Uncomfortable in the post "250 box challenge (pt. 1) - Judge me! I've been working on the 250 box challenge for the past week, and as of currently I think i'm doing great after restarting. There are a few bad boxes here and there, but i still cannot wrap my head around why they look awful. Any advice? (sry for bad quality)."
2021-11-11 15:27
This subreddit doesn't allow single exercises or partial work, as explained here. You can get feedback on individual exercises on the discord chat server though, and the folks there would be happy to help you out. For the subreddit, we're pushing students to post complete lesson work.
For what it's worth, your work is coming along well.
Uncomfortable in the post "50-50 Rule Question"
2021-10-09 20:10
The 50% rule splits time spent drawing into two halves. One half consists of both Drawabox and any other lessons, tutorials, studies, exercises, etc. The other half consists of drawing done purely for the sake of drawing. Not to learn, not to improve, not to impress anyone or yourself.
Its purpose exists to accept that your drawings are not going to turn out as you want them to the vast majority of the time, to get you comfortable with the idea of drawing without needing the end result to turn out well, and to develop the endurance to progress long-term despite the many bouts of frustration you will face.
Students who struggle with it - of which there are many ultimately struggle with the idea of drawing when they know the end result will turn out badly. It's the mentality that the immediate result determines whether the time was invested well, or if it was wasted - and that's a very short-term mentality to have.
Uncomfortable in the post "Over the last few months, I've been working on a collaboration with Proko's team - a video about my experiences with Aphantasia (the inability to visualize the things I imagine in my head), and how I approach drawing from my imagination. And the video is finally out, on Proko's channel!"
2021-08-17 19:09
That's a pretty good analogy - and one that's a lot less presumptuous than the "blind person" one I play out in my head, but try to avoid using outloud.
Uncomfortable in the post "NEW TO /r/ARTFUNDAMENTALS? Don't know what Drawabox is? Read this first."
2021-07-03 21:31
That might be a better question for /r/learnart or /r/learntodraw, since after all this community is focused on Drawabox.
Uncomfortable in the post "NEW TO /r/ARTFUNDAMENTALS? Don't know what Drawabox is? Read this first."
2021-07-02 02:21
A lot of people have asked me that question, and there's no useful answer. Some students have taken 5 months to complete the course, some have taken a year, some have taken 2 years. As counter-intuitive as it is though, those who put a deadline to it tend to take longer. Setting arbitrary points at which we expect ourselves to be at a certain point tends to encourage us to rush, which in turn diminishes how efficiently we absorb the material.
Uncomfortable in the post "NEW TO /r/ARTFUNDAMENTALS? Don't know what Drawabox is? Read this first."
2021-06-24 22:05
For the first point, that's correct. In order to only see the front face of an object, it needs to occupy a specific position right in front of the viewer, and needs to be parallel to the viewer's angle of sight.
For the second, you are indeed overthinking it. There is just one viewer, because what you draw is always from the perspective of being seen through one person's eyes. You can also think of it as the camera capturing the scene, rather than a person's eyes.
In the future, this is a question that should be posed to the community as its own submission. That way others will be able to respond to you, as many within the community would be equipped to answer this.
Uncomfortable in the post "NEW TO /r/ARTFUNDAMENTALS? Don't know what Drawabox is? Read this first."
2021-06-20 13:51
As explained here in Lesson 0, the recommended pen thickness is 0.5mm. If you haven't read through lesson 0, be sure to do so.
Uncomfortable in the post "Over the last few months, I've been working on a collaboration with Proko's team - a video about my experiences with Aphantasia (the inability to visualize the things I imagine in my head), and how I approach drawing from my imagination. And the video is finally out, on Proko's channel!"
2021-05-11 01:38
My pleasure!
Uncomfortable in the post "NEW TO /r/ARTFUNDAMENTALS? Don't know what Drawabox is? Read this first."
2021-04-15 21:00
You are correct. It's unreasonable to expect someone to be able to paint something that feels solid and three dimensional without experience with drawing first. That said, Drawabox extends beyond drawing, and primarily focuses on developing a strong understanding of how to work within 3D space itself - that is, understanding how to view the things you produce on a flat page or canvas actually "exist" in a 3D world.
