Check Out NMA    Learn More About our Partnership
Close and Enjoy Drawabox Ad-free
View Full Submission View Parent Comment
1 users agree
5:01 AM, Wednesday July 26th 2023
edited at 5:02 AM, Jul 26th 2023

Well part of the problem of why we draw at the beginning with "symbol drawing" is because we really don't know how the subject that we are drawing is structured, and so our brain tries to draw the major things that he sees or thinks that composes that particular object so we end up with a kinda goofy cartoony representation of what it believes is that particular object. This problem comes from two things in my opinion:

  • Structure

  • Form

Which i guess ....they are kinda the same thing(?) but anyways, the thing is, and in my particular opinion, when you are drawing from reference you should not copy the lines that you see but rather understand its structure and how it sits in 3D space, and based on that, create forms that reinforce that solidity and believability, once you understand enough of that particular object is when you will be able to create it from the imagination without a reference, but for this you'll have to analyze the object carefully and repeat it for a long time before you develop a natural sense of how its composed.

Besides that however, i noticed that you are right now at Lesson 1, so getting things to be believable and with a strong sense of 3D space is going to be hard for you at this moment, i wouldn't worry too much about it since all of the things that i mentioned you are going to learn them in later lessons so its something you'll have plenty of opportunities to work and improve at.

One last thing that i want to say however, is that just because we are bad at constructing things in 3D or at drawing things without reference, it doesn't mean we shouldn't draw, remember that one of the most important points in Lesson 0 its doing the 50% rule; dedicating a time to study art and a time to drawing just for the sake of having fun and not because you expect to improve at something, this is, in my opinion, one of the most important rules in Drawabox, because it will "free" you from the mentality of always trying to draw something that its good or presentable, and this is good because it allows us to experiment and to always remember that besides all the grinding and theory, we need to be able to enjoy our art, to enjoy the process. Sure, its not going to look good at all, but from my personal experience, once you break the barrier of not wanting to draw bad things you will start to enjoy the process of just simply drawing for the sake of fun again.

edited at 5:02 AM, Jul 26th 2023
2:56 PM, Wednesday July 26th 2023

Thank you

6:59 AM, Thursday July 27th 2023

Yup, What you said is true in the theory. The major problem comes in under the understanding of the form of the particular subject that causes our brain to just wing it off

If you don't mind , can you provide some exercises to reinforce the process of clearly understand the structure present below the reference. Because even though i have reached far into the drawabox lessons (I am currently at lesson 7) ,I still think that I draw the references "just as they are" and not clearly understanding the subject at all

Much better if you can point out some methods and techniques that drawabox teaches that comes under the topic of understanding the below structure of the subject , so that I can focus on them in my warm up or just know that how a process of drawing a subject is conducted (like what are thoughts that go when we want to understand and how a subject sits in "3d" space, tbh I don't really know the meaning of "Sit in 3d space")

Much APPRECIATED !!!

5:39 AM, Friday July 28th 2023
edited at 5:50 AM, Jul 28th 2023

The major problem comes in under the understanding of the form of the particular subject that causes our brain to just wing it off

Yeah i can understand this, but in my opinion we can still wing it while maintaining a sense of volume or 3D, which may not be what we want but definitely far better than drawing lines or doing symbol drawing.

If you don't mind , can you provide some exercises to reinforce the process of clearly understand the structure present below the reference.

Drawabox in fact focuses a lot on this, so i can't really give you a better exercise from the ones that already exist in Dab, i mean if we go back to Lesson 4 and 5, Insects and Animals, its really all about understanding how those particular subjects are composed and then picking the most suitable forms to reproduce that particular subject, that's what in my opinion is understanding the structure of a subject (and like i said, this is literally what Drawabox lessons are about from Lesson 1 to 7).

Once you have a good understanding of the structure of that object you can then start to draw it out of your imagination, for example, how is a spider composed? I know theres 3 shapes, a circle, an 2 ellipses for the body, and sausages/cylinder like forms for the legs, once i understand that, i can then draw those shapes and transform them into forms (by either wrapping around, giving sense of the different planes of the object, etc) or drawing direct forms (things that have a strong sense of 3D, like a cylinder or a box) and then have a drawing of a spider, the same applies to an animal, i know that animals have a cranium, a ribcage and a pelvis, i can create an animal of some sort by knowing the components and how to simplify them (A ball, and 2 ellipses), and then draw those shapes, transform them into forms and then have an animal of some kind.

