Uncomfortable in the post "Lesson 1: Lines, Ellipses and Boxes"

2016-08-07 17:08

Very nice work! Your lines and ellipses are looking solid. Your boxes are also generally very well done. For your organic perspective boxes, I have only one suggestion, and this wasn't included in the lesson 1 notes. It's a good idea, when drawing boxes or any forms where there are lines on the opposite side that are hidden, to draw through your forms. This will help you get a better sense of how each box sits in 3D space, and will avoid any mistakes in regards to far planes being larger than near planes. Your boxes are generally quite well done though, so keep up the great work.

Feel free to move onto the next lesson.

Uncomfortable in the post "Lesson 1: Lines, Ellipses and Boxes"

2016-08-07 17:06

Fantastic work - all of your exercises are on point. Your lines are smooth and straight, your ellipses are confident and even, and your boxes are generally quite solid and well constructed. I have only one recommendation, and this isn't something that was included in the notes:

When drawing boxes, or any forms where certain lines are hidden on the opposite side, it's a good idea to draw through your forms. This helps you get a better sense of how each box sits in 3D space.

Additionally, these notes on the use of line weight should help you take your boxes to the next level: Line Weight.

Keep up the great work and feel free to move onto the next lesson.

Uncomfortable in the post "Lesson 1: Lines, Ellipses and Boxes"

2016-08-07 00:05

You're much better off using your shoulder, locking both wrist and elbow. There's two reasons for this:

• The awkwardness you're feeling, drawing from your shoulder, is normal. You're not used to using it, so of course it's going to feel strange at first. Push through it. If you avoid it now, you won't be able to use it when it's especially necessary.

• Combining two pivots is a bad idea this early on, because it's going to muddy the waters. You want to be in full control of your arm - locking all joints but one will give you a greater degree of familiarity with how your arm works, allowing you more control in the future.

Also, don't lean on your elbow for support, as it will end up behaving like an anchor, making you fall back to drawing from your wrist without realizing it. You get a similar effect if you lean on the side of your hand for support, but to a much lesser degree, so it's alright if you must. Either way, it's very important that you remain conscious of what you're doing, and whenever you catch yourself no longer drawing from the shoulder, stop and practice pivoting from your various joints to refresh your memory as to how each one feels, and then resume drawing from the shoulder.

Uncomfortable in the post "Lesson 5: Drawing Animals"

2016-08-06 18:02

Definitely an improvement - you're now heading in the right direction, but you definitely have plenty of room for improvement. I will be marking this lesson as complete however, as at this point it's just a matter of practicing, and periodically looking back over the additional demos on the bottom of the lesson page.

At the end of the day, there's no reason for fear to be entered into the equation - after all, what's the worst that could happen? You'll mess it up. So what? It's just a bad drawing, it's not the end of the world. Fear truly is an illusion, and it's true that it's something everyone faces, and the whole constructional method spits in the face of that. It's terrifying at first, but the point is not to make a pretty drawing at the end, and you're still caught up in that. The point is to understand the animal you are studying, and how it is made up of many simpler forms. Once you're done, you might as well just throw the drawing away because the final product has no value.

Anyway, the next lesson is definitely going to be challenging, but it may also be considerably helpful in this constructional regard. Your gut is going to tell you to observe and draw exactly what you see, with all of its little details and whatnots.

Instead, when it comes to the Everyday Objects that you will be drawing, this is not the ideal course of action. Instead, you should treat the lesson as being similar to the form intersections in lesson 2. All you'll be drawing are boxes and cylinders arranged together in particular configurations.

In these drawings there's always a stage where you put the finishing touches on - that is, rounding off edges, adding little extra details that you didn't want to include as forms in the construction for whatever reason (labels and such). The LONGER you delay that stage, the more time you spend simply drawing a form intersection, the better your results will be. Keep that in mind.

Also, I strongly recommend that you take a look at the 250 box and 250 cylinder challenges before starting lesson 6. Looking back at my critique for your lesson 1 work, I actually did ask you to do the 250 box challenge then, but you seem to have skipped it anyway.

Uncomfortable in the post "Lesson 2: Organic Forms, Contour Lines, Dissections and Form Intersections"

2016-08-06 17:42

You are a crazy person. I apologize for how blunt that is, but you really are. Your work is all more than adequate for this point in the lessons, you're conveying a solid understanding of all of the material presented here (even if you're not conscious of it). Of course, while you are among the higher ranks of those who've submitted work for this lesson, you're certainly not the best - and that doesn't matter at all, as comparing yourself against anyone else here is a fruitless and frustrating endeavor. Everyone has plugged along at their own pace, from their own circumstances, and so everyone's results in any one point in time will be different. Time is of course the great equalizer - at least, time and perseverance. Considering that you spent over thirty hours on two pages of dissections, you have the latter in spades.

