't going to help, and will instead add to the clutter.

Of course, if a mark helps us more precisely figure out the position of some element we wish to add, even if it is not a direct part of the object itself, then it is still of value and should still be added.

Don't think in terms of "too much construction" - just consider whether the elements you're building up could benefit from a little additional constructional information and support. If you can improve your precision a little more, if you can do something to make a curve just a little more specific and solid. These drawings are, as always, just exercises in spatial reasoning. Anything that helps you better understand the space in which you're working, and the way the object you're constructing occupies that space, is going to be valuable.

For what it's worth, you are faaar from putting in too much construction. You were in your submission skipping quite a few steps, so I would definitely err towards more construction rather than less.

5:27 PM, Sunday May 16th 2021

Understood. I'll up the construction for the next submission

12:39 AM, Saturday May 22nd 2021

https://imgur.com/a/oue9GgW

Better?

2:41 AM, Wednesday May 26th 2021

https://imgur.com/a/oue9GgW

Better?

3:11 PM, Thursday May 27th 2021

So much better. Your constructions are noticeably more comprehensive in how you've approached building them out, and it results in a far greater overall sense of solidity. This one in particular shows considerable patience and care with every thing, from the biggest overall form, to the smallest of constructed details. As a whole I am very pleased with the shift in your approach, and the results it has helped you produce.

Just a couple things to keep in mind:

  • The bounding box that encloses this construction ended up kind of wonky. Mistakes certainly happen, and you made the right call of just moving forward with it instead of trying to correct it. Still, keep in mind that a ruler gives us far greater capacity to eyeball our convergences (since the ruler is generally longer and lets us see where the line is going to extend towards), so take the time to take advantage of that. I think with this box you may have just been rushing a little, though the rest of the construction demonstrated appropriate patience and care.

  • For this car, filling in the front section around the headlights with solid black ended up flattening it out quite a bit. This is okay with the interior of the car, because purposely flattening out that section actually makes the rest of the construction stand out as being more solid, since they are separate elements layered together. When dealing with actual constructed elements that you don't want to flatten out however, it is important that you stick to the principle that any area of filled black is reserved only for defining cast shadows and nothing else.

So! You're doing much better now, and I am happy and proud to mark this lesson as complete - and with it, the entire course. Congratulations, and best of luck on whatever it is you pursue next.

This critique marks this lesson as complete.
4:46 PM, Thursday May 27th 2021

And thank you for being such a great mentor!

However, I don't think my stint in DrawABox is over just yet. I saw you proko video on how to approach forms and I think it really clicked for me how to go about drawing animals (my personal weakness).

I will be repeating that lesson under you stern tutelage. I still need the extra practice. Other than that I appreciate how you've recontextualized how I should approach this little passion of mine and will recommend your course to anyone looking to improve their drawing.

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