It's easiest for us to explore and develop this by focusing on drawing, because it has fewer distractions and complications, but the skill itself is applicable well beyond these limitations.
There is a common mistake beginners make where they focus a little too much on what their end goal is, without really understanding how many components which may not seem entirely related are in fact key parts of the journey to get there. It's good to see that you're looking at it with a little more acceptance of your own lack of understanding, and that you're open to the possibility of needing to explore things that aren't exactly what you're aiming for.
That said, you'll find early on in Drawabox that I stress the importance of spending half your time drawing for the sake of drawing, rather than specifically to learn. In your case, you'd be welcome to spend that time painting and experimenting, playing with the medium of your goal, rather than focusing only on the idea of checking off a list of requirements before you're even able to touch the stuff.
Uncomfortable in the post "Over the last few months, I've been working on a collaboration with Proko's team - a video about my experiences with Aphantasia (the inability to visualize the things I imagine in my head), and how I approach drawing from my imagination. And the video is finally out, on Proko's channel!"
2021-03-25 15:22
Not at all. There are many ways in which to understand the things we recall - while I don't see them visually in my head, I can perceive them in other ways. It's a bit tough to describe, but I basically can maintain a general idea of where different forms and objects exist in 3D space relative to one another.
As I study from reference, learning how different objects can be broken down into simpler forms, those simpler forms are easier for me to manipulate in my head, and recombine however I wish. This kind of exercise allows me to develop an equivalent of a "visual library", and I can pull on things I've studied even without the reference present. My recollection of the specific details isn't 100% accurate, but that's just how memory works for everyone.
Uncomfortable in the post "New video out for Lesson 1's Ellipses section. Complete with little 3D visualizations and a poorly cut out cardboard disc."
2021-03-24 20:56
There's no need to restart, though it wouldn't hurt to watch the new videos (as they come out) in case the way I approach the newer explanations helps you understand the concepts a bit better.
Uncomfortable in the post "New video out for Lesson 1's Ellipses section. Complete with little 3D visualizations and a poorly cut out cardboard disc."
2021-03-24 20:31
I'm glad you're enjoying it!
Uncomfortable in the post "NEW TO /r/ARTFUNDAMENTALS? Don't know what Drawabox is? Read this first."
2021-03-22 16:40
You'll find that explained in this video from Lesson 0.
Uncomfortable in the post "NEW TO /r/ARTFUNDAMENTALS? Don't know what Drawabox is? Read this first."
2021-03-21 16:02
Yeah, there's nothing wrong with that.
Uncomfortable in the post "Over the last few months, I've been working on a collaboration with Proko's team - a video about my experiences with Aphantasia (the inability to visualize the things I imagine in my head), and how I approach drawing from my imagination. And the video is finally out, on Proko's channel!"
2021-03-19 22:10
Ultimately your path is up to you. I do feel like I should say one last thing, however, before leaving you to it.
It's completely fine if you opt to take some other path - there are many out there to choose from, so don't feel pressured into following Drawabox specifically.
What I do want you to understand however is that it's not about the nobility of the pursuit, and the lofty nonsense associated with the idea of "art", love of the craft, etc. It is purely pragmatic.
If you, like so many other people who are on the hunt for something to teach them how to draw better, continue to allow yourself to focus on the need to draw better in order to make yourself happy, you put yourself at a significant risk of burning out - or at the very least, you'll put yourself through a shredder of despair that could have otherwise been avoided.
The reason we stress taking these students who are so focused on the end result and knock their heads into the wall until they actually learn to shift their motivations around to something more sustainable, is that it increases one's chances of success.
Your circumstances are not unique, nor special, and perhaps that's the most important piece. Most people start where you are, focused on what's going to help them improve because making those lovely works of art - whether it's purely for their own self-gratification or for the gratification that comes from the attention it brings. But what it leads to is ineffective, and has the tendency to take unhealthy mindsets and nurture them into terrible beasts.
That doesn't mean people don't succeed with that mindset - some do. The problem is that they come out the other end damaged, or worse still, those that fail out are left damaged with nothing to show for it.
Really think about whether that's the path you want to take, entirely because you're so dead set on your current outlook, and on the idea that your circumstances are different, rather than the start of a path tread by many before you. It's a fork in the road, and you can choose how to play this.