Now, while your work is more than satisfactory, I'm sure you'd be pretty pissed if I left it at that. So, I do have a bit I can say about your textures that may help as you move forwards. Don't expect this to be a silver bullet, just something to keep in mind as you move forwards into the later lessons. It'll take time for this and any other concept I share with you to sink in, but as long as you think on it while you do the work in the future (and there will be so much work if you decide to continue), you will find yourself understanding it better and better along the way.

So, here's some notes on your textures: http://i.imgur.com/iwIsiSB.jpg

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

At the end of the day, there's one really, really important thing to keep in mind: texture is not that important. At all. Construction and form is infinitely more significant, and if you spend all your time focusing on texture and very little on construction, your results will be very poor. If you do the opposite however, spend the majority of your time on construction and very little (or even none) on texture, you'll come out a significantly better artist than you were when you started.

Uncomfortable in the post "25 Texture Challenge - fleshed out into an actual challenge for those of you struggling with how to render different materials"

2016-08-06 16:34

I'm glad you submitted! I'm going to head over there and critique it in a second, but I did want to respond to this first.

Your analogy isn't correct - the secrets you're looking for aren't akin to the numbers themselves, but rather how those numbers interact with each other in specific ways in all possible equations. The information I'm trying to give you isn't a memorization table of 6x2 = 12, 6x3 = 18, 6x4 = 24, but rather a basic grasp of what it means to multiply.

At this point the analogy's wearing a little thin - basically, when it comes to texture there's two core elements that you need to understand before setting off on your work:

• Texture is the result of those tiny form irregularities along the surface of a larger form. They can be so small that they're unnoticeable, and you won't necessarily be drawing the forms themselves, but rather the shadows that result from their presence.

• The absolute basics of how light works - when a face is turned towards away from a light source, it is in shadow. When a face is turned towards a light source, but something partially blocks that light, a shadow shape is cast upon it. Beyond this, knowing how to work with light is more a matter of understanding how your forms sit in 3D space (rather than the 2D space of the page you're drawing on). That's why I purposely neglect to talk about shading, because it distracts people from truly understanding the forms in space, and which faces are oriented in which direction.

These are your numbers. Or more accurately, they're your tools. Of course, you're not really going to understand how to use them at first, which is why each lesson and challenge comes with such a wealth of homework. Take the 250 box challenge, for instance - I added it as a bit of an experiment at first, unsure of whether or not this idea of providing basic rules and tips followed by a huge amount of repetition would result in any real progress. What I saw from the students completing it was a lot of floundering for the first 100, even 150 boxes. I'm sure they were cursing my name at that point, convinced that what they were doing was a complete waste of time. But they continued, if only to reach the goal and prove me wrong. In the later leg of the challenge, however, it often (not always, mind you) becomes clear that the students start to grasp the idea of how each box sits in 3D space. Of how the angles between the lines relate - not in a describable, expressible fashion, but on a subconscious level. Through continually attempting to grasp the rules and repeat the exercise in different orientations and configurations, they begin to understand what a box is in their own personal language.

That's why you must be willing to dive head-first, and to put your trust in me, even when you feel that I have not yet given you enough. That said, it is possible that I haven't yet given you enough. Over the time the 250 box challenge has been around, I've made significant changes to how it has been laid out. The instructions have changed quite a few times. Ultimately this is all an experiment, and this 25 texture challenge is only in its first incarnation. I won't know how to change it until more people complete it, giving me data to work off of. But it is hard data and results that I need - not the views and opinions of those who haven't yet completed it.

At the end of the day, I am not a professional instructor. I am still a student myself, learning how best to teach this material. Based on the results we've had, this method is apparently considerably successful, but it will need constant tweaking. I can already see a hundred things I want to change in the lessons that are there right now. Hell, I want to rewrite the human figure material in its entirety. That will all happen, when I find the time. But for now, take advantage of what's given to you. 90% of the value here is not so much from the lessons, but from the individual critiques and direction, which is something you won't find anywhere else at this price point.

