jxpham in the post "/r/ArtFundamentals and Drawabox.com: A New Beginning. Read this if you're new to this subreddit."
2016-12-12 23:20
Uncomfortable, are the lessons still worth doing, even if I can't afford critiques? I know that practice makes perfect but I dont think that saying takes into account the fact that if I practice incorrectly, I may develop bad habits. And I know that I can submit my lessons for community critique, but I have to question the effectiveness of doing so. The community seem open and welcoming but most of the community seems new to drawing so I worry that even if I get a community critique, I'll make mistakes without being cognizant of them and end up making the same mistakes over and over again, especially because its happened to me before. (in an extreme case, the high school I attended only taught me to draw from photos, only teaching me to take into consideration the outlines of objects. Only after my 4th year did I learn anything about perspective or form or realize how it applies to everything)! Im currently on the cube portion of lesson one which seems to serve as the basis for everything else and was wondering what I could do in addition to submitting my work for community critiques to effectively assess/critique the accuracy of my drawings.
jxpham in the post "/r/ArtFundamentals and Drawabox.com: A New Beginning. Read this if you're new to this subreddit."
2016-10-12 01:41
Hi, Uncomfortable. Not sure if this is the right place but I was hoping to ask a few questions. Correct me if I'm wrong but it seems as though your method of drawing (constructive drawing) focuses on using the rules of perspective to break down complex objects into simple geometric forms, like cubes. I've recently been doing the part of lesson one that involves organic cubes and rotated cubes. Would it be a good idea to supplement these exercises by looking into and practicing mechanical perspective which involves using calculations to create an accurate cube with accurate 90 degree vanishing points and corners? I think doing rigid mechanical perspective is a good thing to learn along with the drawabox lessons because it teaches you to draw cubes in perspective accurately, which is important since the accuracy of your cube will affect the accuracy of your ellipses then subsequently the accuracy of your cylinders and cones. I figure that after doing rigid, technical perspective for a while that I'll begin to internalize the technique and be able to create accurate cubes intuitively freehand. What alternatives would you suggest for learning how to intuitively create accurate cubes in perspective, especially when you're new to constructive drawing and don't have trained eyes or anyone that can correct your mistakes? Also, what would you say about learning to draw from observation? I personally like constructive drawing, but I've had teachers who mainly approximate or "feel" what they draw through observation, not using any constructive drawing or calling it too rigid. Which is better: learning observation or constructive drawing or both? And are these two ways of drawing supposed to be used in isolation from each other: it seems hard to apply constructive drawing to observational, real life drawing because its hard to make a perspective cube, plane, circle, etc. occupy a specific amount of space or be a specific size. Sorry for the long post! I just have a lot of questions and really want your input. Thanks for creating the drawabox lessons. I never had the opportunity to take advantage of the free critiques, but I feel like i've learned more from drawabox than I have from any other art course I've taken!
jxpham in the post "/r/ArtFundamentals and Drawabox.com: A New Beginning. Read this if you're new to this subreddit."
2016-12-13 01:13
Hi, Uncomfortable, Im sorry if I put you in an awkward position. It was not my intention to do so. I hope you know that I really value the drawabox lessons. I mentioned before that Id been a photocopier in high school, and, after talking to some professors, I did try to deviate from that and draw more from life, but, apart from the difficulties of dealing with binocular vision, drawing from life didnt seem much different than drawing from photo. But the drawabox page giving your thoughts about constructive drawing really resonated with me and addressed this problem by giving a more analytical method of drawing where the essential forms and 3d construction of an object are the main focus, not the details. So the question I had wasnt concerning the value of the lessons (if anything, this first lesson has taught me much more than any of the other art classes Ive had!). The question was more about what I should do to become cognizant of my mistakes & should I even do the lessons since I cant afford critiques. And I ask this question, not because Im suspicious about the validity of drawaboxs lessons but because I dont trust myself. Ive had times where I made mistakes and developed bad habits or practiced over and over without really learning anything. Like, really what kind of person takes art courses for 4 years or so but only focuses on the outlines of objects & doesnt learn about perspective until the last year?? I hope I explained myself better here and that its much more clear here that I do value your content and lessons. Thanks, Uncomfortable!