Uncomfortable

2015-07-21 19:29

Nope, you're definitely not too late - people are still submitting homework for lesson 1 every day.

That said, I definitely think you should go back and submit your lesson 1 homework, because there's a lot of issues I can see here that are dealt with there. For example, you're not drawing through your ellipses at all, and it doesn't seem that you're using the ghosting technique for drawing your lines.

I'm also not seeing much of what I covered in the cylinder video (which was linked in the challenge post). You should definitely read things more carefully and try to consume all of the material related to any given lesson or challenge before attempting it. It's great to be enthusiastic and excited, but rushing ahead won't do you much good.

Uncomfortable

2015-07-29 22:16

The video in which I talked about using the box approach was added quite a bit later, so that's kind of understandable. You should definitely give it a watch though, in case you missed it.

Your cylinders do appear to be improving for sure, though I think you'd benefit immensely from two things - drawing through your ellipses more (you do it sometimes, but other times you seem intent on attempting to nail the ellipses in one go, which isn't terribly productive), and ghosting your lines more. Spending more time in the ghosting stage will help straighten out your lines and in turn spending less time actually drawing the mark will reduce some of the wobbling you demonstrate here and there. I also want to stress the importance on taking the time to properly draw each individual line of hatching, and don't cross-hatch (it tends to look bad). You do a good job with the hatching sometimes, making sure each line stretches all the way across the surface and that the lines are parallel, but other times you kind of half-ass it. If you're going to add something to a drawing, better that you just leave it out rather than rushing it.

Anyway, generally nice work completing the challenge! There's obviously plenty of room to grow, but you're making great headway.

Uncomfortable

2015-09-11 20:12

I noticed one consistent mistake across the majority of your cylinders. Your near plane is almost always smaller than your far plane. This makes these cylinders read more like cones that have had their tip cut off, because they all seem to be trying to converge towards the viewer.

You did complete the challenge (which was just to draw 250 cylinders), so I will mark it as complete, but you should probably try practicing this a little more. Be sure to rewatch the video linked in the challenge post if necessary, and also practice constructing cylinders by starting with a box. It may help you wrap your head around this near/far plane issue.

Uncomfortable

2015-09-21 17:28

They're looking pretty good, but keep an eye on cylinders like 22 and 19. The far end needs to have a larger degree than the near end. Also make sure you practice the method outlined in the video that describes starting with a box, and also be more aware of the minor axis when drawing these things. I'm kind of getting the sense that you didn't watch the video.

Uncomfortable

2015-09-24 19:56

You certainly completed the challenge, and for the most part the cylinders look pretty good. I do want to point out that you didn't really apply anything that was covered in the video, however. Specifically, I see no consideration for the minor axis, and no attempts to construct any cylinders by starting out with boxes. Both of these become very useful when we start worrying about building up geometric objects (lessons 6/7).

I'm still marking the challenge as complete, but please revisit the video at least so you have a sense of what I'm talking about.

Uncomfortable

2015-10-01 19:35

I'm glad to see that you took the box construction to heart - a lot of people seem to skip that, despite it being right there in the video. I do agree with what you mentioned in another comment, about your ghosting falling apart a bit here. It's true - you're much looser and much sketchier with these. Because of this, your line quality comes out much hairier, and the forms themselves feel less solid. The constructions themselves are still pretty good, but they're definitely hampered by that line quality.

Anyway, good job completing the challenge. I think they would have been excellent had you taken the time to ghost through your lines more cleanly.

Uncomfortable

2015-10-03 21:12

Generally pretty well done. I like that you paid special attention to that minor axis, it's definitely the most important component of the cylinder's construction. You may also want to play around a bit with the idea of starting from a box, but even then, it's the minor axis which calls all the shots, and the box that becomes a little more of a guide.

Anyway, I'll mark this challenge as complete. Well done.

Uncomfortable

2015-10-22 19:43

Nice work! Your cylinders generally seem to be quite well done, and they improve quite a bit over the set. Your linework is a bit loose at times, though that usually comes as a trade-off of being your drawings being energetic. Ideally you'd find a balance between energy and tidiness/planning/forethought and that will certainly come with time and practice.

One thing I did notice was that here and there the boxes you start off sometimes come out a little lopsided or skewed - and as one would expect, the cylinders constructed inside of them end up being off. This isn't frequent though, and it's understandable that here and there you'd slip up.

Overall, great work. Congratulations on completing the challenge.

