Frequently Asked Questions: I compiled a bunch of questions I felt were being asked rather frequently, so read through this list before asking your own.
If you guys see any common questions that aren't dealt with there, feel free to mention them here. Also, if you'd like to refer to any of these specific answers, clicking the link icon on the right side of a given answer will automatically copy a reddit formatted link to your clipboard (so you need only go to reddit and hit paste).
I usually have late breakfasts, so I was planning on eating it at 1pm yesterday. Then I sat down and thought.. shit. I should make an FAQ. Well it won't take too long, I'll just do that real quick before breakfast so I'm motivated by the promise of food to finish up.
Sorry if I missed this, but in terms of drawing from the shoulder, does this also apply to vertical lines? Going horizontal, locking my wrist and elbow are fine, but when moving up and down it seems like some elbow bending is inevitable.
It certainly does apply in that case. It's difficult, but it's possible. It all comes down to the nature of the shoulder being a ball joint. All that said, it doesn't matter right now because you should be rotating your page to find the most comfortable angle of approach as the second step of your ghosting process.
[deleted]
2017-02-16 18:20
If you can rotate the page, what's the point of vertical/horizontal line distinction?
If you always do them from the same angle it sounds to me that the distinction does not matter.
Different parts of figure drawing. Those lessons existed once upon a time, but I took them down as they didn't really meet my standards. I'll gradually be rewriting them, but it's tough to find the time at the moment.
Could you explain why the ellipse pictured in figure 2.10 and the ellipse in the "self critique" section for "stiff, uneven ellipse" / "ellipses in planes" appear to not follow the same use of the minor axis?
Neither actually demonstrate an appropriate minor axis - you'll notice that the one in figure 2.10 doesn't cut the ellipse into two equal, symmetrical halves. If we were actually pursuing a correct perspective drawing here, our minor axis would actually be perpendicular to the plane itself (coming out from its surface rather than running across it), and we'd align our ellipse to that. This is something discussed in lesson 7, there's a video or two there about it.
In the case of this exercise however, it's got nothing to do with the minor axis of the ellipse. It's purely an exercise meant to have a student try and place an ellipse inside of a plane. It develops accuracy, but it also forces them to face the sense of being overwhelmed by criteria, whilst trying to keep from stiffening up.
There's a few reasons - firstly, formatting it would be quite time consuming, considering how much I blather on in the lessons. Secondly, the lessons are living documents of a sort - every now and then an issue will be raised and I will revise an exercise, a diagram, or fill in some gaps (for example, the rotated boxes exercise in lesson 1 wasn't there for the first year or so, and I ended up rewriting that exercise description). I really don't want to have old versions of the content floating around on the internet.
Lastly, it would likely have a negative impact on ad revenue, especially since things on the internet have the tendency of being shared around freely. Right now since my content's free anyway, there's no reason to share it around. If I tried to sell it in ebook format, it's likely I'd end up losing more than I gain.
Can I do the exercises while sitting on my lap or criss cross sitting position? Can I do the exercise while I sit on a spinning chair? Sorry if I asked question that has been asked before but I need more examples of unstable drawing positions
Is resistance a bad thing?
Can I do the exercise on a empty stomach or without energy?
Does the exercise involve creative thinking skill or critical thinking skills?
Should I continue the exercise if my shoulder starts to cramp or feel sore?
if my shoulder gets tired, how much time should I give to my shoulder to rest?
Having your paper on your lap is likely to have a negative impact. Ideally, you should be sitting at a desk or table of some sort, where your drawing surface is firm and unmoving. This is why your lap would not be great, as it would be shifting constantly.
Not sure what you mean by resistance.
Ideally you'd want to be doing this with a balanced state of mind. Not sure why you'd be considering doing this whilst starving or exhausting yourself, but it will definitely negatively impact the value of your time spent practicing.
While creativity is certainly engaged to varying degrees, a greater emphasis is placed on critical thinking and spatial awareness.
If your arms get sore, take a break. Practicing tired, hurt, hungry, or in any other way that will make you sloppy is going to result in you practicing sloppy ways of doing things. In other words, you will be more likely to develop bad habits.
The amount of time you should rest is a matter of how ever long it takes for your shoulder to no longer feel tired. Most of your questions here feel strangely specific, and I think you'll find that most of them end up being largely irrelevant.
Well you said in the F.A.Q. that "resting your hand against on the paper increases resistance when you move your arm". That's what I meant by resistance. I'm just making sure that I'm understanding what I'm reading.
Oh, I see. When faced with physical resistance to our motions, we tend to naturally adjust our movements in order to reduce that resistance - so while it isn't inherently a bad thing in and of itself, some of the ways we respond to it can be. For example, if you're leaning on your elbow when drawing, the more likely natural transition to reduce resistance will be to start drawing more from your shoulder instead of your shoulder. This would not be a good thing.
