Feeling stuck on Texture Analysis exercise

8:39 PM, Friday August 16th 2024

Hi, I've finished my Texture Analysis exercise and I'm feeling quite lost and frustrated. Here is a link to my exercise and the reference photo I've used for the second texture study. As you can see I couldn't finish the second study because I've no idea how to do it. I also think that my other 2 studies are not that great either which makes me feel quite down. I feel like I completely failed this exercise and think that maybe I should just redo it? I've just wanted to ask you guys about what you think and how should I proceed from here.

2 users agree
12:16 AM, Monday August 19th 2024
edited at 12:20 AM, Aug 19th 2024

Among all the exercises up through lesson 5, the texture analysis is the toughest for me. I'm nearly done with the 25 texture challenge and I still have a hard time with them. My point is that it's ok for you to find them difficult, and they are difficult for your peers, too. My very general advice is to come back to this exercise often (if only for a few minutes) in the coming days/weeks/months and just put yourself back in the mindset of trying to understand the concept of the cast shadows falling on forms. The more often you put yourself in front of the problem and try to grapple with it, the easier it will get, slowly.

Now, for some more concrete advice, it's important to get away from the idea of merely blocking in the negative spaces wholesale (here that would be the cracks in the wall as well as the inset gaps in the wall where rock used to be) or drawing the thin cracks exactly as you see them. The negative spaces will have cast shadows within them, but they will also have occlusion shadows and form shadows which are not your focus. In a view like this, with the sun shining down at the wall at an angle, there will be a whole mess of small cast shadows on the rough rocky forms, but the major cast shadows will come mainly from two sources: 1, they will be cast from the rocks that protrude out towards the viewer, onto the wall behind them or below them, depending on where the sun is; 2, they will be cast from an edge of those inset gaps onto the ground plane of that inset space, and/or the back wall of the inset space, and/or the opposite side of that inset space. Always be thinking about the direction of the sunlight, and how forms are blocking it from hitting other forms. One of the secrets of this exercise is that you will need to supplement the cast shadows you see with those that you know logically must exist (even if you don't see them clearly) given the location of the sun and your knowledge of how cast shadows work. In this picture, it is not easy to see a lot of the cast shadows, but it's your job to try and tease them out. Lastly, remember that every cast shadow you draw is a statement about the nature of the form casting the shadow (insofar as it blocks sunlight from hitting a certain area of another form), as well as the nature of the surface being casted upon, simultaneously. This means that cast shadows will wrap, or climb, or creep around forms depending on if they're being cast on round, bumpy, or boxy surfaces, or whatever else. If a shadow is not doing that, it's likely a form shadow, not a cast shadow. The crumpled paper assignment can be a red herring, because that is the one and only time you're going to be drawing form shadows in this exercise.

In order to do the right side of the assignment where you are inventing cast shadows, you need to first understand the rules of each texture and how the cast shadows work. As you get better at that, you will naturally be more equipped for that rightmost box of each analysis.

Some of what I said might not make sense now, but with more practice these things should become more clear. I would recommend looking at some completed texture analysis homework or especially completed 25 texture challenge submissions -- some will include their reference photos, and those are the ones you should look at in order to see where the cast shadows are and how people are drawing them. You don't need to start over now. The important thing is that you tried, and maybe your official evaluator or peer evaluator will suggest you try again, at which time you should, but not yet. Just try to finish this page to the best of your ability.

I'm afraid I don't have a way to draw on the reference very well and hand it back to you to aid my explanation, but maybe someone else can do that. Good luck. You can do it.

edited at 12:20 AM, Aug 19th 2024
8:02 PM, Tuesday August 20th 2024

Hi CULHWCH!

Thank you a lot for your response. I will try to do the things you said in the following days and hopefully I'll be able to understand drawing texture in a better way. I really appreciate your answer, thank you for the help.

Have a nice day :)

0 users agree
3:42 PM, Sunday August 25th 2024

Hi friend,

I'm just typing this out to say that I'm in the same EXACT position as you currently are with texture analysis. I've had this exercise sitting around half-finished for several months now. The strategy I've developed for thinking and approaching drawing just doesn't work with this one, I'm not understanding it, and I keep setting this lesson aside soon after picking it up again. Right now, texture is a huge roadblock towards constructional drawing, which feels more intuitive, and the remainder of Drawabox as a whole. I'm not really learning anything with this exercise and it doesn't feel good.

I wish I had some advice or guidance for you but I don't. Just know that you're not the only one.

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