Uncomfortable

2015-11-01 18:49

Nicely done, but you're often forgetting one integral thing! Draw through your ellipses! They're looking good though, just be sure to draw through every ellipse you draw for me.

Also, because of how you're drawing a faint ellipse, then another darker one around it, you're ending up with a sort of beveled, smooth edge to it which looks a little odd at times. Try to avoid drawing these things in two stages (faint, then darker).

Anyway, good work completing the challenge.

Uncomfortable

2015-11-12 20:49

They definitely improve over the set. I'd say the first page kiiinda looks like you didn't read any of the notes or watch the video. Then you start incorporating those concepts, so things improve considerably. I'd still say that your lines are looking pretty sketchy - keep drawing through your ellipses, but your other lines should not be hairy at all. One mark per line, and be sure to ghost through everything.

Keep that in mind, but aside from that, nicely done.

Uncomfortable

2015-11-23 21:14

Nice work. That thing you noticed about the dying pen is actually something I take advantage of pretty frequently. It may be cheating, but who cares - it's useful. It lets you put down those strokes with confidence without worrying about putting down too much ink.

I do think that the cylinders you drew without the boxes were weaker than your others. Not by a whole lot, but I did notice that you fairly consistently drew the far ellipse with the same or similar degree as the near ellipse - the far one should be wider.

One thing I do want to add is that the box method is mostly intended to come up with a minor axis (between the center points of the near and far planes). Once you've got that, you obey the minor axis for aligning your ellipses. You can still use the box as a suggestion, but they won't always agree fully (which can cause people to mess up a little if they try and abide by both the box and the minor axis). Minor axis is the most significant guide in this situation.

Anyway, I'll mark this challenge as complete.

Uncomfortable

2016-01-01 22:25

Congrats on completing the challenge. There are a few issues I'm seeing though - there's almost no consideration for the minor axis, and no attempts to construct a cylinder within a box. These are things that I discussed within the video, and they're really important.

With the New Years Update, I've formalized the challenges onto the website proper, along with a "how to draw a cylinder" break down you should definitely check out here: 250 Cylinder Challenge.

Now, your ellipses are actually not bad, but the minor axis allows you to align the cylinder to a specific location and angle. Right now you've got a lot of arbitrary cylinders, but when you need to work them into an existing construction, you will face difficulty without minding it.

Also, draw through all of your ellipses :P

Uncomfortable

2016-01-01 23:04

... Damnit I just wrote a critique telling you to do the 250 cylinder challenge. I should have looked ahead.

Well, you're doing pretty well, so that's good. One thing that stands out to me though is that some of your longer lines aren't entirely straight - they wobble at times, or arc, or bulge. You'll need to work on that, as a straight line is often the difference between something that feels flimsy, and something that feels solid.

All the same, what I'm seeing here is good. I'm going to mark this challenge as complete. I'm curious though - did you do this before or after Lesson 6?

Uncomfortable

2016-01-02 20:37

They certainly reach their peak in the middle. Drawing in auto-pilot is utterly useless though, and if anything, it makes you slip back into bad habits. That's why I always stress that you should not tackle an entire lesson or challenge in one sitting, and as soon as you get tired, you should stop and take a break. Ultimately that is up to you, however. You have drawn the cylinders (and many are quite good), so I'll mark this challenge as complete.

I have to admit, you've got me thinking I should implement a limit on submissions per user per week. I've gotten six from you in two days.

Uncomfortable

2016-01-03 19:38

Nice work completing the challenge. One thing I'm noticing though as you get further into the set is that you stop drawing the minor axis - which is definitely the most important component of the cylinder, as it determines the alignment of your ellipses. The box only exists to establish a minor axis (between the center points of both planes) - so if you're establishing a box but not using it to establish a minor axis, the box isn't really serving its purpose. It's definitely better than just drawing the ellipse without the box, but you're missing its primary advantage.

I'm marking this as complete, but be sure to keep that in mind as you move forwards.

Uncomfortable

2016-01-03 20:55

You sure as hell drew 250 cylinders, but I'm noticing that you probably didn't watch the video that went along with the challenge. In the video, I stress the importance of starting with your minor axis and constructing the cylinder around it. I'll mark the challenge as complete, but you should go back and watch that video and be more mindful of the resources given to you before starting on any given task.

Uncomfortable

2016-01-05 00:48

Soooo. You drew 250 cylinders so you're getting the badge for the challenge. That said, at some point you started to forget what a minor axis was, and as such your cylinders started coming out all weird and flat.

A minor axis is the line that cuts your ellipse into two equal, symmetrical halves down its narrower dimension.