Uncomfortable

2016-01-12 13:44

A lot of people make the mistake of thinking they're expected to submit perfect homework. That kind of defeats the purpose of getting a critique - if it's already on the mark, then I don't have much more to offer.

The point is to give me something to work with - when I look over your homework, I can generally see what you're understanding, and what you're isn't quite clicking just yet. Based on that I can give you more appropriate advice for moving forwards, ask you to redo certain sections with a different approach, or point you to parts of the lesson that you missed.

So, finish the homework to the absolute best of your ability, and then submit it.

Uncomfortable

2016-01-13 23:09

Pretty nice work. There's a few issues that we can work on as you move forwards, but you've generally done quite well.

Your lines are looking good, though your ellipses are a little on the stiff side. You're allowing your brain to guide your hand as you draw the mark, rather than developing muscle memory through the ghosting method and then letting your muscles do all the work when actually executing the mark. Try to draw a little faster and with more confidence so your brain doesn't have the chance to intercede. Also give this a read: Stiff, Uneven Ellipses.

Your boxes are coming along nicely, though for the rough perspective boxes I highly encourage you to go back over your finished homework as described here: Lines Not Lining Up With Vanishing Point.

Lastly, your organic perspective boxes do have plenty of room to grow. This is completely normal, as it does take quite a bit of time and development to establish a solid sense of how forms can be rotated in 3D space. I'm going to mark this lesson as complete, but I'd like you to move onto the 250 Box Challenge next to get some more practice with arbitrarily rotated box constructions.

Also, you should give this blurb about keeping your foreshortening consistent a read: Inconsistent Foreshortening Between Boxes in the Same Scene.

Uncomfortable

2016-01-13 23:15

Pretty well done! Your lines section is solid. Your ellipses are coming along nicely, though as you continue to move forward, start trying to tighten them up. Right now they're looking just a little loose, which is totally fine right now, but you do want to ultimately aim for the lines from successive passes of drawing-through to get closer together.

Your rough perspective boxes are a little disconcerting. It doesn't look like you're putting a lot of time into applying the ghosting method to all of your lines, rather it seems you're just putting your pen to the page and trying to draw slowly and carefully. This results in wobbling - the benefit of the ghosting method is that it separates things into multiple stages, and ends with the execution being relatively quick and confident.

It definitely is a little tough to see though if other mistakes are just due to a lack of accuracy, or because you don't fully understand how to apply 1 point perspective. I'm inclined to think it's the former, based on what I'm seeing, but just in case I want you to read this: Guessing, Instead of Knowing.

Your organic perspective boxes are generally quite well done. Your lines are certainly better than the previous section, and your box constructions are coming along nicely. I do believe you could use a little more work in that area though.

I'm going to mark this lesson as complete but I'd like you to move onto the 250 Box Challenge next. It'll help you iron out the issues with ghosting your lines while helping you get more practice with constructing arbitrarily rotated boxes.

Uncomfortable

2016-01-13 23:37

Generally, your work is excellent. You're right that it falls apart a little when you get to the rotated boxes, but the rest of it is very solid.

It might help, when dealing with the rotated boxes at first, to just keep the example from the lesson open and copy it, to get a sense of how to space things out. Also, try to use the boxes already present in the scene to inform your decisions on how you're going about constructing another. For example, the central horizontal and vertical lines are a little easier, but then when you get towards the corners things go a bit nuts. Try to look at it like multiplication tables - one of these corner boxes is the sum of one box from the horizontal line, and one box from the vertical line.

Anyway, I am going to mark the lesson as complete. I'd like you to move onto the 250 box challenge next. You can do more of the rotated boxes as part of the 250 boxes, and you can also experiment with more freeform construction, like in the organic perspective boxes (which also needs work, though it's moving in the right direction).

Uncomfortable

2016-01-13 23:40

Nice work! Your lines and ellipses are really solid. Your boxes start off strong, and generally your rough perspective boxes are pretty good, but I definitely encourage you to go back over your finished rough perspective exercises as described here: Lines Not Lining Up With Vanishing Point.

Your organic perspective boxes do still need some work, but this is totally normal. It does take time to establish a solid understanding of how to construct arbitrarily rotated boxes in 3D space.

I'm going to mark this lesson as complete, but I'd like you to move onto the 250 box challenge for more practice with those organic box constructions.

Uncomfortable

2016-01-13 23:47

Not bad. Just a couple observations:

• Your ghosted lines are a little wobbly - try not to invest your time in the execution phase, actually drawing the mark should be quick and confident to keep the brain from interceding and causing your hand to wobble with its micro-correcting. Instead invest your time during the ghosting phase, which will help compensate for the inevitable inaccuracy that comes from drawing fast.

• Your ellipses are kind of stiff and wobbly as well - the reason is the same. With the ellipses, I encourage people to draw through them because it helps people draw them faster and with more confidence. If, however you still draw with a slow, beleaguered stroke, the lines will still wobble and the ellipse will still come out uneven.

Your boxes are generally quite well done. I did notice a little bit of uncertainty with the organic perspective boxes, which is totally expected at this point. If you'd like extra practice, I'd recommend looking into the 250 box challenge.

Otherwise, feel free to move onto the next lesson whenever you feel ready.

Uncomfortable

2016-01-13 23:54

Not bad. There's a couple things I noticed that you can work on as you move forward, but generally you've done pretty decently.

First off, I am noticing that your ghosted lines are looking a little wobbly. You should invest less time in the execution of the line (step 3) and more time in preparation (step 2). The execution should be a quick, confident stroke, just fast enough to keep your brain from interfering with its need to make tiny corrections, which manifest as wobbling. Drawing faster does cause you to become less accurate, so instead you spend your time getting used to the drawing motion in stage 2. Ultimately, a smooth, straight, inaccurate line is better than a wobbly accurate one.

I do notice that your organic perspective boxes, though they're coming along nicely, do need a little more work. Constructing arbitrarily rotated boxes isn't easy and doesn't come immediately to most people, so I do ask most to get some extra practice with the 250 box challenge. Same goes for you - it'll also give you a chance to practice your ghosting more.

So, I'll mark this lesson as complete - move onto the 250 box challenge next.

Uncomfortable

2016-01-14 20:43

Generally, very well done. There are two mistakes that I'm seeing though, one comes from not reading the lesson carefully enough, another is more of a tweak to how you approach mark making.

The first - Not Drawing Through Ellipses. I'll admit that your ellipses are generally quite well done, but I am still adamant that everyone who submits homework to my lessons draws through their ellipses. You're more than welcome to draw ellipses however outside of my lessons, but I want to make sure that when you draw ellipses, you do so with the confidence and speed that drawing through an extra time before lifting your pen allows you to do.

The other - this is actually somewhat similar to the previous point. When ghosting your lines, I'm noticing just the tiniest bit of shake or wobbling in your lines. It's almost unnoticeable. When applying that three step process, your last step - actually executing the line - should be done swiftly and confidently. This will guarantee a smooth, straight mark. What it also will do is potentially throw your line off into a slightly inaccurate direction. To compensate for this, we invest the majority of our time into the second step, ghosting through the drawing motion to build up the muscle memory required to make the mark confidently, without letting our brain guide our hand.

I'd like you to do one more page - or even a half of a page, really - of the table of ellipses. All I want to see is that you're drawing through them and doing so with a persistent and confident pace.

Uncomfortable

2016-01-16 18:58

Not bad! There are some common issues I noticed, so we'll work on those, but you're definitely moving in the right direction.

Here's the major issues I noticed:

• Super imposed lines, Fraying/Separation on Both Ends

• Funnels, Not Aligning Ellipses to the Minor Axis. Less than that, I'm just not 100% sure you understand the purpose of the minor axis in this exercise (by the fact that you left it out of some of them). Keep in mind that when it comes to aligning ellipses in 3D space, the minor axis is SUPER important.

• When applying hatching lines (to shade your boxes), make sure the lines are consistent, parallel and stretch all the way across a given plane from edge to edge. Don't let any of the lines float in the middle of a plane or overshoot an edge.

• Boxes in general, Not Framing Compositions

• Rough perspective boxes, Guessing, Instead of Knowing. This is an important one.

• It would also help to go over your completed rough perspective box exercises as described here: Lines Not Lining Up With Vanishing Point

• In your rotated boxes, I noticed that your lines get super wobbly. Read this: Wobbling, Drawing Too Slowly and Carefully. Continue to apply the ghosting method to everything, rather than just trying to draw "slow-and-steady". Your marks should be made confidently, which will throw off your accuracy, so you'll have to prepare and ghost through the drawing motion beforehand to compensate.

Your organic perspective boxes certainly need work as well, but this is expected, as the idea of constructing arbitrarily rotated boxes in 3D space is one that requires a spatial sense that develops with time and practice. We'll get some extra practice on that front once I mark this lesson as complete by moving onto the 250 box challenge, but before that I'd like you to redo the rough perspective boxes exercise.