Conversely, drawing with your hand raised in the air is certainly better, but some people find that they just haven't yet developed the strength in the correct muscles to maintain any degree of steadiness. In this situation, leaning your hand gently on the page can be a decent compromise, where the amount of resistance is considerably less than if you were to lean on your elbow. That said, there is still resistance, and we still have a tendency to switch towards drawing from our wrists in this case, so we need to be vigilant, catching and correcting ourselves whenever we slip back to drawing from our wrist.
As for irrelevant, you'll essentially find that many of your questions are really specific to you as a person. How long of a break you should take, in what state you should continue to push yourself, etc. You will be able to answer these questions yourself, once you find yourself in those situations. For now, just sit yourself at a desk or table, and give the exercises a shot.
No. The ones I recommend in the homework sections of the lessons that require fineliners (staedtler pigment liners and faber castell pitt artist pens) are simply the ones I use myself. There are a wide variety of brands available, so it's really up to you which ones you choose. Just make sure that they are fineliners - so their tips should look like the ones shown in the homework sections.
Is photo bashing bad? I've heard a lot of mixed things on the web, then again what feng does in this video I thought was really cool. just looking for some input, thanks! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qXnp7wSevRE
It's neither good nor bad. It's just another tool one can use to achieve an end, and like any tool it can be misused (and tends to be when used by beginners). Basically, once you build up an understanding of form, lighting, colour, cohesion, composition and all that good stuff, you're probably going to understand how to apply photo successfully to your pieces. If you jump in and try to use photobashing before you really know what you're doing however, you're going to shoot yourself in the foot in the long run. Your work won't look that great (which is normal while you're learning) but you won't actually learn much through that process either.
When I started out, I tried to use a lot of photo textures all over, then at one point I realized what a horrible crutch it was and stopped entirely. I ended up developing a massive aversion to it in general, until much later when we were actually forced to try photobashing in an environment design class I was taking. As a result of my outlook on it at the time, I ended up painting over every piece of photo as much as I could. This ended up being a good route to take in two ways - firstly, I was still able to benefit from a lot of the structural and textural information the photos bring to the table, but secondly I avoided the all-too-common mistake people make where their illustrations end up looking like stylistic chimeras, with the photo coming through way more in some areas than others. It results in a total lack of cohesion, but by painting over everything like a madman, things came together much better.
thanks you so much! Really helpful, I figured that was a technique to be used once a good amount of experience was acquired. Also really enjoy the pieces you did, those look amazing!
There's no correct direction to draw your lines, beyond what you feel to be comfortable. In lesson 1, in the description of the ghosting method, you'll find that I instruct students to rotate their pages in order to find a more comfortable angle of approach. This can certainly vary from person to person, but there's no set way of doing it based on which hand you use to draw.
When drawing from the shoulder, your arm should not be straight. What matters is that your joints are locked - which position they're locked will depend on your posture, your desk setup, how far the page is from you, etc. I generally find myself drawing with my arm bent at the elbow.
What is good posture? How should I be sitting when drawing? I have a flat desk but I see that it's impossible to draw on a paper without leaning forward a bunch, unless I don't want to see where I'm drawing. After drawing for an hour or so I feel my neck get a little stiff, and I wonder what I should be doing differently.
Sit as straight-backed as you can, and adjust your chair height to keep your desk at a relative height where that is possible. If your desk is too low, you will hunch. If your desk is too high, you won't be able to have proper control over your drawing area (for lack of a better way to describe that). If necessary, you may want to try and create a more angled surface, although I've never bothered to do this myself. So long as it's stable, you could set up a drawing board (which is basically just a glorified large, flat board) to be raised higher on the far end. It might be tricky to keep these sturdy enough to draw on though. Alternatively a drawing desk is a more reliable, but perhaps needlessly expensive solution. Somewhere in between you can probably find preconstructed table-top solutions that don't involve replacing your entire desk.
I've always managed fine keeping my desk around the base of my ribcage and just forcing myself to keep my back fairly straight.
Since Uncomfortable can't speak personally to this, my comments:
I use a standing desk. Generally good for posture and fitness and okay for drawing (on my tablet, which is set up vertically), but because more blood needs to go to my legs, the degree of control I have when drawing is a bit less IME.
If you want to set up a horizontal drawing surface, be aware that the exact height you set up at can make the difference between ease and acute discomfort. Your forearm should be close to horizontal during most drawing operations.
Thank you for posting! I have some more questions:
I don't understand exercise 2.2 in Lesson 1 entirely, in which you have to draw ellipses in a plane. Does the ellipse have to intersect with all the edges of the plane or not?
When I'm ghosting, am I supposed to go through the motion of drawing the line with the same speed as when I touch the pen to the page?
What paper size do you recommend for homework? Can I use A5 (~1/2 US letter) as well?
ETA: are you also going to make YouTube videos about Lesson 1?
