What to Draw Aside from Draw-a-Box Exercises?
https://www.reddit.com/r/ArtFundamentals/comments/e970i7/what_to_draw_aside_from_drawabox_exercises/
2019-12-11 13:20
RaiZone
I can do with drawing exercises half the time of my day, but aside from that, what do you think are some drawing sessions we could be doing that is both fun and productive? After finishing the exercises once a day, for three pages, I feel like theres nothing more to draw after that. Should I tackle further Draw-a-Box lessons like foliage and insects? Like deconstructing them apart and learning them how to draw in my free drawing session? Or should I be learning figure drawing instead and restricting myself to strictly following Draw-A-Box Lessons strictly before moving to another lesson?
I feel like jumping to foliage lessons while still improving myself from Lesson 1 can benefit a lot, but somethings telling me at the back of my head that I should be finishing Lesson 1 before 2,3,4, etc. What do you think? What do you draw on your free time that can improve your skills as an artist?
Uncomfortable
2019-12-11 15:03
As far as the drawing-for-fun thing stipulated in lesson 0, you're kind of misunderstanding the point. The goal there is not to fuss over ensuring that time is spent productively. This time should not be spent with any intent on learning or improving your skills.
The point is to get used to drawing purely for the sake of drawing - to remind yourself why you're learning this still in the first place, and to displace the natural tendency to focus on the end result as your source of fulfillment and pleasure, and instead find that from the process itself. We've usually been able to do this as children, but by the time that we bother to properly study drawing as a skill, we forget how to do that.
It's entirely common for students to think "I'm not ready to draw this", leaving them with nothing to draw. The fact of the matter is that they are conflating the idea of "drawing" with "drawing well". You can draw anything - just not necessarily well. That doesn't mean you shouldn't, or can't. So imagine that you have all the skill in the world and nothing left to learn: what would you draw? Draw that.
RyanAcro
2019-12-11 17:45
What would you like to draw in the future? What subject matter interested you to begin drawing in the first place? Just start drawing those things without worrying about it being "good".
I started drawing birds in my "fun" drawing time because they're something I was interested in and they're relatively simple even though I'm only on the box challenge and not lesson 4 yet. I've used YouTube videos and other resources to learn tips. It's meant to be fun and a way to avoid burnout from just doing exercises.
lunabun3
2019-12-12 10:55
Ive been doing the exercises for almost a month now and I currently make anatomy studies. That is, one day i make legs one day arms and so on.
Basically just draw what you usually enjoy to draw and if you dont know, discover! I spend a lot of time watching youtube videos of artists using different mediums and they inspire me a lot. I also use pinterest for references to draw. And to improve drawing to specific areas such as character design or perspective.. nature shadows.. etc there are free pdf books you can find online if youre cheap(i revommend being cheap at first maybe months later you wont like bones structure.. that is my case i as got bored of drawing human bones hehe). Art in general is so vast the posibilities are endless! Good luck!
RaiZone
2019-12-11 15:13
Thank you for the thoughtful and clear answer. The difference between drawing and drawing well cleared up much of my confusion, and Im glad to receive your message as I have realized that Ive been focusing too much on results, even after I watched your video talking about it. Id have spent months stuck in this position had I not asked. Again, thank you for the great response.
LiftsLinage
2022-10-28 11:29
I know this is a super old comment, and I literally just started with draw a box yesterday, but I really want to take a moment to tell you how awesome I think draw a box is.
There are real life lessons in there that apply not only to drawing but honestly to any endeavor.
It's inspiring. I was moved, thank you for putting it out there!
Uncomfortable
2022-10-28 18:24
Thank you for the kind words! I think that when it comes to learning the underlying pillars of any skill, there are certain general things - patience, discipline, willingness to accept that not every step will yield beautiful results, etc. - that one has to develop along the way.
Drawabox wasn't ever started with the intention of addressing those things, but I think it's inevitable - and they're the kinds of things I'd like to focus on a lot more once the overhaul of the course is completed, and my time is freed up by offloading critiques onto TAs.