Edit: Oops, I just realized you did the 250 box challenge already. I'll move onto critique it, but I still want you to redo the 2 pages of the rough perspective box exercise before I mark this lesson as complete.

Uncomfortable

2016-01-16 19:08

It's coming along quite nicely. There's a few issues I'd like to point out, but generally you're doing pretty well.

• Super Imposed lines: Fraying/Separation on Both Ends

• Boxes in general - I do notice that your lines tend to be falling short of their goals fairly often, leaving gaps in your box constructions, or overshooting at times. This leads me to think that you might be rushing a little too much, so try and ease up and spend more time in the preparation phase of the 3 step ghosting method.

• Rough perspective boxes - I encourage you to go over your completed homework for this exercise as described here: Lines Not Lining Up With Vanishing Point, to help you identify the more subtle mistakes you make so you can compensate for them the next time you attempt the exercise.

• Your rotated perspective boxes are coming along well, though I do notice that at the sides, I think you're faltering a little and not actually pushing the rotation of those boxes as far as you should. They look quite similar in orientation to their neighbours. Keep this in mind as you continue to practice this exercise.

• Your organic perspective boxes do show a few common mistakes (moreso in the first page than the second), such as Inconsistent Foreshortening Between Boxes in the Same Scene and Far Planes Larger than Near Planes. This particular subject takes a lot of time to develop, so everyone struggles with it.

I'm going to mark this lesson as complete (remember, this means that I think you understand what you should be aiming for with each exercise, though you should still continue practicing them as you move forward). I'd like you to move onto the 250 box challenge next, however, so you can get some more practice with the idea of constructing arbitrarily rotated boxes in 3D space.

Uncomfortable

2016-01-16 19:15

It's coming along nicely! I certainly like the volume of work you've done, filling in each page to the brim. There's a few issues I noticed, but you're doing quite well.

• In your funnels, I notice your ellipses getting kind of misshapen. Your ellipses in other areas are generally quite well done, and the difference is that with the funnels, you're drawing more with your brain, rather than following what your arm naturally wants to do. You're likely drawing a little slower here, which gives your brain the chance to interfere. Try to avoid this by investing the time during the ghosting/preparation phase, and drawing with a fast, persistent, confident stroke.

• You are definitely struggling with your rotated boxes and organic perspective boxes, but this is completely natural. This sort of spatial sense takes time and practice to develop, and you're moving in the right direction. With your rotated boxes keep pushing yourself to turn each subsequent box a little more (I can see the sort of discomfort and fear fighting back against your desire to turn each box, but it'll abate as you continue pushing yourself).

I'm going to mark this lesson as complete, but I'd like you to move onto the 250 box challenge next. One thing I've seen some people do that looks to be quite helpful, when working on the 250 boxes, is to try envisioning a string flowing through space that passes through a row of boxes, each one aligned to the string (like this https://i.imgur.com/fiON7aV.jpg). I think the challenge in general will help you work through the spatial issues and solidify your understanding of how to construct these arbitrarily rotated forms in a more organic manner.

Uncomfortable

2016-01-15 13:45

It's generally much more productive if I give you a critique based on actual work you've done, rather than shooting blind hoping that I'll hit what you're not quite understanding. So, complete the homework to the best of your ability and submit it, and based on your mistakes I should be able to help you more effectively.

Don't be afraid to fail - no one's expecting perfection, just submit the best that you can muster right now.

Uncomfortable

2016-01-16 19:21

Nice work! I'm generally seeing that you understand what you should be aiming for with these exercises. Your results for your lines and ellipses are well done, and your boxes show a lot of growth. I'm very glad to see the red lining on your rough perspective boxes. Estimation does take time to hone and perfect, but you're well on your way.

One thing that I did notice, which is a very minor point in many regards but still rather important, is that you applied some fairly sloppy hatching lines in your rotated boxes. This of course has nothing to do with form or whatever else, but it is still worth mentioning that anything you add to a drawing should be done so conscientiously, and with care. Hatching lines should be consistent, parallel and stretch all the way a surface from edge to edge, with nothing floating arbitrarily on the plane, and no scribbling either. After all, you could just as well have chosen not to apply any hatching, and in this case that would have made this exercise look a little better.

I can see that you've been struggling with your organic perspective boxes, which is completely natural. It takes time to develop a sense of how to construct arbitrarily rotated boxes in 3D space, and most people struggle with it.

I'm going to mark this lesson as complete, but I'd like you to move onto the 250 box challenge next. Be sure to read the extra notes and watch the video linked there. They, along with the additional practice, should help you solidify your sense of 3D space. Also another thing you may want to try for part of the 250 box challenge is, not unlike the rotated boxes exercise, try drawing series of boxes that are gradually turning in space, as though they were tied together by a string (like this: https://i.imgur.com/fiON7aV.jpg).

Uncomfortable

2016-01-16 19:48

Pretty good! Generally you seem to be moving in the right direction with all of your exercises. I did notice a bit of stiffness with your ellipses in planes, so you may want to read this: Stiff, Uneven Ellipses. Also, I definitely see some struggling with your rotated boxes, but I can see clearly that you know what you should be aiming for - it's just a matter of continuing to practice and improve.

Lastly, your organic perspective boxes are on the weaker end, but this is completely normal. Most people struggle considerably with the idea of constructing arbitrarily rotated boxes in 3D space. I'm going to mark this lesson as complete, but I'd like you to move onto the 250 box challenge next. Be sure to go over the additional material there, and take your time working through the challenge.

Uncomfortable

2016-01-16 23:27

You're not expected to submit perfect work. You do the exercises to the absolute best of your ability, and you submit it. Based on what you submit, I can generally find specific issues that you can work on. Sometimes however it is just a matter of practice, and the struggles you're encountering are perfectly natural. Long story short, tough through it. If it's really catastrophic and you feel that you could do better, then scrap it and start over, but if you feel that this is the best you can muster right now, finish it off.

Uncomfortable

2016-01-18 22:30

Nice work! Your exercises seem to be fairly well done. There are a few issues I noticed with your organic perspective boxes, but they're generally better than I usually expect from this exercise, as most people do struggle with them.

The biggest issue I noticed was this: Inconsistent Foreshortening Between Boxes in the Same Scene. Also however, I think as you start to get a little tired into the second page, I notice problems with your near/far plane size relationships.

Lastly, I did also want to mention that you should be a little tidier with the hatching lines you use for shading. They're nice and parallel, but make sure your lines stretch from edge to edge on the plane, with no floaters and as little overshooting as possible.

I'm going to mark this lesson as complete - if you want, you can move onto the next lesson, or you may want to take a look at the 250 box challenge to get a little more practice with your arbitrarily rotated box constructions. It's up to you.

Uncomfortable

2016-01-18 22:36

Not bad! There are a few issues I noticed, but for the most part you're doing quite well.

Here are some areas where you can improve:

• Super Imposed Lines, Fraying/Separation on Both Ends

• Your hatching/shading is generally pretty sloppy - keep your lines parallel and consistent, and make sure they stretch all the way across the surfaces they're covering, from edge to edge. No floaters, no scribbling, no zigzags, and as little overshooting as possible.

• Be sure to go over your completed rough perspective homework as described here: Lines Not Lining Up With Vanishing Point

• The arbitrarily rotated box constructions in your organic perspective exercise are coming along nicely, but they do need some more work. You've got a lot of this going on: Far Planes Larger than Near Planes.

I'm going to mark this lesson as complete, but I do encourage you to move onto the 250 box challenge next to get some additional work with those arbitrarily rotated boxes.

Uncomfortable

2016-01-18 22:42

Not bad! You're generally doing a good job. There are a few issues I'd like to highlight, though.

First off, your ellipses are generally looking a little stiff and wobbly. This is because you're drawing them slowly and carefully, investing all of your time in the drawing phase rather than the preparation phase (remember the ghosting method from part 1? it should be applied here, and everywhere.) By drawing slowly, your brain interferes and tries to guide your hand, making little corrections as you go along, which causes your ellipses to wobble and become uneven and misshapen. Instead, you want to ghost through that motion until you get accustomed to it - this imprints onto your arm's muscle memory, so when you finally execute, it's done with a consistent, confident stroke that is fast enough that your brain cannot interfere. Basically, your arm has practiced plenty and knows what it's doing. If you draw slowly, your muscle memory doesn't kick in.

For your rough perspective boxes, you're coming along well. I encourage everyone to do this - you should go over your completed homework as explained here: Lines Not Lining Up With Vanishing Point. It'll help you identify certain trends in your mistakes so you can compensate for them the next time you attempt that exercise.

Remember that we're not expecting perfection here - all I want to see is that you understand what you should be aiming for, and I do see that in all of your exercises.