Your ellipses should fit snugly inside of those planes, touching each of the edges at one point ideally. All this exercise is for is getting used to placing arbitrary ellipses within an enclosed space like this without losing the smoothness, confidence and flow of our ellipses. Remember that maintaining an evenly shaped ellipse is the highest priority, even if that means sacrificing your accuracy.
Ghosting at a confident pace is ideal, to build up the appropriate muscle memory, so the answer to that is more or less yes.
It's ultimately up to you, but there are a few factors to consider - firstly, how much work are you willing to do for each exercise. The amounts are in pages, but ultimately that leaves that decision very much up to you. Secondly, especially when dealing with the challenge of constructing forms in 3D space, our brains benefit from a little more room to think through the spatial problems. Personally, I've always been most comfortable working on loose-leaf A4 sheets of printer paper.
Hello, first off, thank you so much! I can tell I'm going to get a lot of use outta this resource.
I'm starting with lesson 1, but at this time in my life I have nothing but free time and I've been spending a lot of it doodling. Can I continue to draw on the side while I do the lessons, or should I just stick to practice? How many hours of drawing a day is too many for a novice?
You can absolutely draw whatever you like when not doing the lessons - in fact, it's recommended, so long as you don't mix in doodling whilst actually attempting to do the exercises. Basically, when doing the exercises, make sure you follow the instructions to the letter. As for how many hours of drawing is too much... that's not really something I have an answer for. Ultimately it's a matter of how much you can do without it feeling like a chore. If you start to get tired, or disinterested, it's best to take a break so you don't burn out.
Thanks for the reply! I'm mixing lesson 1 exercises with drawing simple characters/animals from sight, I'm in love.
Which is weird, I hardly ever drew before a week ago and now I can't stop.
[deleted]
2017-06-03 10:56
I have a question about Lesson 1: Lines, Ellipses and Boxes.
Are we supposed to draw the rotated boxes from our imagination without looking at the pictures?
I've been trying to do that and it's pretty hard but it gets you to think more about how the boxes look rotated. Issue there's a huge difference between those boxes I rotate in my own mind compared to just copying from a picture.
All of the exercises in lesson 1 are meant to be done from your imagination. We do eventually get into drawing from observation and reference, but at this stage I want students to focus on building a sort of mental model of 3D space, and to begin developing their abilities to think spatially.
As explained here, the rotated boxes and organic perspective boxes exercises are exceptionally difficult, and I don't expect students to succeed at them before completing this lesson. All I want them to do is to follow the instructions to the best of their abilities. This gets your brain started in thinking about how things turn in 3D space, which is a key skill that you will continue to develop over time. Just make sure you complete the exercises, even if they don't look right.
If you've struggled at all with these two exercises, I recommend moving onto the 250 box challenge next. Be sure to read through all of the notes on that page, especially the tip about drawing through your forms. This in particular should help you better grasp how each box sits in 3D space.
One thing to be aware of in regards to the difference between rotating them in your mind and copying from a picture is that when copying, you're not factoring in how those boxes sit in 3D space. All you're doing is copying a two dimensional image, so there's no three dimensional information or understanding that comes into play. That's why it's easier, but also not particularly useful. In later lessons (3 and onwards), we get into constructional drawing, which is a greater application of this idea. It is an approach that forces you to break down a two dimensional image into its primitive three dimensional forms, then building back up. Ultimately this forces you to think about how the object is laid out in 3D, rather than focusing only on the 2D image before you.
Of course, in order to be able to do that, we must first get used to manipulating simple forms in 3D, which is what lessons 1 and 2, and the box challenge, are all about.
I'm on lesson one, just starting out, and I find my self swaying with my pen movement. Instead of it being a more shoulder oriented movement it's becoming an entire body movement. Is this ok or should I deliberately stop the swaying? Will swaying impede my learning or is it okay?
If I understand what you're saying correctly, it's probably not a significant issue, so long as it isn't impeding you from controlling your use of your pen. If you're still able to hit the marks you're aiming for, and maintain smooth strokes, then don't go out of your way to change what feels natural to you.
Hello, I am brand new in the art world. I'm trying to learn how to make simple sketches for comic book style art. I watch videos from Drawing with Jazza on Youtube, he has a really good style that I am trying to achieve.
One of the things I am struggling with is how to make basic silhouettes. Every time I draw a face and jaw line, I always make the actual face look terrible.
I just want to be able to draw different styles of characters and pick my favorites to move on. Jazza does this within 5 minutes. For me it takes 30+ minutes and they all look like crap.
Building up a stylistic approach with no underlying foundation is generally unwise, especially when you're trying to copy someone else's stylistic choices. What you see Jazza draw is not the limit of his understanding of anatomy, form, perspective, etc. - it's a subset of it, and the choices he makes are informed by his grasp of the fundamentals. By jumping in without that understanding, you're basically trying to drive a car with no engine. Just because you don't see it, doesn't mean it's not extremely important. While you don't have to learn hyper realism or anything liek that, it is important for you to ground your abilities in reality. Learning to capture the illusion of 3D form, learning the proportions of the body, how to capture gesture, etc. Once you've learned these more concretely (which mind you takes a lot of time and practice), you can apply that understanding when drawing simpler cartoons/comics.