Fortunately there will be many such forks in the road ahead of you, so when you do find yourself in moments of despair, I want you to remember what I've said here. You're not locked in, you're not forced to hold to your ideals. You can change your mind later on, and decide to take it easier on yourself. To give yourself the patience and understanding that only you can provide.
I wish you the best.
Uncomfortable in the post "Over the last few months, I've been working on a collaboration with Proko's team - a video about my experiences with Aphantasia (the inability to visualize the things I imagine in my head), and how I approach drawing from my imagination. And the video is finally out, on Proko's channel!"
2021-03-19 19:18
You're really misunderstanding something. People who come looking for something like Drawabox do so because they no longer just enjoy drawing. They get fixated on the fact that they want to do better, that they need to do better, that they don't have fun unless they're able to show themselves something pretty at the end.
The 50% rule doesn't ask you to have fun. It teaches you how to. It does this by having you face down the frustrating parts, to jump into them head first, and to get used to them so they stop being so painful. Through that exposure, the fog steadily clears, and you're able to see past the frustration to the enjoyment that could be had.
The fact that you're not able to do it for fun right now is irrelevant, and that's the case for most people at this stage.
Uncomfortable in the post "Over the last few months, I've been working on a collaboration with Proko's team - a video about my experiences with Aphantasia (the inability to visualize the things I imagine in my head), and how I approach drawing from my imagination. And the video is finally out, on Proko's channel!"
2021-03-19 17:39
Imagination and visualization is always hard to put into words. But don't stress too much over it - it's a spectrum that stretches between hyperphantasia and aphantasia, and covers everything in between. Just know that you're somewhere on that spectrum, and at the end of the day, it has no significant bearing on your ability to learn to draw.
Uncomfortable in the post "Over the last few months, I've been working on a collaboration with Proko's team - a video about my experiences with Aphantasia (the inability to visualize the things I imagine in my head), and how I approach drawing from my imagination. And the video is finally out, on Proko's channel!"
2021-03-19 17:37
Based on what I've heard, those with aphantasia - myself included - dream normally.
Uncomfortable in the post "Over the last few months, I've been working on a collaboration with Proko's team - a video about my experiences with Aphantasia (the inability to visualize the things I imagine in my head), and how I approach drawing from my imagination. And the video is finally out, on Proko's channel!"
2021-03-19 17:37
This is the big misconception that people can have on the other side of the coin. "I can visualize whatever I want, so I should be able to draw like a master no problem!" In truth, your ability to visualize things is still likely to be pretty limited - in that it still relies on your memory (human memory is notoriously poor, something I talk about in lesson 2, but the jist is that we're built to focus on important things like whether or not that thing has teeth and wants to eat us, not specific details needed for depiction). If the information isn't there, I can imagine that as soon as you try to focus on something, it starts to evaporate.
That's why regardless of whether one can visualize things or not, we all have to learn the same core skills. Sometimes people who have strong visualization skills can find it a little more challenging, simply because they've got this distracting skill that SEEMS like it should be useful, but isn't pulling the weight expected of it.
Uncomfortable in the post "Over the last few months, I've been working on a collaboration with Proko's team - a video about my experiences with Aphantasia (the inability to visualize the things I imagine in my head), and how I approach drawing from my imagination. And the video is finally out, on Proko's channel!"
2021-03-19 17:34
I definitely made the video with them in mind as well. They are as likely to feel like because they can visualize things in their heads, that things should be easy for them. It's very much not the case, and when we get that kind of idea, we're bound to get discouraged when we aren't able to perform to our overblown expectations.
At the end of the day, it's really just a parlour trick. What really allows us to draw are the concrete skills we develop through practice and hard work.
Uncomfortable in the post "Over the last few months, I've been working on a collaboration with Proko's team - a video about my experiences with Aphantasia (the inability to visualize the things I imagine in my head), and how I approach drawing from my imagination. And the video is finally out, on Proko's channel!"
2021-03-19 17:33
It's probably my favourite topic to rant about, honestly, and I do it all the time on the discord server. One little correction to what you said though - with the 50% rule, it's not even about focusing on developing skills instead of the end result. That's definitely the case for when we're going through the lessons/exercises/studies portion of things, but when we're just drawing for fun, both the end result and the idea that we're investing our time to get something meaningful out of it (like improving our skills) goes out the window.