Lastly, I do notice some struggling in your organic perspective boxes, both in the construction of arbitrarily rotated boxes, as well as in the quality of your lines (you should probably be ghosting/preparing more, and executing a little faster to keep the lines straight and smooth). I'm going to mark this lesson as complete, but I encourage you to move onto the 250 box challenge next.

Uncomfortable

2016-01-18 22:59

Definitely a vast improvement. I am going to mark this lesson as complete, but I'm going to point out a few issues as well, primarily with your boxes.

First off, I'm glad to see that you're checking and correcting after the fact, in a different colour (rather than doing so immediately as a knee-jerk reaction). To take things further, I'd like you to go over the completed rough perspective boxes as described here: Lines Not Lining Up With Vanishing Point, basically plotting each line back to the horizon to see how far off from the vanishing point it is. With this information, you can consciously compensate for the mistakes you tend to make, the next time you attempt this exercise.

When it comes to rotating boxes, you are certainly still struggling. This is not abnormal, and at this point it is expected. I've got a few comments on how you're approaching things right now.

First off, I'm noticing that when you feel uncertain of things, you try to figure things out in pencil first. Don't do this - start and end with pen. You need to get accustomed to making, and having to deal with your mistakes.

Secondly, try to avoid drawing explicit vanishing points when dealing with these rotated boxes. Each box has its own set of vanishing points. The very act of rotating a box causes the vanishing points to slide along the horizon, or move in space, relative to the amount they've been rotated. Remember what a vanishing point is - it's a point to which all lines that are parallel to one another converge when drawn in 2D. If any two lines converge at the same point, they are parallel in 3D space. If you're drawing all of your forms according to the same vanishing points, you're probably working in a grid, which allows for no rotation.

Dealing with all of the vanishing points that are generated from lots of rotated forms tends to become overwhelming, which is why at this point, I encourage people to set them aside.

You know the vanishing points exist, but try to think about how that box is going to turn in 3D space, and what it'll look like. In the organic perspective exercise, it's more arbitrary, but in the rotated perspective exercise, it's gradual. Things move step by step. Try to picture in your head, a box that's turning, rather than working from a strict vanishing-point based approach.

That isn't to say the vanishing points don't exist - they do - but right now thinking too much about them will cause you to stumble.

Like I said, I'm going to mark this lesson as complete, but I'd like you to move onto the 250 box challenge next. Be sure to read the notes there and follow the tips. It should give you plenty of practice with this challenging subject.

Uncomfortable

2016-01-18 23:30

Not bad! There's a few issues I'd like to mention, but you've generally done quite well so I will be marking this lesson as complete.

The first thing that jumped out at me is that your first page of rough perspective boxes shows some pretty wobbly and wavy lines. This shows me that you're not applying the ghosting method here as you should be. It does improve somewhat on the next page, but remember that your time investment needs to all go into the preparation phase - when you execute the line, you do so with a quick, confident stroke.

On an unrelated note, I would like you to go over your completed rough perspective boxes as described here: Lines Not Lining Up With Vanishing Point. It will help you get the most out of this exercise.

Your rough perspective boxes are done quite well, but I did notice that you approached it with an underdrawing first, which you then darkened with another pass. I'd like you to avoid this approach for my exercises. The reason is that it tends to diminish the training of one's confidence, which is as much a goal of these exercises as any other. Think through the lines you're going to draw, and then execute with confidence. You will make mistakes, but that in itself is necessary - to come to terms with those mistakes, and accept them as inevitable, and eventually to learn how to work around them when they happen.

Lastly, I do notice some struggling with your organic perspective boxes, although over the set you do improve here as well. I'd like you to move onto the 250 box challenge next. This will help you get some extra practice with constructing these arbitrarily rotated boxes, and wrapping your head around how they sit in 3D space.

Uncomfortable

2016-01-18 22:51

I generally hold my pen as I do when I'm writing, although if my pen's ink flow is being shitty, I'll try to hold it upright (perpendicular to the page). I make sure not to rest my wrist or arm too much on the page, so I can force myself to draw from the shoulder. This is going to be difficult, I'll admit - this is not something most people are used to, as they are forced to use muscles that generally aren't active.

Also, make sure you ghost through the motion several times first, and once you become accustomed to the motion, draw with a persistent, confident pace. Remember that you're to draw through the ellipse, so the inevitable inaccuracies of the first pass that come from drawing more confidently will be compensated for in the second pass. Just trust your arm to know what it's doing.

Uncomfortable

2016-01-20 22:43

• In the future, don't submit any work done in pencil. If you don't have a pen at the time, either wait til you find one, or redo the section in pen later for your submission. It's not just about whether or not you erase, there's a lot of reasons I insist people work with specific tools.

• Most of your ellipses are well done, though I noticed that you jump between drawing through them as you should be, and drawing around the ellipse only once. Draw through all the ellipses you draw for my lessons, without exception.

• I noticed that you are not applying the ghosting method with your freehand boxes - instead of drawing single, well-planned lines, you've got very sketchy marks, often reinforced with several other strokes. This is a bad habit, and going through the three steps of the ghosting method for every mark will help you break out of it.

• I'd like you to go over your completed rough perspective homework as described here: Lines Not Lining Up With Vanishing Point. This will help you make the most out of the exercise, so you are aware of where you tend to be less accurate in your estimations, so you can compensate for them the next time you attempt this exercise.

• Your organic/rotated perspective boxes do need work, but this is to be expected. It's a challenging exercise and the understanding of how forms are rotated in 3D space takes time and practice to develop.

I'm going to mark this lesson as complete, but I insist that you move onto the 250 box challenge next. This will both give you the chance to continue practicing drawing arbitrarily rotated box constructions, while letting you continue to practice ghosting your lines and applying that 3-step method to drawing actual forms.

Uncomfortable

2016-01-20 23:00

Excellent work. The issue you were experiencing with the planes kinda goes outside of the scope of the exercise - remember that it's not about keeping perspective in mind, although eventually those skills develop in that direction. At that point it's just about creating quadrilateral shapes, drawing ellipses within spaces, and ghosting lines.

Generally you nailed all your exercises, but there's two things I'd like to mention.

First off, for your rough perspective boxes, the best way to get everything you can out of it is to go over the completed homework as described here: Lines Not Lining Up With Vanishing Point. It'll help you learn what you tend to do wrong, and compensate consciously the next time you attempt that exercise.

Yoru organic perspective boxes were generally well done, except for one mistake that was done quite generally across the board: Inconsistent Foreshortening Between Boxes in the Same Scene.

Keep up the good work - I'll mark this lesson as complete, so feel free to move onto the next one.

Uncomfortable

2016-01-21 22:51

Your lines and ellipses are generally very well done. I did notice though that near the end of your ellipses, you started trying to draw your ellipses in one pass, instead of drawing through them a couple times before lifting your pen - I mention in the lesson that any ellipses you draw as homework for my lessons need to apply this process of drawing through, without exception. Make sure you continue to do that as you move forwards.

Your rough perspective boxes do demonstrate some issues:

• Guessing, Instead of Knowing

• Lines Not Lining Up With Vanishing Point

• Your hatching is also very sloppy. Make sure that if you choose to apply hatching lines as shading to your drawing, that the lines are parallel, consistent and stretch all the way across the plane from edge to edge with no lines floating in the middle. Every line you draw is important, none should be half-assed.

You certainly do show some trouble with your arbitrarily rotated boxes (both with the rotated boxes and organic perspective exercise). You mentioned that you didn't find the organic perspective exercise to be that difficult, though generally you actually did a better job with the rotated boxes. They're not perfect, but with your organic perspective boxes, you've got a lot of issues with your near/far planes.

Neither of these two are exercises that I expect you to do perfectly on your first attempt, anyway. The concept of being able to rotate a box construction in your head is one that takes time and practice to develop.

Once I mark this lesson as complete, I'd like you to move onto the 250 box challenge to get some more practice in this area (and more help from the notes and suggestions on that page).

BEFORE you do that however, I'd like you to do one more page of rough perspective boxes. Be sure to frame your compositions properly as well. Once you submit that, I'll mark the lesson as complete and you can then move onto the 250 boxes.

Uncomfortable

2016-01-22 00:00

Very nicely done! Rotated boxes and organic perspective boxes are definitely extremely challenging, but you did a pretty solid job with both of them. You've definitely met my expectations there, but if you're interested in more practice or material on that topic, take a look at the 250 box challenge.

The only thing that I noticed that I'd like to mention has to do with your ellipses. I'm noticing that yours have a tendency to come out a little bit stiff. This isn't always the case, and some are definitely more fluid and relaxed than others, but I do get the impression that generally you're drawing them with a slow stroke that lacks confidence. By moving slowly to compensate for a fear of messing up, your brain ends up driving your hand, resulting in a lot of little corrections that shows up as unevenness and wobbling. In your case it's subtle, but it's still there.