Similarly, what Jazza does in 5 minutes is built upon years of practice. For you it takes longer and looks worse because you don't have that prior practice backing you up. What you're experiencing is completely normal.
Long story short, your goals are not just this, or just that. Your goals sit at the end of a much longer, more involved, and much more fulfilling road than you expected. You certainly can continue to practice cartoons in isolation, but you'll be lacking an important foundation and will continue to struggle without it.
Also, this subreddit is geared towards a very specific set of lessons (those on drawabox.com) and so questions posed here are usually related directly to that material. If you'd like a place to ask more general questions, try /r/learnart or /r/learntodraw.
Logically you'd have to make do with drawing from the elbow. Sadly I've no knowledge of shoulder injuries or anything of the sort, so I can't really tell you how to handle that. I am assuming by a bad shoulder, you are referring to some kind of physical issue rather than the usual issues everyone encounters when first learning to draw from their shoulders.
[deleted]
2017-07-21 00:13
Yes, that's what I mean. Usually it's fine but I just re sprained it again and I become a Patreon next month.
In that case, I'd definitely speak to a doctor if possible, but at the very least, give it some time to heal and don't push yourself too hard with it. While later down the line it won't be as difficult, when you first get used to drawing from your shoulder (and develop those muscles), it can be quite taxing and I imagine it could easily aggravate an existing injury.
[deleted]
2017-07-21 01:15
I'll wait until it heals (as much as it heals ; It's always an issue).
It's an on going issue that I know how to fix, it just takes time. I can just re sprain it easily if I don't do the exercises and if I lift items that are too heavy with my right arm.
I just wish I could figure out how I screwed it up! I wasn't lifting boxes or anything.
Next month is going to be brutal on my bank account though, so it might be for the best since I have to hold off on buying the fineliners if I'm not going to be doing the drawing. I'll still draw though, just not the lessons until my shoulder gets better.
I'll stop (for now ) if I notice any pain or the lessons become physically uncomfortable until it gets better.
Perhaps you should consider cancelling your patreon pledge, and then repledging when you're in a better position (financially and health-wise). I generally trust my patrons to honour their pledges, so there's no need to pay up-front or anything like that (in case that's the reason you were going to start the work next month). Basically, if you pledge during August, you can submit work immediately after pledging, even though you wouldn't be charged til September 1st.
[deleted]
2017-07-21 02:03
That's a good idea. I just canceled it. I'll re pledge once I have an idea of my finances and health. Thank you again!
Uncomfortable
2017-02-05 22:51
If you guys see any common questions that aren't dealt with there, feel free to mention them here. Also, if you'd like to refer to any of these specific answers, clicking the link icon on the right side of a given answer will automatically copy a reddit formatted link to your clipboard (so you need only go to reddit and hit paste).
livingonthehedge
2017-02-06 00:14
This deserves a prominent spot in the sidebar.
Uncomfortable
2017-02-06 00:19
It's actually taken up the coveted second sticky slot, so it'll forever be at the top of the subreddit.
livingonthehedge
2017-02-06 00:21
Perfect!
(actually that will help on mobile, too)
Fish_Face_Faeces
2017-02-06 20:48
Goddamn, nice work!
Uncomfortable
2017-02-06 20:54
I usually have late breakfasts, so I was planning on eating it at 1pm yesterday. Then I sat down and thought.. shit. I should make an FAQ. Well it won't take too long, I'll just do that real quick before breakfast so I'm motivated by the promise of food to finish up.
... Didn't eat til 7pm.
Fish_Face_Faeces
2017-02-07 09:26
Ooh bouy, well it's very much appreciated!
adamzhang
2017-02-08 17:15
Sorry if I missed this, but in terms of drawing from the shoulder, does this also apply to vertical lines? Going horizontal, locking my wrist and elbow are fine, but when moving up and down it seems like some elbow bending is inevitable.
Uncomfortable
2017-02-08 17:49
It certainly does apply in that case. It's difficult, but it's possible. It all comes down to the nature of the shoulder being a ball joint. All that said, it doesn't matter right now because you should be rotating your page to find the most comfortable angle of approach as the second step of your ghosting process.
[deleted]
2017-02-16 18:20
If you can rotate the page, what's the point of vertical/horizontal line distinction?
If you always do them from the same angle it sounds to me that the distinction does not matter.
Uncomfortable
2017-02-16 18:21
To which vertical/horizontal distinction are you referring?
[deleted]
2017-02-16 18:25
Sorry, should've replied to adamzhang...
golfdrei
2017-02-17 18:48
Thanks for doing all this!