It's all about enjoying the act of making marks on a page.
But of course with your badly drawn wizards in pointy hats, I don't doubt for a second that you understood that quite thoroughly!
Uncomfortable in the post "Over the last few months, I've been working on a collaboration with Proko's team - a video about my experiences with Aphantasia (the inability to visualize the things I imagine in my head), and how I approach drawing from my imagination. And the video is finally out, on Proko's channel!"
2021-03-19 06:03
How is your ability to visualize things when you're not drawing? You've mainly described what it's like when you're actually attempting to put stuff down on a page, but that in itself can induce all kinds of additional stress that may impact how you think and behave.
Uncomfortable in the post "Over the last few months, I've been working on a collaboration with Proko's team - a video about my experiences with Aphantasia (the inability to visualize the things I imagine in my head), and how I approach drawing from my imagination. And the video is finally out, on Proko's channel!"
2021-03-19 01:03
Every study I do from reference involves me breaking their construction down, understanding their major forms, and so on. I may not remember what a pigeon looks like to be able to picture it in my head, but this kind of information - the kinds of forms, the way the forms relate to one another, and even the shape language itself - these are more abstract concepts that get recorded to my "visual" library (I put that in quotation marks because it's the normal term, but obviously doesn't really apply in the same way to me).
I haven't studied pigeons very closely - really just what you saw in the video - but at this point I can draw an okay pigeon without reference. If I were to study them more, the amount of non-visual information I'd retain would expand further, and my drawings of those pigeons would get more recognizable, even without reference at hand.
I want students to understand just how useful reference is, when you have it, and how drawing from reference is the way one equips themselves to draw without it - hence the reason I focused so heavily on it in my demonstrations for the video. Reference is a wonderful thing, and there's a real problem with people being under the impression that using it is somehow bad, harmful, or to be avoided. I think you phrased your question well, however, and avoided that problem. Sometimes you don't have reference to work from.
To be completely honest with you, I don't hunt down reference for every last thing I draw. I retain enough information on general things I've drawn over the years that I can manage just fine. No one's judging my comic pages on the accuracy of my pigeons, after all. And I don't think they're too bad, in any case.
Uncomfortable in the post "Over the last few months, I've been working on a collaboration with Proko's team - a video about my experiences with Aphantasia (the inability to visualize the things I imagine in my head), and how I approach drawing from my imagination. And the video is finally out, on Proko's channel!"
2021-03-18 22:21
Yeah, I just mean that there's nothing additional I see when I try to picture/imagine things.
Uncomfortable in the post "Over the last few months, I've been working on a collaboration with Proko's team - a video about my experiences with Aphantasia (the inability to visualize the things I imagine in my head), and how I approach drawing from my imagination. And the video is finally out, on Proko's channel!"
2021-03-18 21:03
He was certainly very kind to reach out and give me the opportunity to share what I know on his channel!
Uncomfortable in the post "Over the last few months, I've been working on a collaboration with Proko's team - a video about my experiences with Aphantasia (the inability to visualize the things I imagine in my head), and how I approach drawing from my imagination. And the video is finally out, on Proko's channel!"
2021-03-18 21:03
Absolutely nothing! I mean, I usually have my eyes open when I think, so I'll see my surroundings... but there's nothing in addition to that.
Uncomfortable in the post "Over the last few months, I've been working on a collaboration with Proko's team - a video about my experiences with Aphantasia (the inability to visualize the things I imagine in my head), and how I approach drawing from my imagination. And the video is finally out, on Proko's channel!"
2021-03-18 21:02
I haven't done any psychedelics before, though I am admittedly a little curious about them, entirely because of my aphantasia. As for before I start to dream, nothing.
Uncomfortable in the post "NEW TO /r/ARTFUNDAMENTALS? Don't know what Drawabox is? Read this first."
2021-03-16 20:11
I entirely support students doing their 50% rule stuff digitally, if digital media is what they want to pursue. As long as you're still doing the Drawabox stuff in ink, then by all means, have at it.
