Lesson 3: Applying Construction to Plants
1:17 AM, Wednesday February 3rd 2021
Exercises from lesson 3. Any notes on what needs work are much appreciated :D
Starting with your arrows, these are for the most part really well done, specifically in that you've drawn them with a great deal of confidence, and have captured a lovely sense of flow and movement. I do think that more time could have been invested in the planning/preparation phase of the ghosting method, with the linework feeling a little less controlled than it could, but ultimately the confidence of the execution of all these marks is on point.
Moving onto your leaves, it's more or less the same - you've done an excellent job of capturing how these not only sit in space, but also how they move through the space they occupy. There is however a tendency to be just a little rougher with your linework than you should, not entirely holding to the principles of markmaking from lesson 1. I definitely want you to maintain that confidence, but be sure to back it up by taking the time to plan and think through every single mark you draw, rather than just jumping in.
Aside from that, I am pretty pleased with how you've built up edge detail (drawing many individual bumps instead of a single continuous zigzagging line), although as always I believe you are certainly capable of a bit more precision when it comes to getting those marks to start and end right on the edge from the previous phase of construction.
For your branches, the solid flow continues, but keep an eye on one thing - make sure you're extending those segments fully halfway to the next ellipse as explained here to allow for a healthy overlap. That overlap helps a great deal in ensuring a smooth, seamless transition. You get it right in a lot of places, but it doesn't seem as intentional as it could, and as a result there are a few spots where you don't quite extend far enough.
Moving onto your plant constructions, we're more or less sticking to the same pattern. Your work is coming along well - you're developing a solid grasp of 3D space and of construction, you go through the steps of leaf construction correctly, and you build your constructions up well - the only problem is that you go through them far more quickly than you should, and as a result your work comes out a little sloppier than it otherwise could. You're definitely leaning hard on quantity over quality, and balancing it out with the fact that you are actually quite good at this.
One thing I do want warn you against is drawing too small, as it tends to limit our brain's ability to think through spatial problems, and can also make it harder for us to engage our whole arm while drawing (resulting in clumsier marks). You'll notice that your constructions were much stronger when you were allowing yourself to take up more of the page. So, focus primarily on first giving each drawing as much room as it requires. Once it's done, assess whether there's enough room to fit another on the same page - if there is, great. Add it. Otherwise, it's entirely okay to leave a page with just one drawing.
As a whole I am happy with your direction, but as you might have figured out already, I want you to slow down. Not in the execution of your marks, but in the steps that come before every mark you execute. Think more, draw less. Work through the steps of construction more purposefully, and try to consider what task you specifically wish to accomplish with every given line, and how you could go about executing that mark to accomplish that task as effectively as you can.
I'm going to ask you to complete just one more plant drawing. I want it to take up the whole page, and I want you to spend as much time as you reasonably can on it. It doesn't even need to be complicated, just an accurate representation of the best you can do when you aren't rushing.
Next Steps:
Please submit one more plant drawing.
Thank you very much for the in-depth feedback!
I did misread that part of the branches exercise and appreciate the clarrification.
Here's an attempt to fill the whole page, and put more thought into each mark before touching the paper. The temptation to rush was still quite intense though. This was about an hour. But I'm wondering wether to try another one, going even slower. Do you think that'd be useful?
This is precisely what I was hoping to see. You've demonstrated considerable patience here, your flower petals flow fluidly, and your resulting structure is entirely believably three dimensional. I don't need to see another plant drawing myself, and am happy to mark this lesson as complete - but of course you are welcome to do another for yourself, or move on and continue practicing your patience in the next lesson.
Next Steps:
Feel free to move onto lesson 4.
Will do. Thanks again for the help!
Some of you may remember James Gurney's breathtaking work in the Dinotopia series. This is easily my favourite book on the topic of colour and light, and comes highly recommended by any artist worth their salt. While it speaks from the perspective of a traditional painter, the information in this book is invaluable for work in any medium.
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