Uncomfortable
2017-02-17 19:20
You're most welcome.
3dom
2017-02-22 17:43
With your lessons I actually see a rapid progress - it's a great surprise after many years of fruitless attempts. Thank you very much for doing this!
Could be very interesting to know - what are themes of lessons 9-13?
Uncomfortable
2017-02-22 17:45
Different parts of figure drawing. Those lessons existed once upon a time, but I took them down as they didn't really meet my standards. I'll gradually be rewriting them, but it's tough to find the time at the moment.
Jackson622
2017-03-05 22:45
With respect to lesson 1:
Could you explain why the ellipse pictured in figure 2.10 and the ellipse in the "self critique" section for "stiff, uneven ellipse" / "ellipses in planes" appear to not follow the same use of the minor axis?
Thanks.
Uncomfortable
2017-03-05 22:52
Neither actually demonstrate an appropriate minor axis - you'll notice that the one in figure 2.10 doesn't cut the ellipse into two equal, symmetrical halves. If we were actually pursuing a correct perspective drawing here, our minor axis would actually be perpendicular to the plane itself (coming out from its surface rather than running across it), and we'd align our ellipse to that. This is something discussed in lesson 7, there's a video or two there about it.
In the case of this exercise however, it's got nothing to do with the minor axis of the ellipse. It's purely an exercise meant to have a student try and place an ellipse inside of a plane. It develops accuracy, but it also forces them to face the sense of being overwhelmed by criteria, whilst trying to keep from stiffening up.
alphaventuri
2017-03-10 01:12
Do you plan to release a ebook with all exercises? I'm going for a long trip and I would like to have the lessons with me even if the network is bad
Uncomfortable
2017-03-10 01:20
That's not something I plan on doing.
There's a few reasons - firstly, formatting it would be quite time consuming, considering how much I blather on in the lessons. Secondly, the lessons are living documents of a sort - every now and then an issue will be raised and I will revise an exercise, a diagram, or fill in some gaps (for example, the rotated boxes exercise in lesson 1 wasn't there for the first year or so, and I ended up rewriting that exercise description). I really don't want to have old versions of the content floating around on the internet.
Lastly, it would likely have a negative impact on ad revenue, especially since things on the internet have the tendency of being shared around freely. Right now since my content's free anyway, there's no reason to share it around. If I tried to sell it in ebook format, it's likely I'd end up losing more than I gain.
Kev1n_Tep
2017-03-11 20:14
Can I do the exercises while sitting on my lap or criss cross sitting position? Can I do the exercise while I sit on a spinning chair? Sorry if I asked question that has been asked before but I need more examples of unstable drawing positions
Is resistance a bad thing?
Can I do the exercise on a empty stomach or without energy?
Does the exercise involve creative thinking skill or critical thinking skills?
Should I continue the exercise if my shoulder starts to cramp or feel sore?
if my shoulder gets tired, how much time should I give to my shoulder to rest?
Uncomfortable
2017-03-11 21:46
Having your paper on your lap is likely to have a negative impact. Ideally, you should be sitting at a desk or table of some sort, where your drawing surface is firm and unmoving. This is why your lap would not be great, as it would be shifting constantly.
Not sure what you mean by resistance.
Ideally you'd want to be doing this with a balanced state of mind. Not sure why you'd be considering doing this whilst starving or exhausting yourself, but it will definitely negatively impact the value of your time spent practicing.
While creativity is certainly engaged to varying degrees, a greater emphasis is placed on critical thinking and spatial awareness.
If your arms get sore, take a break. Practicing tired, hurt, hungry, or in any other way that will make you sloppy is going to result in you practicing sloppy ways of doing things. In other words, you will be more likely to develop bad habits.
The amount of time you should rest is a matter of how ever long it takes for your shoulder to no longer feel tired. Most of your questions here feel strangely specific, and I think you'll find that most of them end up being largely irrelevant.
Kev1n_Tep
2017-03-11 23:43
Well you said in the F.A.Q. that "resting your hand against on the paper increases resistance when you move your arm". That's what I meant by resistance. I'm just making sure that I'm understanding what I'm reading.
And what you do mean by irrelevant?
Uncomfortable
2017-03-11 23:51
Oh, I see. When faced with physical resistance to our motions, we tend to naturally adjust our movements in order to reduce that resistance - so while it isn't inherently a bad thing in and of itself, some of the ways we respond to it can be. For example, if you're leaning on your elbow when drawing, the more likely natural transition to reduce resistance will be to start drawing more from your shoulder instead of your shoulder. This would not be a good thing.
Conversely, drawing with your hand raised in the air is certainly better, but some people find that they just haven't yet developed the strength in the correct muscles to maintain any degree of steadiness. In this situation, leaning your hand gently on the page can be a decent compromise, where the amount of resistance is considerably less than if you were to lean on your elbow. That said, there is still resistance, and we still have a tendency to switch towards drawing from our wrists in this case, so we need to be vigilant, catching and correcting ourselves whenever we slip back to drawing from our wrist.