When drawing ellipses - or really marks of any sort, it's important to do so with a swift, confident stroke. You don't want your brain to direct your actions, instead you want your muscles to do what they do best - draw smooth, flowing lines. This is actually one of the primary reasons I insist people draw through their ellipses, as it will generally free up people to be bolder and more confident with their strokes, resulting in smoother, more even ellipses. Of course, some people will still draw slowly as they go through them, negating that benefit.

Now, drawing quickly does have its downsides - one's accuracy is bound to suffer. To compensate, we apply the steps of the ghosting method, primarily preparing and ghosting through the drawing motion to build up muscle memory so our arm, once left to go about its business, knows exactly what's expected of it. Think of it like the brain giving the arm its marching orders, and the arm eventually executing those orders when drawing the mark.

Aside from that, I do want to encourage you to go over your completed rough perspective homework as described here: Lines Not Lining Up With Vanishing Point. It's an excellent way to weed out very common mistakes and figure out what you yourself are doing wrong so you can compensate for them the next time you attempt the exercise. It's something I recommend to everyone.

Anyway, fantastic work overall. Feel free to move onto the next lesson.

Uncomfortable

2016-01-21 18:24

Indeed you may.

soushiance

2016-01-22 12:44

P.Sthe papers are. 0.370.5 mm

Uncomfortable

2016-01-23 02:00

Not bad, though I do have a few concerns. Some minor, some less so.

First off, your ellipses are coming along nicely, but I think you should push to tighten them up, and work towards drawing through them a little lesson. Aim for two passes through the ellipse (no less than that).

On a more significant note, your rough perspective boxes are definitely weak. I'd say they still pass, because many of them show me that you understand the concepts for the most part, but your execution tells me that you're not terribly interested in investing quite as much time as you should.

First off, many of your lines aren't super straight. Investing more time in the preparation phase of the ghosting method, and then in turn executing each mark with a fast, confident stroke would help you draw straighter lines. Secondly, the shading you apply with hatching lines tends to be sloppy - they should be consistent and parallel, and they should stretch all the way across the plane from edge to edge. Nothing floating in the middle, nothing overshooting past the edges, nothing scribbled or zigzagging.

Furthermore, I notice that you start trying to change up the exercise, likely to keep it interesting. I warn against that early on in the lesson, because nine times out of ten when people do it, they think an exercise is beneath them and that they understand, but their execution falls short. As I said, I do think you understand the material, but it doesn't really matter if you can't force yourself to focus and get something done with all of the investment of time that it requires.

Now, this details some mistakes that you may be making here and there: Guessing, Instead of Knowing. I'm honestly not sure if you are, or if it's because you're just getting sloppy, but every now and then your horizontals don't run parallel to the horizon, or your verticals don't run perpendicular to it, and things start to fall apart.

Lastly, I would like you to go over your completed rough perspective box homework as described here to ensure that you identify inaccuracies in your estimation, so you can compensate for them the next time you attempt this exercise: Lines Not Lining Up With Vanishing Point.

Your rotated boxes are okay, but there's plenty of room to grow there as well. I think one of the issues there is that you're not terribly keen on overlapping the boxes - especially as you get to the outer boxes. Because of this, the resulting set of boxes starts to fall apart, because you lose the benefit of being able to relate one box to its neighbours in order to figure out how it should be oriented.

Your organic perspective boxes are generally done quite well. If you'd like more material or more practice on the subject, I'd check out the 250 box challenge.

I am going to mark this lesson as complete, but you should know that this does not mean that I don't expect you to ever touch these exercises again. Quite the contrary - it would be wise to keep up with these exercises, as they do a good job of helping sharpen your skills and keep them sharp in the long run. I usually recommend that people incorporate them into their warm up routines, doing one or two exercises to a limited extent before starting on whatever it is you're drawing that day.

Anyway, you may move onto the next lesson.

Uncomfortable

2016-01-23 02:04

Very, very nice work. I'm glad to see that you clearly read each part of the lesson, as well as the self-critique material, very carefully. As a result, pretty much everything was spot on and you were able to catch your own mistakes.

I'd say the only area that seems even remotely weak are your organic perspective boxes, and even those exceed my expectations for this lesson. People generally struggle considerably with those, and I send them to the 250 box challenge for extra practice. I don't believe that is necessary for you, but it's always there as an option should you wish it. I do however recommend at least reading the tips there, specifically the points about line weight - they should be useful as you move forwards.

I'm going to mark this lesson as complete, so feel free to move onto the next lesson.

Uncomfortable

2016-01-23 01:53

Expect that you will fail. It's an inevitability, and it's a necessity. Don't panic if you find that you struggle with something initially.

Let's break down the purpose of the ghosting method. The reason we split it up into several steps is because the straightest, most fluid and smooth mark will come from drawing quickly and confidently. Unfortunately, doing so often causes one to lose accuracy. That's the issue you're experiencing.

We compensate using the ghosting method. You say you ghost through the motion a few times. When you do so, make sure you're keeping a rhythm to it. You don't want to be missing a beat between your preparing and executing - it should simply be a matter of, without skipping a beat, dropping the tip of the pen to the page and repeating.

If a few times doesn't do it, you may need to ghost more, in order to establish that repetitive rhythm, and to help train your muscles and instruct them as far as what it is you want them to do.

Last of all, if you're missing sometimes, then that's not a big deal. Like I said, it's expected. While there are better approaches to doing things, they still take a considerable amount of practice and mileage.

Uncomfortable

2016-01-23 03:27

Generally fairly solid work. The only concern I have is with your rough perspective boxes. This is more the case when you start off, and decreases as you move through the exercise, but at the very least your first couple compositions fall into some of the pitfalls mentioned here: Guessing, Instead of Knowing. I'm not sure if it's because you didn't grasp the points mentioned there, or if it was more because of a sloppy approach (not applying the ghosting method, so ending up with inaccurate lines), but something was definitely causing the boxes to come out less than stellar.

Aside from that, everything seems to be in order. Furthermore, since you do demonstrate the rough perpsective boxes done properly in several instances, I'm going to mark this lesson as complete. The only thing I would like to recommend is that you go over your completed rough perspective homework as described here: Lines Not Lining Up With Vanishing Point. This is something I recommend to everyone so they can identify the mistakes in their estimations and get the most out of the exercise.

Uncomfortable

2016-01-25 20:36

Not bad! Your lines and ellipses are excellent. There are a few things I'd like to mention in regards to your boxes though.

First off, in your plotted perspective boxes, I noticed that you used dashed lines to show draw through your forms, showing the lines on the opposite side of the boxes. In the future, avoid using broken lines like this - drawing through your forms is great, and I encourage it, but you should use solid continuous lines. A broken line undermines any sort of flow/continuity that keeps it reliably straight.

In your rough perspective boxes, I'm really glad to see that you double checked your perspective after the fact, it's a great way to identify your mistakes so you can compensate for them later. I would however encourage you to be a little more mindful when applying shading with hatching lines. If you do choose to add that sort of thing, remember that all lines are important, so you should take the time to ensure that the hatching lines are consistent, parallel and stretch all the way across a plane from edge to edge. Nothing floating in the middle of a plane, overshooting, zigzagging, scribbled, etc.

Your rotated boxes are coming along nicely, but try to push the rotation a little further, all the way to the full 90 degree rotation on any given axis. That way you can play with the full range. It also is perfectly fine to have these boxes overlap - often people doing this exercise will be afraid to overlap their boxes and will instead space them out as you have done, which makes the result feel a little odd.

Lastly, your organic perspective boxes are coming along quite well. There is definitely room to improve, so I would like you to move onto the 250 box challenge next for extra instruction and practice with constructing arbitrarily rotated boxes. You may however consider this lesson complete. Keep up the good work.

Uncomfortable

2016-01-24 21:16

It's not a matter of keeping the pad at arm's length. It's about locking your wrist and elbow joints so your arm doesn't pivot from them while drawing, forcing you to pivot strictly from the shoulder in order to get the movement you want.

Here's an exercise you can try:

1. First, find out what it feels like to pivot from the wrist. Hold your arm out in front of you, elbow bent slightly so your hand is in front of your chest. Lock your elbow and shoulder joints and try pivoting from the wrist. Your hand should flail back and forth a bit with a fairly limited range of motion.

2. Next, lock your wrist and try pivoting strictly from the elbow. Your whole forearm should flail around a bit, though more smoothly with considerably more freedom of movement. Your upper arm should remain stationary.

3. Finally, lock both your wrist and your elbow and try pivoting from the shoulder. Your whole forearm should remain static, though not stationary - your entire arm should move, but those joints should remain stiff and locked. Your hand and your forearm should not move independently, the entire arm should be moving as a single solid unit.

It's very natural for people to lose track of what it feels like to pivot from the shoulder while they're drawing, so they fall into the habit of drawing from their wrist again. Going through these three steps every time you find yourself slipping back into drawing from the wrist should remind you what it feels like to draw from each pivot, gradually becoming more accustomed to the different ways your body can be manipulated.

