1:04 PM, Saturday April 3rd 2021
Starting with your arrows, while the edges overlap as they should, you still need to think about how the arrows turn in 3D space. In some cases, I'm having trouble figuring out where the arrows are turning. While it's good to experiment, be mindful of where those arrows should lead the viewer. I'm also noticing you tracing over the construction lines. Lineweight shouldn't be used so loosely like that. Remember its only purpose is to clarify what goes in front- establish dominance over what sets behind. Also, when applying lineweight, it should be done using your shoulder and the ghosting method so your lines don't end up looking like chicken scratches. It's okay if you miss your mark-remember it's just an exercise. So don't feel like you need to sacrifice confidence for accuracy.
The overlaps carry well onto the leaves, but I'm seeing very few attempts at adding edge detail. In this leaf, you've built the spikes directly onto the previous construction using separate strokes for a spike. However, in this one, you've become prone to zigzagging back and forth across the edge, trying to replace the previous phase entirely. That should be avoided as it breaks the third principle of mark-making. When applying texture, be sure to think of the veins as small tubes casting shadows rather than a series of lines using this two-step process.
Continuing onto the branches, the first thing I noticed is your branches are too small, which is making it more difficult than it needs to be. While it's true that the stems we draw in the plants are also small, the main purpose of this exercise is to get you to solve spatial problems using the full extent of your shoulder. Drawing small limits us from doing that, making the process clumsier in the end. Another thing is that you're not extending your segments fully halfway as explained here. The additional extension helps the segments flow more seamlessly from one ellipse to the next.
Finally, the plants constructions. The matter of drawing small does come up, especially in this page here. A rule of thumb moving forward is if there's more than two drawings on a page, it's probably too small. If there's just one drawing that fills up the entire page, however, that's perfectly fine. Aside from the issues mentioned above:
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there's zigzagging on some leaves, particularly on this page, where you don't appear to use the leaf construction method properly on the bitter gourd plant. You jumped into complex leaf shapes too soon instead of building on it as explained here. The plant next to it should've used this approach on the edge detail instead.
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Another thing to mention is on cast shadows. Shadows should be projected onto an underlying form as explained on lesson 2's organic intersections section. There's shadows sticking to the form casting it here and here, resulting in some awkward shadowplay. Remember that these shadows are being cast and projected onto the surfaces that exists beneath the form.
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I am seeing some good points though so it's not all bad. You've used individual strokes for the succulent leaf edges to build on the construction lines and placed the central axis line on the vases. Also, good use of cast shadows on the rafflesia.
Overall, I think I've pointed out some areas where you could improve upon, so I'll assign some additional work to let you do just that.
Next Steps:
1 page, half of leaves half of branches
3 pages of plant constructions