As for irrelevant, you'll essentially find that many of your questions are really specific to you as a person. How long of a break you should take, in what state you should continue to push yourself, etc. You will be able to answer these questions yourself, once you find yourself in those situations. For now, just sit yourself at a desk or table, and give the exercises a shot.
SlutForDoritos
2017-03-17 00:22
Is there a specific brand of fineliners I should use?
Uncomfortable
2017-03-17 04:20
No. The ones I recommend in the homework sections of the lessons that require fineliners (staedtler pigment liners and faber castell pitt artist pens) are simply the ones I use myself. There are a wide variety of brands available, so it's really up to you which ones you choose. Just make sure that they are fineliners - so their tips should look like the ones shown in the homework sections.
Ilikespacestuff
2017-04-02 19:16
Is photo bashing bad? I've heard a lot of mixed things on the web, then again what feng does in this video I thought was really cool. just looking for some input, thanks! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qXnp7wSevRE
Uncomfortable
2017-04-02 20:05
It's neither good nor bad. It's just another tool one can use to achieve an end, and like any tool it can be misused (and tends to be when used by beginners). Basically, once you build up an understanding of form, lighting, colour, cohesion, composition and all that good stuff, you're probably going to understand how to apply photo successfully to your pieces. If you jump in and try to use photobashing before you really know what you're doing however, you're going to shoot yourself in the foot in the long run. Your work won't look that great (which is normal while you're learning) but you won't actually learn much through that process either.
When I started out, I tried to use a lot of photo textures all over, then at one point I realized what a horrible crutch it was and stopped entirely. I ended up developing a massive aversion to it in general, until much later when we were actually forced to try photobashing in an environment design class I was taking. As a result of my outlook on it at the time, I ended up painting over every piece of photo as much as I could. This ended up being a good route to take in two ways - firstly, I was still able to benefit from a lot of the structural and textural information the photos bring to the table, but secondly I avoided the all-too-common mistake people make where their illustrations end up looking like stylistic chimeras, with the photo coming through way more in some areas than others. It results in a total lack of cohesion, but by painting over everything like a madman, things came together much better.
This was one of the pieces I did for that class.
Ilikespacestuff
2017-04-03 00:30
thanks you so much! Really helpful, I figured that was a technique to be used once a good amount of experience was acquired. Also really enjoy the pieces you did, those look amazing!
[deleted]
2017-04-04 03:36
[deleted]
Uncomfortable
2017-04-04 14:53
Glad I could help.
P_Jamez
2017-04-13 12:52
Thank you for taking the time to prepare and write all the lessons. Apologies if these are stupid questions:
1) I'm left handed, should I be drawing the straight lines from right to left or left to right?
2) when drawing from the shoulder, is the rest of the arm totally straight?
Thanks
Uncomfortable
2017-04-13 19:25
There's no correct direction to draw your lines, beyond what you feel to be comfortable. In lesson 1, in the description of the ghosting method, you'll find that I instruct students to rotate their pages in order to find a more comfortable angle of approach. This can certainly vary from person to person, but there's no set way of doing it based on which hand you use to draw.
When drawing from the shoulder, your arm should not be straight. What matters is that your joints are locked - which position they're locked will depend on your posture, your desk setup, how far the page is from you, etc. I generally find myself drawing with my arm bent at the elbow.
P_Jamez
2017-04-13 19:30
Thanks!
ignat980
2017-04-14 05:27
What is good posture? How should I be sitting when drawing? I have a flat desk but I see that it's impossible to draw on a paper without leaning forward a bunch, unless I don't want to see where I'm drawing. After drawing for an hour or so I feel my neck get a little stiff, and I wonder what I should be doing differently.
Uncomfortable
2017-04-14 16:27
Sit as straight-backed as you can, and adjust your chair height to keep your desk at a relative height where that is possible. If your desk is too low, you will hunch. If your desk is too high, you won't be able to have proper control over your drawing area (for lack of a better way to describe that). If necessary, you may want to try and create a more angled surface, although I've never bothered to do this myself. So long as it's stable, you could set up a drawing board (which is basically just a glorified large, flat board) to be raised higher on the far end. It might be tricky to keep these sturdy enough to draw on though. Alternatively a drawing desk is a more reliable, but perhaps needlessly expensive solution. Somewhere in between you can probably find preconstructed table-top solutions that don't involve replacing your entire desk.