Lastly, remember that the target here isn't to ace the exercises - all you're doing is demonstrating to me that you understand the purpose and goal of each exercise well enough to continue practicing it on your own.

Uncomfortable

2016-01-24 22:33

There are advantages and disadvantages. On one hand, it does stabilize your stroke, on the other, if you're not used to drawing from your shoulder and locking your wrist joint, dragging your hand like that tends to work like an anchor, and often encourages you to fall back to drawing from your wrist. Because of this, I generally encourage beginners to keep their hand off the paper while drawing until they are confident in their ability to draw from their shoulder.

Uncomfortable

2016-01-25 20:54

Very nice work! Also I appreciate not adding your own commentary, I usually just skip over what people say anyway.

Generally you've done great work, there's just a few points here and there that I'd like to mention.

First off, in your rough perspective boxes, always remember that as long as a box runs level with the ground plane (as opposed to being tilted), its verticals are perpendicular to the horizon and its horizontals are parallel to it. Also, I recommend that everyone goes over their completed rough perspective boxes as described here: Lines Not Lining Up With Vanishing Point.

The other thing I wanted to mention is that every now and then, you do have some instances of your Far Planes Being Larger than Near Planes. Keep an eye on that - it's a common mistake, and I'm certain you've already noticed it, but I include this just in case.

If you'd like extra practice with these arbitrarily rotated box constructions, you can take a look at the 250 box challenge, otherwise you can go ahead and move onto lesson 2.

Uncomfortable

2016-01-25 21:09

Fantastic work. Your lines and ellipses are excellent, as are your plotted/rough perspective and rotated boxes. The only area where I noticed some mistakes are with your organic perspective boxes. Your linework here is very confident, which is excellent, it's just the forms themselves that need work.

This is the problem that I'm noticing: Inconsistent Foreshortening Between Boxes in the Same Scene. Essentially, the perspective distortion/foreshortening on your boxes is really dramatic, which makes all of the boxes feel like they don't fit together within the same scene.

I'm marking this lesson as complete, and I'd like you to move onto the 250 box challenge next. Try to focus on boxes with shallower foreshortening (far plane should be similar in size to the near plane), as these are going to be very useful to you in the long run. Generally dramatic perspective is reserved for very large forms (like tall buildings where the far end is very distant), while shallower foreshortening is used for objects at a much more relatable scale.

Uncomfortable

2016-01-26 20:44

Nice work! I do have some comments to offer.

The first thing I noticed is that you do have a page where you experiment with not drawing through your ellipses (going around the elliptical shape once only, instead of multiple times). I'm sure you noticed that they tend to come out uneven, and I'm glad to see that you went back to drawing through them.

I do want to point out though that some of your ellipses come out a little stiff and uneven even when you draw through them - the reason for this is that you're being too slow and careful when actually drawing the ellipses. Drawing through them is intended to encourage you to draw with a more confident pace. When you go too slowly, your brain will be able to interfere and make little corrections. What you want is for your arm and your muscles to drive your drawing, as this ensures smoother lines and a greater emphasis on flow.

The downside is that drawing faster will diminish your accuracy, so to compensate we look to the ghosting method covered in the previous section. We invest all of our time in preparing to draw and getting familiar with the motion required to draw what we want, before executing quickly and confidently.

Secondly, in your rough perspective boxes, I noticed that in the first page you were quite clean and conscientious with your hatching lines, while on the second you you got a little sloppy. Remember that all the lines you draw are equally important, and should be drawn with focus and care. Make sure your hatching lines are always parallel, consistent and stretch all the way across the plane from edge to edge, nothing floating in the middle and nothing overshooting the edges.

I would also like to encourage you to go over your completed rough perspective boxes as described here: Lines Not Lining Up With Vanishing Point. You're heading in the right direction with that exercise, and going over your homework like this will help you identify your mistakes so you can consciously compensate for them the next time you attempt the exercise.

Lastly, I did notice that while you are moving in the right direction with your rotated boxes and organic perspective boxes, this is something you're struggling with. This is perfectly normal, and even expected - constructing arbitrarily rotated boxes is hard, and it takes time to develop a sense of 3D space.

I'm going to mark this lesson as complete, but I'd like you to move onto the 250 box challenge next. There's some extra material there that you can read, and the challenge should give you the practice you need to really solidify your understanding of 3D space.

Uncomfortable

2016-01-26 20:56

Very nice work! The only point of critique I would give is something I recommend to everyone - take your completed rough perspective boxes homework and go over it as described here: Lines Not Lining Up With Vanishing Point. It's a really helpful extra step you can do for yourself that will highlight common inaccuracies in your estimation of perspective, which you can consciously compensate for the next time you attempt this kind of exercise - given that you're aware of them.

Aside from that, excellent work. Feel free to move onto the next lesson.

Uncomfortable

2016-01-27 03:42

I don't expect people to submit perfect work. People read over the lesson carefully in full, complete the exercises to the absolute best of their ability and submit it for critique. I point out any areas that can be improved, but I mark the lesson as complete if I get the sense that the student understands the goal and purpose of each exercise. Ultimately when I mark the lesson as complete, the student's still expected to practice the same material at their own discretion.

So, do your best and submit it.

Uncomfortable

2016-01-27 20:21

Nice work! Your lines and ellipses are looking solid. I do have some recommendations for your boxes though, although they certainly meet my expectations.

For your rough perspective boxes, I recommend (and I recommend this to everyone) that you go over your completed homework for that exercise as described here: Lines Not Lining Up With Vanishing Point.

I noticed that your organic perspective boxes also do require some extra practice. This is to be expected, as it does take time to develop a solid sense of 3D space, and constructing arbitrarily rotated 3D forms is quite challenging.

I'm going to mark this lesson as complete, but I'd like you to move onto the 250 box challenge next. I assure you that you are moving in the right direction, but I think the extra practice and the additional notes and tips there would be of use to you.

Keep up the good work!

Uncomfortable

2016-01-27 20:28

Nice work! There are some issues I'd like to point out, but generally you're progressing well.

First off, I notice this in your earlier work with your super imposed lines, and the first sets of ghosted lines (though it diminishes over the set): your lines are wobbly. Here's an explanation as to why, and how you can fix it: Wobbling, Drawing Too Slowly and Carefully.

Your ellipses are generally done quite well, and show the kind of confidence and evenness that I'm definitely looking for.

Jumping ahead, the next issue I'd like to mention is with your rough perspective boxes. It's a minor point, but I would like you to take more time with your hatching lines - they're as important as any other lines, so try not to be sloppy with them. Make sure they're parallel, consistent, and stretch all the way from edge to edge without any floating in the middle of the plane or overshooting the edge.

Also, I recommend this to everyone so they can get the most out of this exercise, go over your completed rough perspective homework as described here: Lines Not Lining Up With Vanishing Point.

Lastly, your organic perspective boxes are quite good, but I did notice a somewhat common mistake - Inconsistent Foreshortening Between Boxes in the Same Scene. To sum it up, try not to apply overly dramatic perspective to each box - it tends to throw off the scale and it makes each form feel less a part of a single cohesive scene. Remember that dramatic foreshortening/perspective distortion implies a very large scale (like a building whose top is very far away), while shallower perspective implies more relatable objects.

Anyway, I'll mark this lesson as complete so feel free to move onto the next one.

Uncomfortable

2016-01-27 20:39

Your first two sections are pretty solid, but I have some concerns about your boxes. The issue is primarily that your not spending enough time ghosting your lines and preparing, so while your lines have great confidence and flow to them, they tend to either be inaccurate, or don't come out straight. This ultimately undermines the solidity of the boxes you draw, and also makes it difficult to assess whether you are making certain mistakes because you don't fully grasp a concept, or if it's just because your lines are too inaccurate, and your intention isn't getting onto the page even though you understand what you should be doing.

The biggest struggle comes from the rough perspective boxes, where it appears that you are making this mistake: Guessing, Instead of Knowing. Personally, I do think that it's just a matter of you being sloppy and rushing, and that you understand that your horizontals should be parallel to the horizon and that your verticals should be perpendicular to it. Still, I can't be certain.

Also, I'd like you to go over your completed rough perspective boxes as described here: Lines Not Lining Up With Vanishing Point. I recommend this to everyone, but in this case especially I think it'll highlight your general inaccuracy.

In your rotated boxes, I noticed that you did not draw through your boxes - that's something you're going to have to get used to doing. We're not concerned with making pretty clean drawings (though we certainly don't want to waste lines), these are all exercises to help you understand form. If you don't draw an entire form, it won't have quite as much impact.

Your organic perspective boxes are okay, though they also suffer from the inaccuracy issues to a degree, along with the fact that you don't have a full grasp of rotating boxes arbitrarily in 3D space - though this last part is totally normal and expected of everyone.