Will this drawings be perfect? Maybe not, but its the foundation towards understanding how those subjects are composed, then is only a matter of repetition, time and mileage that i will be able to hopefully create a better representation of the subject matter (and of course if we want to get deeper and more accurate, maybe at some point studying the anatomy).

Now, will this approach work every single time? I don't think so, i mean i particularly don't consider myself a good draftsman, i still have trouble understanding particular subjects, for example i absolutely have no idea how to draw a mantis, i know how to do the head, but the bodies are incredibly annoying, at that point i think its best to experiment with different techniques, either the ones provided by drawabox or different ones and see which one fits the structure better, but the key idea is to always try to visualize simple shapes and forms to be able to simplify the complex structure of the subject.

Outside of drawabox however, i don't think there is a definitive answer for this, i mean there may be a lot of exercises to focus on understanding the structure of a particular subject but ultimately it comes down to how you understand the particular object and how you decide to break it down, because there is a lot of techniques to draw a specific subject while still focusing on Structure.

Much better if you can point out some methods and techniques that drawabox teaches that comes under the topic of understanding the below structure of the subject

Well like i mentioned earlier, Drawabox from lesson 1 to 7 focuses of different techniques to approach understanding the structure below the subject, that is what construction is.

But if I had to choose, i would say the concepts from Lesson 2 to 5 are key to understand a good chunk of how we could use forms as opposed to lines or symbol drawing, because they teach concepts that are incredibly vital such as:

  • Wrapping around objects.

  • Adding Masses to forms.

  • Lines and Things that flow in 3D space.

  • A general sense to draw in 3D as opposed to flat.

tbh I don't really know the meaning of "Sit in 3d space"

I personally understand the concept of "Sit in 3d space" as how that objects exist in perspective or in real life, because when we are drawing we draw on a flat piece of paper and that sometimes makes us forget that the subject that we are drawing as depth and volume to it, and thats something we need to keep in mind when drawing, so for me "keeping in mind how that object sits in 3D space" means how we can convey that the object has depth and/or volume to it, to make it really feel 3D and not flat.

To wrap things up, like i mentioned to OP, the biggest problem with Symbol drawing is drawing flat lines as opposed to believable 3D forms, like for example, an eyeball is a sphere not just lines.

edited at 5:50 AM, Jul 28th 2023
7:19 AM, Friday July 28th 2023

Yes I feel like I understand what you said.

It made me to believe more in the opinion I earlier gave to OP in same thread

I feel that structure and form are related to each other.

If you identify the forms present within or the forms the subject is made from, proportion, planes , the structure of that subject is established.

Like in spider case , I know that the cephalothorax is made from sphere and ellipses and not from some some prison or cylinder. After analysing , you find that the legs are attached to the thorax and not to the head or the back and these legs kinda flow into each other.

All these will be kept in mind while I draw the spider and add details to the head as if it was rounded not some Flat , 2d sh*t .

All these helped me to define the structure of the subject.

Many of the times I draw the drawings using boxes mainly which help to give idea which planes are where thus defining structure .

Please correct me if I am wrong because I don't want to continue my art journey with something completely wrong I my mind.

If you like, you can also see the opinion I gave earlier in the same thread !!

Thanks for replaying earlier !!

The recommendation below is an advertisement. Most of the links here are part of Amazon's affiliate program (unless otherwise stated), which helps support this website. It's also more than that - it's a hand-picked recommendation of something I've used myself. If you're interested, here is a full list.
Pentel Pocket Brush Pen

Pentel Pocket Brush Pen

This is a remarkable little pen. Technically speaking, any brush pen of reasonable quality will do, but I'm especially fond of this one. It's incredibly difficult to draw with (especially at first) due to how much your stroke varies based on how much pressure you apply, and how you use it - but at the same time despite this frustration, it's also incredibly fun.

Moreover, due to the challenge of its use, it teaches you a lot about the nuances of one's stroke. These are the kinds of skills that one can carry over to standard felt tip pens, as well as to digital media. Really great for doodling and just enjoying yourself.

This website uses cookies. You can read more about what we do with them, read our privacy policy.