Uncomfortable in the post "NEW TO /r/ARTFUNDAMENTALS? Don't know what Drawabox is? Read this first."
2021-03-10 01:47
I explain why I recommend the use of ink in this article.
Uncomfortable in the post "NEW TO /r/ARTFUNDAMENTALS? Don't know what Drawabox is? Read this first."
2021-03-03 19:33
Another option then might be to go to the discord app, scroll down your list of servers to the [ + ] sign at the bottom (the button to add a server). It'll give you the option to copy/paste the invite link there.
Uncomfortable in the post "NEW TO /r/ARTFUNDAMENTALS? Don't know what Drawabox is? Read this first."
2021-03-03 18:13
Most students use a mobile phone to take a picture of their work. All that matters is that the image is clear, and most phone cameras can achieve that fairly easily.
As to your other question, can you tell me what happens when you try to join the discord server? Sometimes a Discord invite link will incorrectly be shown as invalid/expired for some users. Certain reasons I've found that cause this are either already being connected to too many discord servers, or a browser issue. First thing I'd try is clearing your browser's cache.
Uncomfortable in the post "New video's up! This time, a 10 minute look at the Ghosted Lines Exercise"
2021-03-01 16:37
My pleasure!
Uncomfortable in the post "New video's up! This time, a 10 minute look at the Ghosted Lines Exercise"
2021-03-01 16:37
Yup! It's a slow, but ongoing process, but I want to revisit all the video content and update it appropriately. The existing content is mostly still solid (aside from the audio issues in Lesson 1), but it's a lot longer and more rambling than it needs to be, and I think I can certainly do better.
Uncomfortable in the post "NEW TO /r/ARTFUNDAMENTALS? Don't know what Drawabox is? Read this first."
2021-02-15 20:44
You'll find that information on this page of Lesson 0.
Uncomfortable in the post "NEW TO /r/ARTFUNDAMENTALS? Don't know what Drawabox is? Read this first."
2021-02-15 05:03
Drawabox doesn't cover all the fundamentals, or even most of them. But it does cover what I consider to be the core fundamentals, upon which the others are built.
Uncomfortable in the post "I've set out on a quest to rerecord the Drawabox video content - starting with Lesson 1's Lines section"
2021-02-14 04:15
Thanks for the offer! I do have a policy of always paying for any work I have others do for Drawabox (for a variety of reasons, not least of which that it is a for-profit business, so accepting free labour feels morally wrong to me), but that also means that I always factor in my expected return on investment for that sort of thing.
I will of course keep you in mind for when I do start exploring investing more into the video content for the course.
Uncomfortable in the post "I've set out on a quest to rerecord the Drawabox video content - starting with Lesson 1's Lines section"
2021-02-13 23:21
I'm glad that Drawabox was able to open up drawing for you, and that you're having as much fun as you are.
One thing I do want to call a bit of attention to though is that it looks like your first swing was definitely a bit on the quicker side. You mentioned you started in early January, and are now at Lesson 6. I'm not worried or anything, as you're clearly seeing your own improvement. Just keep in mind that the quickest I've ever had a student complete the course (in terms of following the official critique) was about 5-6 months.
Just to make sure you're pacing yourself well, I'd recommend taking a look at some of the recordings over on ScyllaStew's YouTube channel. They show in realtime how each exercise from Lessons 1 and 2 can be approached.
Uncomfortable in the post "I've set out on a quest to rerecord the Drawabox video content - starting with Lesson 1's Lines section"
2021-02-13 20:21
The links are updated as I release the videos, so all those with the newer thumbnails link to the new videos. All those with the older thumbnails are content that is not yet updated. This is a process that will take many months.
Uncomfortable in the post "I've set out on a quest to rerecord the Drawabox video content - starting with Lesson 1's Lines section"
2021-02-13 20:20
Back then, once I'd finished the core lessons, I made the mistake of assuming that the appropriate next step would be to simply cover more things, in order to allow for growth, more content, more money, etc. Eventually I came to the conclusion that this was the wrong thing to do, as it caused me to attempt to teach things that I wasn't as competent at covering, and that other resources handled better.
So, I opted instead to focus my attention on the core of the course, going back over it, applying what I'd learned from teaching students (from the official homework critiques) back to the content to strengthen it, make it clearer, etc. That is what I largely intend to continue doing for the foreseeable future.