I'm going to ask you to submit the following before I mark this lesson as complete:

• One more page of rough perpsective boxes - make sure you spend time ghosting through every single mark before drawing it. Don't draw slowly (your pace and confidence when actually drawing the marks is spot on), just make sure you use the ghosting technique to compensate for the inevitable inaccuracy that comes from drawing fast.

• One page of rotated boxes - draw each box in full, as if all the boxes are transparent. This includes the lines on the far end of the box (I talk about this idea of drawing through boxes here: Draw Through your Forms).

Once you submit that (I assume it'll be satisfactory), I'll mark the lesson as complete. Then, I'd like you to move onto the 250 box challenge to get more practice with the idea of constructing arbitrarily rotated boxes.

Uncomfortable

2016-01-27 20:55

Fantastic work. I was hoping to find something helpful to recommend as you move forwards, but I'm hard pressed to find anything. You're investing your time at the right parts of the mark making (ghosting) process, you're drawing through your ellipses just enough to maintain enough confidence to keep them even and rounded, you're taking your time with every part of your box constructions (hatching lines included) and you're double checking your rough perspective boxes as recommended in the self critique resources.

I honestly don't really have anything to say, except maybe... The most minor of things, the slightest of warnings: the kind of sketchbook you're using may start to get fussy as the pages try and fold back over while you're working. If you're not troubled by this, it's fine, but if it does start to hinder you, don't tough through it. Loose leaf or ring-bound sketchbooks tend to work better because it doesn't get in your way.

I'll mark this lesson as complete - keep up the good work, and feel free to move onto the next one!

Uncomfortable

2016-01-28 20:51

Your lines and ellipses are solid. Your boxes do have some issues, but nothing too major.

First, with your rough perspective boxes, I strongly encourage you to go over your completed homework as described here: Lines Not Lining Up With Vanishing Point. This is something I recommend to everyone, as it helps you identify the inaccuracies in your estimation of perspective. It's off for everyone by varying degrees, although you will find that there are specific situations where your estimation is drastically less accurate than others. Being aware of this will help you compensate for it the next time you do this exercise.

Also, I want to stress that every mark you put down on a page is important - including the hatching lines you use for shading. You should make sure to draw these lines parallel and consistent, stretching from edge to edge across a plane with no scribbling/zigzagging, no lines floating in the middle of the plane and no lines overshooting the edges.

Your rotated boxes and organic perspective boxes are certainly on the weaker end, though this is to be expected. The concept of constructing arbitrarily rotated boxes is not something that most people wrap their heads around quickly, and it does tend to take time.

With yours, your angles all seem to be very dramatic, to the point that the forms are no longer cuboid in nature. You're also demonstrating this issue, which is quite similar in that it relates to using very dramatic perspective: Inconsistent Foreshortening Between Boxes in the Same Scene.

I am going to mark this lesson as complete, but I'd like you to move onto the 250 box challenge next. The material there should help give you some extra tips on how to understand how the forms sit in 3D space (like drawing through the boxes), and the extra practice should help solidify the concepts.

Uncomfortable

2016-01-28 15:38

1. I think for the most part it's fairly unavoidable, and doesn't have too great an impact, so don't worry about it too much. The elbow still provides a decent radius, unlike the wrist.

2. Using a ruler for the set up of your exercises (building tables or frames) is perfectly okay and encouraged.

3. It's not something I've ever really considered. On points like this, I always encourage people to do what feels most comfortable to them. In most cases, that's what's most important, and if what's generally more comfortable tends to be detrimental, I make a specific point about it (like drawing longer lines from the wrist).

Uncomfortable

2016-01-30 22:44

Not bad! I have just a couple things to point out.

First off, I encourage you to go over your completed rough perspective homework as described here: Lines Not Lining Up With Vanishing Point. I recommend this to everyone, as it does a good job of making you aware of where your perspective estimation's accuracy tends to be weaker.

Secondly, when applying hatching lines for shading, make sure the lines are continuous from edge to edge - don't stop marks halfway through and then resume as you have done, I'm sure you notice the unpleasant results from that approach.

Thirdly, in your first page of rotated boxes, I did notice that you abstained from drawing through the forms, and instead hid lines that were blocked by other boxes. The approach you used for the second page is much better - we're focused on understanding how each box exists in 3D space, and not including all of the lines hinders us on that front.

Lastly, I think your boxes in your organic perspective exercise are coming along nicely, but as you said, it would be a good idea to move onto the 250 box challenge next. Be sure to read the material included on the challenge page before starting. I will be marking this lesson as complete though, as you've done quite well.

Uncomfortable

2016-01-30 23:13

Your lines and ellipses are looking very solid. Your plotted perspective boxes are also done well (though you should be framing those compositions, not leaving them free on the page), and the line weights you demonstrated there are definitely a plus.

It seems to me your skipped the rough perspective exercise entirely, so you'll DEFINITELY want to go back and do that. This exercise requires you to set down your horizon and single vanishing point and estimate the angle of your lines without using a ruler or plotting the lines all the way back.

You also skipped the rotated perspective box exercise, so you should also do that. Not sure why you skipped so much, honestly.

Lastly, your organic perspective boxes are on the weaker side, but this is entirely expected. It takes time to develop a sense of 3D space that allows you to freely rotate box forms and construct them on a page. Once you submit the missing pages of your homework, I'll (probably) mark this lesson as complete. Once it's marked as complete, I'd like you to move onto the 250 box challenge next to get that extra practice.

I would also like to mention that in your organic perspective boxes exercise, it seems you tried to sketch faintly underneath and then commit to darker lines. This approach is not something I recommend, as it undermines one's confidence and also causes them to actively avoid having to think through a spatial problem in their head. Thinking on the page will resulted in wasteful linework, and every single line you put down on a page (whether it's part of the drawing, or something that helps you understand how a form exists in space like drawing through a form, it should contribute - if it doesn't, it shouldn't be drawn at all). Often applying the ghosting method covered in the lines section helps plan out every mark instead of sketching roughly.

So, as I mentioned:

1. Complete the missing parts (2 pages of rough perspective, 1 page of rotated boxes)

2. Submit for critique, if there are no misunderstandings I'll mark the lesson as complete

3. Do the 250 box challenge

Uncomfortable

2016-02-01 21:19

Not bad! There is one common issue that I'm seeing affect your work across the board, in your lines, ellipses and boxes: Wobbling, Drawing Too Slowly and Carefully. You're not drawing with enough confidence, and instead are drawing very slowly and carefully, which results in a wobbly line (as your brain has plenty of opportunity to intercede and make little corrections). This may keep your accuracy in check, but it destroys the flow of your lines.

Drawing quickly will inevitably mess with your accuracy, but this can be compensated for by applying the multi-step ghosting process introduced in the ghosting method. I will mention though that this method only has an effect if you execute with a confident, persistent, swift stroke.

Aside from that, your work is coming along nicely. Your plotted/rough perspective boxes are solid (and I'm glad to see you checking your accuracy on your rough perspective exercise.

Your rotated and organic perspective boxes do need a little more attention, but this is completely expected. Constructing arbitrarily rotated boxes requires a well developed sense of 3D space which takes time to establish.

I'm going to mark this lesson as complete, but I'd like you to move onto the 250 box challenge next. The additional tips and material there should help considerably, and the practice will give you the chance to both work with box constructions while also giving you the opportunity to sort out your wobbly lines.

Uncomfortable

2016-02-01 21:23

Not bad. Your lines and ellipses are looking pretty solid, and your boxes are coming along well - I do think your organic perspective boxes could use a little more work. They're not bad, but most people do require additional practice to really pin down their sense of 3D space, and get the concepts behind the near/far plane size relationships down solidly.

I also noticed that you did not complete the rotated boxes exercise. Instead of having you redo it as part of this lesson, I'm going to ask you to move onto the 250 box challenge next and do your rotated boxes exercise as a part of that. The challenge itself should give you extra practice as well as extra tips and resources.

So, you can consider this lesson complete.

Uncomfortable

2016-02-01 21:59

A few things:

• You're not generally drawing through your ellipses. You seem to try it once or twice (although you go way overboard with it), but for the most part you seem to have decided not to. I expect you to draw through all of the ellipses you do for my lessons - it's not optional.

• I did notice a little sloppiness in your rough perspective boxes. Based on what I'm seeing, you do seem to understand the idea of all horizontals being parallel to the horizon and all verticals being perpendicular to it, but you've got many of these lines going off in weird ways. Be more mindful of your lines and be sure to apply the ghosting method to everything across the board. In case this is actually an issue where you didn't understand that principle, you should read up on it here: Guessing, Instead of Knowing

• I also encourage you to check your completed rough perspective box homework as described here: Lines Not Lining Up With Vanishing Point

Lastly, your organic perspective boxes are coming along nicely, but I do feel that you could use some additional practice on that front, as you do seem to have a lot of issues with your near/far plane size relationships.

