Drawabox.com | Part One: The Basics | Lesson 1: Lines, Ellipses and Boxes | Lines: Homework | A reminder
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Lesson 1: Lines, Ellipses and Boxes

Lines: Homework

A reminder

Before we get into your homework exercises, I want to make a few things very clear:

  • Do not grind. Complete the recommended amount of each exercise to the best of your ability and move on.

  • Do not rush. Give yourself the time you need to plan your lines out, to prepare appropriately, and to demonstrate your current best.

  • Read all of the instructions carefully, multiple times if necessary. While I've tried to organize this content in as digestible a manner as I can, there is a lot of information here and there is no way you'd absorb all of it at once.

  • Take breaks! One day you're going to be a beast who can draw for hours without breaking a sweat, but right now, you need to be patient with yourself and take it all one step at a time.

Homework and exercises

Every Drawabox lesson consists of lecture content and exercises that are assigned as homework. It's best to complete this homework before moving onto the next section. As this lesson consists of three sections (lines, ellipses, boxes), it is best that you only submit your work for review when you've completed all three sections, rather than the exercises of just one section at a time.

The homework assignment for this section is as follows:

NOTE: Again, these three exercises constitute just one section of this lesson. You should hold onto your homework until you're done all three sections (lines, ellipses, boxes), and only submit for feedback once they're all done. You may feel hesitant or uncertain about whether or not you're doing things correctly - that's normal, but it's best you push past the urge to second-guess yourself. Focus on reading the instructions carefully, complete the work, and submit once all of it is complete. This will give others a solid body of work on which to base their feedback, giving you a more useful analysis of what you're doing well and what you may not understand.

All the assigned work for this section should be done in ink, using fineliners/felt tip pens as described here. In a pinch, I will accept work done in ballpoint, but only if the situation is dire. This is an exception only for this lesson as students get started.

<<< Lines: Using Your Arm
Ellipses >>>

This page has student-made readings/recordings

  • Victor Pauter
    Victor Pauter

They can be helpful for those of you who cannot follow along with the text, or who need live examples for the exercises to follow along with.

Just keep in mind that as the lessons themselves are continually being updated and adjusted, the audio recordings may not be completely up to date.

This 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.
PureRef

PureRef

This is another one of those things that aren't sold through Amazon, so I don't get a commission on it - but it's just too good to leave out. PureRef is a fantastic piece of software that is both Windows and Mac compatible. It's used for collecting reference and compiling them into a moodboard. You can move them around freely, have them automatically arranged, zoom in/out and even scale/flip/rotate images as you please. If needed, you can also add little text notes.

When starting on a project, I'll often open it up and start dragging reference images off the internet onto the board. When I'm done, I'll save out a '.pur' file, which embeds all the images. They can get pretty big, but are way more convenient than hauling around folders full of separate images.

Did I mention you can get it for free? The developer allows you to pay whatever amount you want for it. They recommend $5, but they'll allow you to take it for nothing. Really though, with software this versatile and polished, you really should throw them a few bucks if you pick it up. It's more than worth it.

Getting Your Work Critiqued

Critiques on reddit.com Critiques on our discord chat server

Having your work reviewed by others is critical, as those who are just starting out aren't in a position to properly judge their own work, and won't be for quite some time. Don't be afraid to show your struggles - it's by analyzing your mistakes that we can help you grow. Perfect homework is not what we're looking for; we just need it to be complete.

There are currently two places you can get your work critiqued by the community - Reddit and our Discord Chat Server.

Both of these are completely free.

Private Patreon Critiques

Critiques on reddit.com

If you are interested in receiving extra help, I critique the work of those who support Drawabox on Patreon.

All of these private critiques are done through reddit, in specific threads where students post their work as a comment, including a link to their work (often hosted on Imgur, though most image hosts are okay).

My requirements are more strict than the free community critiques:

  • You must complete the lessons in order, in their entirety, starting from lesson 1
  • All work for the lesson must be completed - that means all exercises in the lesson, not just those in a given section
  • You may only move onto the next lesson once the previous has been marked complete
  • The work must be done in the tools recommended in the lesson

The minimum pledge for this lesson is $5.00/month. The orange button above will take you to the reddit thread for this lesson, you can post a link to your work there and I'll be notified. Once I catch the submission, I'll add it to this backlog spreadsheet.

Pledges are collected at the beginning of the following month, but you may start submitting your work immediately. If you're a new patron, I'll be reaching out to your shortly to collect your reddit username.

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