I've always managed fine keeping my desk around the base of my ribcage and just forcing myself to keep my back fairly straight.
ignat980
2017-04-15 03:41
What are your thoughts on a standing desk for this purpose? I imagine the back is definitely going to be straight :p
Uncomfortable
2017-04-15 04:02
I can't see anything wrong with a standing desk, but I can't really speak to it with any certainty since I've never used one before.
tilkau
2017-04-18 01:22
Since Uncomfortable can't speak personally to this, my comments:
I use a standing desk. Generally good for posture and fitness and okay for drawing (on my tablet, which is set up vertically), but because more blood needs to go to my legs, the degree of control I have when drawing is a bit less IME.
If you want to set up a horizontal drawing surface, be aware that the exact height you set up at can make the difference between ease and acute discomfort. Your forearm should be close to horizontal during most drawing operations.
Cantuccini
2017-05-04 10:01
Thank you for posting! I have some more questions:
I don't understand exercise 2.2 in Lesson 1 entirely, in which you have to draw ellipses in a plane. Does the ellipse have to intersect with all the edges of the plane or not?
When I'm ghosting, am I supposed to go through the motion of drawing the line with the same speed as when I touch the pen to the page?
What paper size do you recommend for homework? Can I use A5 (~1/2 US letter) as well?
ETA: are you also going to make YouTube videos about Lesson 1?
Uncomfortable
2017-05-04 15:39
Your ellipses should fit snugly inside of those planes, touching each of the edges at one point ideally. All this exercise is for is getting used to placing arbitrary ellipses within an enclosed space like this without losing the smoothness, confidence and flow of our ellipses. Remember that maintaining an evenly shaped ellipse is the highest priority, even if that means sacrificing your accuracy.
Ghosting at a confident pace is ideal, to build up the appropriate muscle memory, so the answer to that is more or less yes.
It's ultimately up to you, but there are a few factors to consider - firstly, how much work are you willing to do for each exercise. The amounts are in pages, but ultimately that leaves that decision very much up to you. Secondly, especially when dealing with the challenge of constructing forms in 3D space, our brains benefit from a little more room to think through the spatial problems. Personally, I've always been most comfortable working on loose-leaf A4 sheets of printer paper.
Nope, no plans on making videos for lesson 1.
Cantuccini
2017-05-04 16:10
Thank you for answering my questions! Too bad that you won't make a video tutorial for lesson 1.
savethesapiens
2017-05-31 15:00
Hello, first off, thank you so much! I can tell I'm going to get a lot of use outta this resource.
I'm starting with lesson 1, but at this time in my life I have nothing but free time and I've been spending a lot of it doodling. Can I continue to draw on the side while I do the lessons, or should I just stick to practice? How many hours of drawing a day is too many for a novice?
Uncomfortable
2017-05-31 16:30
You can absolutely draw whatever you like when not doing the lessons - in fact, it's recommended, so long as you don't mix in doodling whilst actually attempting to do the exercises. Basically, when doing the exercises, make sure you follow the instructions to the letter. As for how many hours of drawing is too much... that's not really something I have an answer for. Ultimately it's a matter of how much you can do without it feeling like a chore. If you start to get tired, or disinterested, it's best to take a break so you don't burn out.
savethesapiens
2017-05-31 17:54
Thanks for the reply! I'm mixing lesson 1 exercises with drawing simple characters/animals from sight, I'm in love.
Which is weird, I hardly ever drew before a week ago and now I can't stop.
[deleted]
2017-06-03 10:56
I have a question about Lesson 1: Lines, Ellipses and Boxes.
Are we supposed to draw the rotated boxes from our imagination without looking at the pictures?
I've been trying to do that and it's pretty hard but it gets you to think more about how the boxes look rotated. Issue there's a huge difference between those boxes I rotate in my own mind compared to just copying from a picture.
Uncomfortable
2017-06-03 16:12
All of the exercises in lesson 1 are meant to be done from your imagination. We do eventually get into drawing from observation and reference, but at this stage I want students to focus on building a sort of mental model of 3D space, and to begin developing their abilities to think spatially.
As explained here, the rotated boxes and organic perspective boxes exercises are exceptionally difficult, and I don't expect students to succeed at them before completing this lesson. All I want them to do is to follow the instructions to the best of their abilities. This gets your brain started in thinking about how things turn in 3D space, which is a key skill that you will continue to develop over time. Just make sure you complete the exercises, even if they don't look right.
If you've struggled at all with these two exercises, I recommend moving onto the 250 box challenge next. Be sure to read through all of the notes on that page, especially the tip about drawing through your forms. This in particular should help you better grasp how each box sits in 3D space.
One thing to be aware of in regards to the difference between rotating them in your mind and copying from a picture is that when copying, you're not factoring in how those boxes sit in 3D space. All you're doing is copying a two dimensional image, so there's no three dimensional information or understanding that comes into play. That's why it's easier, but also not particularly useful. In later lessons (3 and onwards), we get into constructional drawing, which is a greater application of this idea. It is an approach that forces you to break down a two dimensional image into its primitive three dimensional forms, then building back up. Ultimately this forces you to think about how the object is laid out in 3D, rather than focusing only on the 2D image before you.