First, I'd like you to do one more page of the table-of-ellipses, being sure to draw through the ellipses this time. Once you've submitted that, I'll mark this lesson as complete. Then I'd like you to move onto the 250 box challenge. Be sure to read over the content there before starting the challenge. The challenge itself should give you lots of additional practice with constructing arbitrarily rotated forms. It's perfectly normal to struggle with this, and I do send most people down this path for additional training.

An additional note: you don't need to capitalize the first letter of every word in a sentence.

Uncomfortable

2016-02-02 14:39

I'd say for this lesson, it's better to keep from resting your hand on the page. In the long run this isn't as necessary, but right now doing so tends to anchor your hand to the table, making it very easy to forget to draw from your shoulder. Once you get accustomed enough to drawing from the shoulder, it'll be less of an issue, but I strongly recommend that you keep your hand off the page for this lesson.

Uncomfortable

2016-02-03 00:07

Pretty solid work. I have a few recommendations to make, but I'll be marking this lesson as complete. And by the way, I think both the pages of rotated boxes are pretty good - I totally understand the issue you encountered, and it's perfectly normal. We naturally fight against the idea of rotating these boxes, but I think you're coming along well.

So, here are the things I recommend:

• Sometimes, especially early on, your lines wobble a little. This happens in your ghosted lines exercise, some of your ellipses in planes, and so on. When you find your lines wobbling, it's because you're drawing too slowly and carefully. When you actually draw a mark, it should be done with a swift, confident stroke. All of your time should go instead into preparing to make that stroke - ghosting through the motion, for example. Drawing quickly will cause your marks to be less accurate, but this preparation will help compensate for that.

• Your rough perspective boxes are done well, though I encourage you to go over your completed rough perspective boxes as described here: Lines Not Lining Up With Vanishing Point. This is something I recommend to everyone. You'll notice where your estimations of your perspective lines are off, so you know where to improve the next time you try the exercise.

• I think your organic perspective boxes are coming along pretty well, but I do get the impression that you're struggling a little. This is perfectly normal, and most people struggle much more. I just want to let you know that if you would like to get some more practice, and extra tips/resources, check out the 250 box challenge.

Anyway, like I said, I'll mark this lesson as complete. Keep up the good work, and feel free to move onto the next lesson when you are ready.

Uncomfortable

2016-02-03 00:33

Not bad. Some minor issues, one major one that we'll deal with.

In your super imposed lines, I noticed some of this: Fraying/Separation on Both Ends. Not all the time, many of them were good.

Some of your ellipses-in-planes get a little stiff and misshapen; this explains the issue: Stiff, Uneven Ellipses.

Your rough perspective boxes are definitely the major issue. More than anything, it's matter of many of the lines going off into the distance not even remotely going in the right direction (towards the vanishing point). Many of them go in the opposite direction, ultimately never intersecting with the horizon.

First, I want you to read this: Guessing, Instead of Knowing. It's not exactly specific to your issue, but the 3 behaviours of lines I list there are. Then, I want you to go over your completed rough perpsective homework with a different coloured pen as explained here: Lines Not Lining Up With Vanishing Point. This will make clear just how far off your lines are from where they should be (all of these lines should ideally be converging at the vanishing point - generally for most people they're off by a little bit).

Then I want you to redo that exercise. You can resubmit those when you're finished, and if they're done correctly I'll mark the lesson as complete.

Everything else is reasonably solid, including your rotated boxes and your organic perspective boxes. I do believe however that once we've sorted out the rough perspective box issues and I've marked this lesson as complete, that you would benefit from moving onto the 250 box challenge next.

Uncomfortable

2016-02-03 00:36

Very nice work! I'm really glad to see your confident linework. Your lines and ellipses sections are solid. Your rough perspective boxes are decent, though I'm glad to see that you went over them as explained in the self critique section. I think a good awareness of the places where your accuracy is lacking will definitely help as you continue to practice this exercise.

Your rotated boxes and organic perspective boxes are pretty good, though I do think that you're still struggling somewhat with the latter. Perfectly normal and expected, and you're actually doing better than most. So, I'm going to give this as a suggestion rather than a requirement - take a look at the 250 box challenge next. You should definitely read over the text there, but you can try the challenge at your own discretion.

I'll mark this lesson as complete, and you may move onto the next one when you feel ready.

Uncomfortable

2016-02-03 02:56

It's not something I'd recommend. Lined paper is just sloppy, and when you're already starting off sloppy, it's only going to go down hill from there. It's definitely in your best interest to find some blank paper - even loose leaf printer paper will do.

Uncomfortable

2016-02-03 14:44

It's normal to want to support your hand like that - for beginners though, I'd advise trying to avoid it. Reason being, beginners are not used to drawing from the shoulder, and this tends to work a bit like an anchor, limiting your willingness to move your whole arm because your hand is dragging across the page. People tend to slip back into drawing from their wrists because of this.

I generally encourage people to do the first lesson with their hand unsupported (it'll be tiring, so take lots of breaks). In the future you may be more lax with this, but always be aware of the risks that come along with it.

As for things to avoid, be sure to check out the self critique resources.

Uncomfortable

2016-02-04 03:39

Your lines section is looking pretty solid. Your ellipses do need work though - they have a tendency of being very loose. Part of it is the issue touched on here: Drawing Ellipses Without a Goal, in that when you draw through your ellipses you completely lose track of what your goal should be. Part of it is also the fact that when you start drawing through them, you lose any compulsion to keep them tight and together. Rather than an ellipse, many of the results end up looking like swirling squiggles, to a degree. This isn't true of all of them, but it is definitely something you need to work on.

I'm assuming you're not applying the ghosting technique here - that is the three steps outlined in the lines section. You should, and I think it'd help you retain your control. Don't do the complete opposite and draw slowly and carefully though - this will make your ellipses wobbly and uneven. Instead ghost through the drawing motion until your arm is familiar with the movement required to draw an ellipse accurately, then draw it with a confident stroke, going around the shape exactly two times. I think three might be a bit much for you, so two is what you should be aiming for.

Your first page of rough perspective boxes is bad. Your second page is a little better, but in both you're already moving beyond the scope of the exercise and adding your own little flourishes (not working strictly with boxes, tilting the boxes, etc.) I specifically advise you not to go beyond any of the exercise briefs, because 90% of people who do so don't end up getting a solid grip on the basic concepts. They don't start experimenting because they know the material, it's because they're bored and can't focus. If you get bored, take a break.

Now, when you are drawing, I want you to be mindful of how you draw. Don't be sloppy - apply the ghosting method to every line, and if you make a mistake, don't scratch it out, don't correct it, don't do anything that's going to draw more attention to it. Secondly, don't be messy with your hatching lines. Keep them parallel, consistent, don't scribble, and make sure they go from edge to edge - nothing floating in the middle of a plane, nothing overshooting. These lines are just as important as any other line in the drawing.

I want you to first go over the completed rough perpsective homework with a different coloured pen or pencil as described here: Lines Not Lining Up With Vanishing Point. This will highlight where your estimation of your perspective is off. It is something I recommend to everyone, as no one nails that perfectly, and it can always be improved. The best way to improve is to be aware of where those mistakes occur.

I do however want you to do one more page of rough perspective boxes, exactly as the exercise is described. Don't be sloppy, and take your time.

I also want you to do one more page of the table of ellipses.

Once you complete these two extra pages of work, submit them here and I will mark the lesson as complete. At that point, I'd like you to move onto the 250 box challenge. I think this will help you with certain concepts you struggled with on the rotated/organic perspective boxes exercises. This is perfectly normal and expected - it takes time and practice to develop a strong sense of 3D space, and to be able to construct arbitrarily rotated boxes within that 3D space. The challenge as well as the additional content provided with it should help in that area.

First, however, finish off those two pages and wait until I mark the lesson as complete.

Uncomfortable

2016-02-04 03:52

Generally pretty good, but I did notice a couple things. The most noticeable is that your lines often wobble. This happens sometimes in your super imposed lines, in many of your ellipses, and in your boxes. The reason is that you're drawing too slowly and carefully.

In order to achieve a smooth stroke, you need to draw confidently and quickly. This in turn leads to a decrease in accuracy, which can be counteracted by applying the ghosting method - ghosting through the drawing motion. By practicing and familiarizing yourself with the motion, when you execute it quickly and confidently, your muscles will know how to draw it with greater accuracy without giving your brain the chance to interfere with its little corrections along the way.

I'm going to mark this lesson as complete, but I'd like you to move onto the 250 box challenge next. This is partially to get lots of much needed practice applying the ghosting method to all of your lines, but also because your rotated boxes and organic perspective exercises shows me that while you're moving in the right direction, you need more practice with the idea of constructing these arbitrarily rotated boxes. This is perfectly normal, and most people struggle with it. It takes time and practice to develop a strong sense of 3D space, and this 250 box challenge, along with the resources included with it, should help considerably.

