6:15 PM, Wednesday February 17th 2021
Well done, you appear to have addressed some of my complaints, such as drawing through your ellipses and drawing your boxes freehand, but I specifically asked you to revise the exercises traditionally. When writing my critique, I was unsure of your situation, so left any mention of materials and camera equipment out of the conversation.
Now I could go on a rant saying "If you can afford a computer, you can afford a camera" or chastise you for laziness, but that would be totally antithetical to the spirit of this course and is the kind of talk that'd probably make you give up. And that's even before we begin to talk about how that kind of behaviour makes me look...
Hey. If you want to complete this course digitally, then I won't stop you. I've already said my piece on the matter. But using an eraser of any sort is completely out of the question.
Sure, in your day to day life, you're going to be making use of this tool extensively. It's really good at neatening up linework and such. But when you're doing technical exercises specifically designed to teach you a concept, it completely defeats the purpose if you can just... forget... you ever made a mistake to begin with.
There's a rather obscure Disney movie that I think you should watch. It's called Meet The Robinsons. It's about a young boy travelling forward in time to meet his future ancestors who coincidentally own a pet t-rex that gets possessed by a man in a bowler hat and--
Look the plot doesn't really matter.
Point is there's this one scene where the main character Lewis screws up. The family garden is in tatters after one of his inventions goes awry. Everyone rushes out to survey the damage, and Lewis braces for the worst as he tells them the truth. Instead of chastising him though, the family starts cheering; congratulating him even! Lewis is understandably confused, but after they explain to him how making mistakes is necessary for long-term success, he just smiles and joins in the celebration.
You should have the exact same attitude when it comes to your art.
Next Steps:
I'm going to cautiously move you on to the 250 box challenge; on the condition that you follow the directions carefully, and you don't erase or undo any marks you make from now on. Hide the user interface. Unbind the keyboard shortcuts. Get a friend to duct tape your non-dominant hand behind your back if that's what it takes. But never, ever bury your mistakes. That's what's going to hold you back not only in Drawabox lessons, but in your entire career as an artist.