Of course, in order to be able to do that, we must first get used to manipulating simple forms in 3D, which is what lessons 1 and 2, and the box challenge, are all about.
alexmrocks10
2017-06-28 12:45
Hello
I'm on lesson one, just starting out, and I find my self swaying with my pen movement. Instead of it being a more shoulder oriented movement it's becoming an entire body movement. Is this ok or should I deliberately stop the swaying? Will swaying impede my learning or is it okay?
Thank you,
Alex
Uncomfortable
2017-06-28 13:06
If I understand what you're saying correctly, it's probably not a significant issue, so long as it isn't impeding you from controlling your use of your pen. If you're still able to hit the marks you're aiming for, and maintain smooth strokes, then don't go out of your way to change what feels natural to you.
trucido614
2017-07-20 20:27
Hello, I am brand new in the art world. I'm trying to learn how to make simple sketches for comic book style art. I watch videos from Drawing with Jazza on Youtube, he has a really good style that I am trying to achieve.
One of the things I am struggling with is how to make basic silhouettes. Every time I draw a face and jaw line, I always make the actual face look terrible.
I just want to be able to draw different styles of characters and pick my favorites to move on. Jazza does this within 5 minutes. For me it takes 30+ minutes and they all look like crap.
Uncomfortable
2017-07-20 21:05
Couple things worth mentioning:
Building up a stylistic approach with no underlying foundation is generally unwise, especially when you're trying to copy someone else's stylistic choices. What you see Jazza draw is not the limit of his understanding of anatomy, form, perspective, etc. - it's a subset of it, and the choices he makes are informed by his grasp of the fundamentals. By jumping in without that understanding, you're basically trying to drive a car with no engine. Just because you don't see it, doesn't mean it's not extremely important. While you don't have to learn hyper realism or anything liek that, it is important for you to ground your abilities in reality. Learning to capture the illusion of 3D form, learning the proportions of the body, how to capture gesture, etc. Once you've learned these more concretely (which mind you takes a lot of time and practice), you can apply that understanding when drawing simpler cartoons/comics.
Similarly, what Jazza does in 5 minutes is built upon years of practice. For you it takes longer and looks worse because you don't have that prior practice backing you up. What you're experiencing is completely normal.
Long story short, your goals are not just this, or just that. Your goals sit at the end of a much longer, more involved, and much more fulfilling road than you expected. You certainly can continue to practice cartoons in isolation, but you'll be lacking an important foundation and will continue to struggle without it.
Also, this subreddit is geared towards a very specific set of lessons (those on drawabox.com) and so questions posed here are usually related directly to that material. If you'd like a place to ask more general questions, try /r/learnart or /r/learntodraw.
trucido614
2017-07-20 21:45
Thank you for your response!
[deleted]
2017-07-20 23:46
I have a bad right shoulder. And I'm right handed. What do I do about drawing from the shoulder?
Uncomfortable
2017-07-20 23:56
Logically you'd have to make do with drawing from the elbow. Sadly I've no knowledge of shoulder injuries or anything of the sort, so I can't really tell you how to handle that. I am assuming by a bad shoulder, you are referring to some kind of physical issue rather than the usual issues everyone encounters when first learning to draw from their shoulders.
[deleted]
2017-07-21 00:13
Yes, that's what I mean. Usually it's fine but I just re sprained it again and I become a Patreon next month.
Uncomfortable
2017-07-21 00:15
In that case, I'd definitely speak to a doctor if possible, but at the very least, give it some time to heal and don't push yourself too hard with it. While later down the line it won't be as difficult, when you first get used to drawing from your shoulder (and develop those muscles), it can be quite taxing and I imagine it could easily aggravate an existing injury.
[deleted]
2017-07-21 01:15
I'll wait until it heals (as much as it heals ; It's always an issue).
It's an on going issue that I know how to fix, it just takes time. I can just re sprain it easily if I don't do the exercises and if I lift items that are too heavy with my right arm.
I just wish I could figure out how I screwed it up! I wasn't lifting boxes or anything.
Next month is going to be brutal on my bank account though, so it might be for the best since I have to hold off on buying the fineliners if I'm not going to be doing the drawing. I'll still draw though, just not the lessons until my shoulder gets better.
I'll stop (for now ) if I notice any pain or the lessons become physically uncomfortable until it gets better.
Thank you for replying!
Uncomfortable
2017-07-21 01:19
Perhaps you should consider cancelling your patreon pledge, and then repledging when you're in a better position (financially and health-wise). I generally trust my patrons to honour their pledges, so there's no need to pay up-front or anything like that (in case that's the reason you were going to start the work next month). Basically, if you pledge during August, you can submit work immediately after pledging, even though you wouldn't be charged til September 1st.
[deleted]
2017-07-21 02:03
That's a good idea. I just canceled it. I'll re pledge once I have an idea of my finances and health. Thank you again!