Uncomfortable

2016-02-04 22:53

Your work is generally spot on - there's only one issue that I noticed, and that's all the way at the end with your organic perspective boxes. The issue is that your foreshortening on all of your boxes is very dramatic, and ends up being inconsistent across all the boxes in the scene. The issue is explained in further detail here: Inconsistent Foreshortening Between Boxes in the Same Scene. It's important to get used to drawing forms with shallower foreshortening, as those will be more common in your constructions. Dramatic perspective is really reserved for very large scale objects, like a tall building whose roof is very far away.

Aside from that, you've done quite well, so I'll mark this lesson as complete. Feel free to move onto the next one.

As for your question, the cause could be one of a few things. You might be pressing too hard, it might be a poor quality brand of pen, or the pen itself might just be a dud despite being from a solid brand (it happens). I don't think it has to do with the angle though, but the 90 degree angle is ideal for getting the ink to flow out of shitty pens.

Uncomfortable

2016-02-07 18:14

Here's a few things to keep in mind as you move forwards:

• Drawing slow and steady will cause your lines to come out wobbly. You want to draw with a quick, confident pace. This will reduce your accuracy, which you in turn improve by investing more time into the preparation phase of the ghosting method. I notice wobbling in many of your lines - your boxes, your ellipses, and so on.

• In your rotated and organic perspective boxes, your box constructions are definitely on the weaker side, but this is perfectly normal. It takes time to develop a solid sense of 3D space, and you're moving in the right direction.

• Your rotated boxes exercise show me that you're actually not really rotating the boxes that much. Think as though all of these boxes were sitting on the surface of a small sphere - the boxes on the sides will have rotated a full 90 degrees relative to those in the center. We can see that in yours, rotation is fairly limited, though it varies between your rows. For example, the middle-vertical column is actually pretty good, but the others don't rotate much at all. Again, this isn't uncommon - a lot of people aren't comfortable with the ideas, so they'll try and take really tiny baby steps - but these baby steps isn't how you really throw yourself into it and learn. You've got to be bold and try to force yourself to step out of your comfort zone, so you can make mistakes and fail fail fail. Failure is necessary in order to learn.

I'm going to mark this lesson as complete, but I'd like you to move onto the 250 box challenge next. There you will get extra practice with everything I mentioned above - more practice constructing arbitrarily rotated boxes, and more practice applying the ghosting method to your lines and achieving solid, straight marks.

As a part of your 250 boxes, I recommend that you try some exercises where you have a series of boxes all connected by an imaginary string, as demonstrated on this page. This should help you develop a stronger sense of how boxes can gradually rotate as a set.

Also, be sure to read all of the content on the box challenge page, especially the tip about drawing through your boxes.

Uncomfortable

2016-02-07 18:18

You're right, the ones the red arrows are pointing to should be smaller, or the boxes the blue arrows point to should be larger. My diagrams get sloppy at times, I'll fix that one.. eventually.

arechsteiner

2016-02-08 19:17

I'm kinda glad to see I'm not the only one struggling with those rotated boxes. Just finished my first attempt. Gonna have to give it another go I think.

Uncomfortable

2016-02-08 21:14

Remember that the idea of putting your all into something includes doing the work when you are in a good frame of mind and can work comfortably. Doing it while you're travelling is probably not a great idea. Keep this in mind in the future.

For the most part, you did okay. I do have a few critiques to offer but I will be marking this lesson as complete.

• Some of your ellipses come off just a little bit stiff to me, which tells me that you might be drawing a little too "slowly-and-carefully". Remember that when you actually execute the mark on the page, you want to do so with a quick, confident pace. This will diminish your accuracy, so to compensate you have to be sure to invest all of your time into preparing and applying the ghosting method.

Secondly, it is unwise to go beyond the scope of an exercise. When you approached the rough perspective exercise, you played with different forms, slanting the boxes at various angles, etc. It would have been better had you stuck to simple boxes parallel to the ground plane, otherwise it becomes very easy to miss the point of the exercise and practice the wrong thing.

Also in relation to that exercise, your hatching lines are very sloppy. Every line you put down is of value, so you need to treat it as such. Make sure your hatching lines are parallel, consistent, and stretch from edge to edge with nothing overshooting or floating in the middle of the plane.

Lastly your organic perspective and rotated boxes are coming along nicely. It takes time to develop a solid sense of 3D space, and you're on the right track. I recommend that you give the 250 box challenge page a read. You don't have to do the challenge itself, but you might want to.

Anyway, feel free to move onto the next lesson when you feel ready.

Uncomfortable

2016-02-09 20:34

It doesn't look like you gave the lesson that careful of a reading. I can see that you skipped a few exercises (plotted perspective and rotated boxes), and there's definitely some sloppiness that you should strive to deal with.

Firstly, I am noticing a little wobbling in your super imposed lines. This is a common issue, and is discussed in greater detail here: Wobbling, Drawing Too Slowly and Carefully. The principle described there applies to all mark making - you don't want to be drawing things slowly enough that your brain has the chance to make little corrections along the way, whether you're drawing straight lines, curves, waves or ellipses.

Next, you have not drawn through most of the ellipses in your funnels and some of the ellipses in your tables of ellipses. This is something I insist you do for every single ellipse you draw for any of my lessons, without exception.

As I mentioned before, you skipped the plotted perpsective exercise, which in turn leads to some serious sloppiness and potential misunderstanding in the rough perspective boxes.

First off, you need to be ghosting through all of your lines to ensure that they are well planned and thought through, and that they are executed to the best of your ability. Simply drawing before you even finish thinking about which line you want to make will result in really sloppy boxes with very little accuracy.

First, read this: Guessing, Instead of Knowing. Next, go over your completed rough perspective boxes with a different coloured pen or pencil as described here: Lines Not Lining Up With Vanishing Point.

Now, your organic perspective boxes do need work as well, but this is not out of the ordinary. It takes time and practice to develop a solid sense of 3D space and how to construct an arbitrarily rotated box within it, and I have no expectations for students to develop it fully by this point. We'll deal with this in a bit.

Here's what I want you to do:

• Do the plotted perpsective exercise that you skipped (2 filled pages).

• Go over your rough perspective homework as described in the link above, with the different coloured pen/pencil.

• Redo the rough perspective exercise - 2 full pages.

You can then submit that as a reply to this critique, and assuming they've improved (and they should, the majority of the mistakes you're making are due to sloppiness and rushing, or simply not understanding certain points that are clarified in the links above), I'll mark the lesson as complete.

Once the lesson is marked as complete (and no sooner), you can move onto the 250 box challenge to get extra practice with this idea of 3D space and constructing rotated boxes. Since you skipped the rotated boxes exercise, you can do them as a part of your 250 boxes. This will also give you ample chance to practice applying your ghosting method to box constructions, though you should be doing that in your redo of the rough perspective boxes as well.

Before you move onto the 250 box challenge, be sure to read the material on the challenge page, as there are many tips that will help you identify your mistakes and improve more efficiently.

Uncomfortable

2016-02-09 14:35

In my experience, a person's first time around tends to be far less accurate, and during the second time around, your muscles respond automatically to compensate for what they did wrong the last time. The important thing is to trust your arm. That's what 'going fast' is about - it's not about actually going as fast as you can, but rather going just as fast as you need to keep your brain from interfering.

Rather than thinking of it as going fast, I usually try to use the phrase 'a confident pace'. Your focus here should be avoiding the urge to go slow-and-steady. Ghosting over the drawing motion before actually putting your pen to the page (the ghosting method applies to all mark making, not just straight lines) should help keep your accuracy in check as well.

Uncomfortable

2016-02-09 20:45

Thanks for catching that www. issue - it's probably been like that for ages, but I'm surprised no one else has mentioned it. An easy enough fix, but I don't doubt that it's done some damage.

Onto your homework - generally you've done quite well. There are a couple things I'd like to recommend, however.

Your lines and ellipses are well executed, and it isn't until your rough perspective boxes that I start to notice some sloppiness. Remember that assuming a box is running parallel to the ground plane (and not slanted at all), all of your horizontals will run parallel to the horizon, and all of your verticals will run perpendicular to it. Based on your drawings, I do believe you're aware of this, but you do have quite a few lines that don't quite match up with these rules. I suspect it comes from not quite applying the ghosting method to your lines as much as you should be.

For your own benefit (this doesn't need to be submitted), I think you should go over your completed rough perspective boxes with a different coloured pen or pencil as described here: Lines Not Lining Up With Vanishing Point.

Your rotated boxes are well done, though I do believe that based on your organic perpsective boxes, you need some more work in the area of constructing arbitrarily rotated boxes. This is perfectly normal, as it takes a great deal of time and practice to establish a solid grasp on 3D space.

I'm going to mark this lesson as complete, but I'd like you to move onto the 250 box challenge next. Be sure to read over the material before beginning the challenge itself - specifically the tip about drawing through your boxes, as this should help you get a better sense of how a box exists in 3D space. This challenge should also give you the opportunity to continue practicing the application of the ghosting method to drawing forms.