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5:05 PM, Friday March 22nd 2024
Tofu passed this onto me, as there seem to be some issues that he's called out that you still don't seem to be addressing. I wanted to try and see what the reason for this might be.
Specifically, if we look at your form intersections work, there are two main things that stand out:
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Your linework is quite rough. While there are certainly areas where you've executed reasonably straight and confident lines, there are a lot of areas where it's unclear whether or not you're actually employing the ghosting method. Normally the little points we draw in the 'planning' phase are more visible, especially because it's normal to still struggle with accuracy. So, when students execute their marks confidently, they may end up missing the end point while prioritizing the confidence of that execution. So based on your work here, my initial assumption was that you simply weren't using the ghosting method or weren't applying it in its entirety (skipping over or rushing through the planning phase), but looking at it more closely I'm thinking that it's possible you may be trying to apply the ghosting method, but rather executing your mark incorrectly. If you recall from Lesson 1's principles of markmaking, one of the major points for students to keep in mind is that we prioritize the smooth/confident flow of our strokes above worrying about the accuracy of those marks. We can also see other places where you revert to chicken-scratching in certain places, which suggests that you are not being mindful of how you're executing these marks, and therefore aren't allowing yourself the option of executing them as instructed by the course. Now, I'm not sure which issue is at hand here - either you're not applying the ghosting method at all, or you're not prioritizing the confident execution at the end, and allowing yourself to hesitate and draw more slowly in order to gain back accuracy, contrary to those instructions. Ultimately only you can tell us which it is - but looking back at some of your box challenge revisions, you are clearly capable of executing these lines far better.
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You continued not to draw through your ellipses two full times before lifting your pen. Like the ghosting method issue, this was something that was explicitly raised in Tofu's last round of feedback. I can see that you are drawing through those ellipses in your organic forms with contour ellipses exercise, but there isn't really any reason for you not to be doing it here, as you are aware of it as a requirement.
Before we can move forwards, I do need some clarification on the reasoning for these issues - based on what I've explained, can you suggest reasons why your approach isn't adhering to the instructions from Lesson 1? If there's something about those instructions that seems unclear, it would be best for us to identify what it is now, before deciding how to move forwards.
8:03 PM, Friday March 22nd 2024
Honestly I wasn't sure what the issue ultimately was but looking over the work along with your thoughts and critique and re-reviewing the lessons I might be able to shed some light on some of the misunderstandings I was having.
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Starting off with the linework, there are some things I might not have been doing and it might have been lack of understanding on my part. I can assure I was applying a ghosting method with a large majority of the outline lines, however with the ghosting I would sometimes usually only put one dot for the starting location and not have one for the finishing point. I'm not sure if this might be the cause of the issues you are seeing. As for some of the other chicken scratching if my thoughts are correct on this I think it might be from drawing the intersections of the object. I do admit I'm having a hard time seeing how the intersection will work and redraw the lines a few times and I can see the scratching reviewing my work again.
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For the ellipses, that may be more from misunderstanding. When Tofu gave the last round of feedback I failed to understand that drawing through the ellipses twice did not just apply to the organic forms but also for the object intersection. Looking through the homework examples I'm not sure how I missed this.
Anyway, looking over everything that is my best estimation on why I'm failing the exercises.
5:17 PM, Saturday March 23rd 2024
It seems that you have done a good job of identifying areas in which your efforts could have been better used. Only plotting one point instead of both, opting for chicken scratching on a situational basis, etc. all suggest that you're following the instructions of the course less intentionally and carefully than you should be, and that you're opting to make adjustments to them. As stressed in Lesson 0 (and I'd recommend you review the video on Lesson 0 Page 3 for this purpose), you need to be making every possible effort to follow the instructions to the letter - especially if you're to make use of the subsidized official critique services we offer, because they only work on the basis of the student doing everything they can to follow those instructions already.
Keep in mind that the form intersections exercise is one that introduces us to the concept of spatial relationships - that's really at the very core of what this course as a whole addresses, and so you are by no means expected to be comfortable with a concept that is worked upon from lessons 3-7 on Lesson 2. Rather what we're doing here is introducing the problem, so as to steer the student as we venture into this territory, and plant the seed that will be cultivated throughout the rest of the course.
You're not going to get the intersections right, and that's okay - but you need to make sure that you are applying all of the steps that have been covered previously in terms of executing each and every mark with care, and your adherence to those instructions should not be loosened in the face of complexity and uncertainty. When you feel uncertain, make sure that at the very least you are nailing what is already clearly defined. That will likely demand more time from you, but that is ultimately what this course demands.
Anyway, review that Lesson 0 material, and it would also probably be a good idea to review your Lesson 1 linework concepts as well. Then do two more pages of form intersections to demonstrate to me that you are able to execute your linework with care, and adhere to those instructions more closely, even in the face of a complex exercise.
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