Uncomfortable in the post "I've set out on a quest to rerecord the Drawabox video content - starting with Lesson 1's Lines section"
2021-02-13 20:13
I do indeed!
Uncomfortable in the post "I've set out on a quest to rerecord the Drawabox video content - starting with Lesson 1's Lines section"
2021-02-13 20:13
When I started the subreddit, it was mainly just to share very rough things I'd learned. The lessons were hand-written, the homework was effectively just pulled from the course I'd taken myself, and while I was doing homework critiques for free from the beginning, they weren't that elaborate. I didn't mean for it to turn into anything, and rather than turning it into a business, I was planning at most to maybe use it to raise my reputation to a point where me running a mentorship might be an option. Like, a few students, something to make some extra pocket change each month.
It definitely went in a very different direction, starting from when people started demanding a way to donate money to the project, leading me to start a patreon campaign.
Uncomfortable in the post "I've set out on a quest to rerecord the Drawabox video content - starting with Lesson 1's Lines section"
2021-02-13 15:13
The thought of a blond me makes me laugh!
Uncomfortable in the post "I've set out on a quest to rerecord the Drawabox video content - starting with Lesson 1's Lines section"
2021-02-13 15:13
Haha, you and me both. I'm excited to update the content with what I've learned from critiquing students since the last round of changes.
Uncomfortable in the post "I've set out on a quest to rerecord the Drawabox video content - starting with Lesson 1's Lines section"
2021-02-13 15:12
Good thing you caught it!
Uncomfortable in the post "I've set out on a quest to rerecord the Drawabox video content - starting with Lesson 1's Lines section"
2021-02-13 15:11
Your observational skills need work!
Uncomfortable in the post "I've set out on a quest to rerecord the Drawabox video content - starting with Lesson 1's Lines section"
2021-02-13 15:11
Hahahaha. Well, I like to think that every time I revise the course (I've done it a few times now!) the results last for at least a few years, and each time they last a bit longer than the last. Maybe this will be the last time!
...but probably not.
Uncomfortable in the post "I've set out on a quest to rerecord the Drawabox video content - starting with Lesson 1's Lines section"
2021-02-13 04:32
I'm also updating diagrams and lesson content - for example, Lesson 1's first 3 pages have been updated as well.
Working through the whole course will be a long process taking several months, but I'm hoping to overhaul everything by the time I'm done.
Uncomfortable in the post "NEW TO /r/ARTFUNDAMENTALS? Don't know what Drawabox is? Read this first."
2021-01-22 22:09
Correct. I'm a digital artist myself, if it adds any context. All the work I do is digital, but the most effective and impactful training I received was done working in ink on paper.
Uncomfortable in the post "NEW TO /r/ARTFUNDAMENTALS? Don't know what Drawabox is? Read this first."
2021-01-22 22:06
Take a look at this response to a comment on this same post which essentially answers your question. Also, the article on why I recommend the use of ink/paper for this course should also help.
Uncomfortable in the post "Maybe this time?"
2021-11-11 15:28
As this question is more general, you're probably gonna want to ask it over on /r/learnart or /r/learntodraw to get a more varied response. That said, I can tell you this - this subreddit in particular is built around the free, structured lessons over on drawabox.com (as explained here), which do try to help beginners kind of get a sense of the core fundamentals of drawing, so they can move forward with more confidence towards whatever it is they themselves wish to learn to draw.
Fair warning though - while it is geared towards beginners, it is an intensive course, and a lot of students do have a tough time with it. One of the most challenging aspects of it is that it exposes students to complex concepts simply as introductions, where they're not necessarily expected to fully understand them just yet. Rather, it's like planting a seed, that will be nurtured over time. In general, we regard failure (making mistakes and such) as a very useful learning tool, and one that should be valued rather than avoided or feared. That does, however, go against a long academic tradition of making kids terrified of making mistakes.
Also, as a course it's highly recommended that it's tackled with pen and paper, for the reasons explained in this article.
Anyway, even if you are interested in Drawabox, I'd still recommend asking this question over at the other communities I mentioned, so you can get a wider variety of responses and options.