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250 Box Challenge

The Next Fifty

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Congratulations!

You're one fifth of the way through the challenge, so I think a hearty congratulations is in order. This challenge is a ton of work, and you've already demonstrated your ability to stick through it - and hopefully follow those instructions carefully, giving yourself all the time you need to execute the work to the best of your current ability.

Now's a good time to give yourself a little break, but once you're ready, you'll find the explanation for the next leg of the challenge below.

The exercise

For the next fifty boxes of the challenge, there will be two main changes from the last set:

  • We will no longer be marking our vanishing points on the page

  • Instead of dramatic foreshortening, we'll specifically be trying to draw our boxes with slower convergences/shallower foreshortening.

Having the vanishing points drawn directly on the page gave us something to aim at, so we'd be focusing on the corner we were drawing from and that VP. Since we don't have that anymore, we instead have to focus on how the line we're drawing converges with the other 3 lines belonging to its set, both those that have been drawn, and those that haven't.

Instead of being able to focus on the vanishing point, we are now forced to pay attention to what that vanishing point represents. While this is quite a bit more difficult, it is also considerably more useful, because it allows us to focus more on the information that is present right on the page, where we're drawing, instead of trying to manage a bunch of far-off vanishing points.

Keep in mind that while we are drawing boxes with shallower foreshortening, that does not mean we are forcing any vanishing points to infinity or drawing our edges as though they are parallel on the page. Remember - there is no such thing as "0 point perspective", as explained here in Lesson 1.

Aside from these two key points, the rest remains the same. We're still drawing 5-6 boxes per page, using the ghosting method for all of our linework, and still applying the line extensions to check our convergences.

Foreshortening

As noted above, we'll be using shallow foreshortening (which we also refer to as slower or more gradual convergence) in this section of the challenge. You can refer to this diagram if you're uncertain what that means, or the more detailed diagram here on the first page of the challenge instructions.

Homework

For the second section of the box challenge, we will be drawing another 50 boxes using the Y method, adhering to the following:

  • Vanishing points will NOT be marked explicitly on the page. Where in the first 50 we actually put points down and aimed our lines towards them, this time we do not have that luxury. Instead, we will be estimating the orientation of each edge based on getting all the lines of a given set to converge consistently. Don't worry about converging towards a specific far off point - focus on the lines you've drawn, and consider those belonging to the same set which you haven't yet drawn as well.

  • These boxes will have fairly gradual convergence/shallow foreshortening. As you estimate the orientation of each individual line, you want them to converge slowly, so that where they do finally come together, it's pretty far off the page. Keep in mind this does not mean your lines will be drawn parallel on the page. As explained here in Lesson 1 there is no such thing as "0 point perspective".

  • Write the date at the top of the page, and number every box individually from 51 to 100. Students in the past have sometimes used some different strategies for numbering their boxes - stick to this. It's simple, it makes sense, and it's easy for TAs to understand which order in which to interpret the work so they can see whether you're pacing yourself well, and whether issues that may be present earlier on disappear with practice over the set.

  • You will be drawing 5 to 6 boxes per page. No more, no less.

  • Before starting the next page, apply your line extensions as demonstrated in the video above. Be sure to start from the central point of your original Y and extending back along each arm to ensure you're extending them in the right direction.

In terms of tools, you can use a ballpoint pen or a fineliner, and we would like you to work on A4 or 8.5"x11" printer paper. If for whatever reason you aren't able to, keep in mind that what you do use should not be smaller than that. Going any smaller will make it harder for you to engage your whole arm when drawing, which this early on is going to make it that much harder to get comfortable with drawing from your shoulder. The 5-6 box per page count will still apply, regardless of how big your paper is.

If you need help with varying your Y, you can try using one of the student-made Y generator tools linked below. This is permitted for the first 100 boxes (so the "First Fifty" and the "Next Fifty") but after that you should be more comfortable coming up with those Ys yourself.

Important reminders

Some mistakes still come up frequently amongst students, so this reminder will hopefully keep you on the right track. I'm putting it here above the other sections, just so that it doesn't get missed.

  • Do not draw your boxes with lines that are actually parallel on the page. Back in Lesson 1 we talked about how a vanishing point can go to "infinity", eliminating the convergences of the lines it governs. This is not something we can just arbitrarily do for everything - it only happens when that given set of lines runs perpendicular to the viewer's angle of sight. Since we're drawing boxes that are freely and randomly rotated in space, make sure all of your boxes' lines converge. While this was easier to avoid in the first 50, in this section of the challenge we are specifically drawing our boxes with shallow foreshortening, so you may be tempted to eliminate the convergence altogether. Don't do it.

  • It is extremely important that you ensure that your line extensions point away from the viewer, as their purpose is to help us analyze how those lines behave (whether they converge or diverge) as they move farther away. If they're extended towards the viewer, then it kind of renders the line extension analysis pointless, since it doesn't tell us how we can improve our next page of boxes. You should have a good bit of practice with extending your lines back at this point, but it's still critically important that you take care to ensure it's in the right direction.

  • Your initial Y will always direct your line extensions. Remember that we can use the Y we started with to help determine which direction we should be extending our lines. This means that as long as you're actively thinking about what you're doing, it should not be possible to end up extending a set of lines in the wrong direction. You are paying attention to every choice you make, right?

  • Don't worry about the back corner being off. The back corner is a distraction - a symptom of the individual sets of lines not converging consistently. This is not something you're going to master here, so that back corner will always be at least a little off, and if all you're focusing on is the back corner, it's going to feel like you're not making progress, when in fact you are. Focus on the sets of lines, and making them converge as consistently as you can.

  • Vary your boxes. Don't just draw the same box over and over. Vary its orientation and proportions by playing with the lengths of the arms of the Y and the angles between them (as long as those angles are greater than 90°).

  • All freehanded lines throughout this course are to be drawn using the ghosting method from Lesson 1. This means focusing most of your time in the planning and preparation phases, and then executing each mark confidently, without hesitation. Remember - confidence takes priority over accuracy.

We're proud to be able to provide our lesson material compeltely free (we also provide official critique at a loss) but we can't do it without your support. Instead of irrelevant ads, we're sharing tools and courses that we recommend to help you on your journey. Every purchase goes towards helping support Drawabox.

Example

What's next?

Once you're done with this section, you'll have drawn 100 boxes. Move onto the next page to see how the last 150 will be handled.

The Last 150 >>>
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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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