Uncomfortable in the post "250 Box Challenge"

2016-08-06 16:00

Very nice work! Your boxes definitely improve over the set, with your linework becoming more confident and your constructions generally feeling much more solid. Your use of line weight definitely contributes to this. I'm also very pleased to see how dedicated you were to going over your work and making corrections after the fact!

Keep up the great work, and consider this challenge complete.

Uncomfortable in the post "Lesson 1: Lines, Ellipses and Boxes"

2016-08-06 02:53

This lesson has three sections, each with its own set of homework. Complete the homework for all three sections (there's a certain number of pages per exercise), and then submit that to me here. The instructions are all there on the lesson page.

Uncomfortable in the post "25 Texture Challenge - fleshed out into an actual challenge for those of you struggling with how to render different materials"

2016-08-06 02:51

Asphalt, cloth, skin, wood, bone all fall under the exact same category as the textures I've demonstrated here or in lesson 2. Each one has tiny - often invisible - forms that cast little shadows onto the surface, and these shadows are what your brain perceives as the lines that ultimately become a part of your drawing. You may not see the forms themselves, because they're so small, or the lighting in your reference blows them out, but they are there, still catching the light and casting their shadows.

Brick's misleading, because when people talk about brick they're more likely to talk about the pattern, which is not the kind of texture we're talking about. We are looking directly at each individual brick itself, its surface - all of the little pocks and pores in the baked mud/clay/whatever bricks are made of these days.

Metal is... different, but also not. Or at least, brushed, smooth, polished metal. Rusted, chipped, dented metal results in more little forms, and gets bumped up to the previous category. Smooth metal has no little forms, and therefore is characterized by a distinct lack of texture. Now, I have absolutely nothing against surfaces being left blank. This is one of the issues a lot of beginners (I'm looking directly at you) tend to have - they feel that if there's no detail somewhere, if a surface is empty, that it's wrong.

It's not wrong. If there is no additional visual information somewhere... you can't just make it up. If something is so ridiculously smooth that it has no bumps, no pits, nothing whatsoever, you can't add your own. Well, that's not true - you CAN, it's well within your rights, but that becomes a design decision (adding imperfections) and that is not what we're discussing right now.

Now, metal does have another quality, though this is technically not related to texture. Metal - brushed or polished metal, at least - is highly reflective. This applies to water too, but at this point you shouldn't even be thinking about water as it is far too complex.

The reflection you get on metal tends to organize itself into bars, though this varies on the form itself. So, an example of how to draw a smooth, metal cylinder could be something like this: http://i.imgur.com/PzkC5p8.png (excuse the sloppiness). You can actually see the same sort of bar pattern if you look at an actual brushed steel cylinder.

Now, all that said, there's a seriously problem in your general outlook on these lessons. You seem to perceive these things as an opportunity to show off what you know, and when you find yourself not understanding some things, you stop.

That is not the point, and it never has been. The point is not to show me what you know, but rather to show me exactly what you DON'T know, in a way far more accurate and descriptive than words could ever be. What you think you understand, and what you think you're missing is of absolutely no consequence to me. You're thinking too much, and showing me far too little. You come to me for lessons because you believe that I know better than you. You could very well be wrong, but that is a decision you have made, and faith you've entrusted (at least for the time being). You cannot be half-assed about that. You either trust what I say, follow my instructions, do the work and submit it for review regardless of how you feel about it, or you choose to discount my experience (which is just as valid an option).

You cannot tell me what you're moderately competent at, you must show me. If you struggle with something, that struggle should manifest in something. That something should be brought to me. If you believe you're struggling before your pen touches the page, then that is no struggle - that is paralysis.

I definitely get the feeling that you're looking for secrets - little techniques that'll unravel entire mysteries of how things are done, so that when you go into drawing them, you can do so with the confidence that you're not going to screw it up. The secret is that you have to screw it up over and over and over, and learn from those failures. You can't get through this without making a lot of mistakes along the way, and reflecting upon them by yourself or with help from someone else. That's where I come in. You've emailed me about this issue before, and I'm pretty sure I told you something similar to this.

In that email, you also included two pages of dissections, which you still haven't submitted as part of a completed lesson 2. I don't understand why - this was back in April, and those two pages were more than passable. There were plenty of reasonably well done textures and experimentation, and others that were less good. That's exactly what I'm expecting and hoping for, so I have no idea why you're so dissatisfied with your own understanding of things. Again, these are things that I mentioned to you before!

From what I can see, you're making these cliffs up for yourself. You're clearly capable of completing lesson 2, but you're convincing yourself that somehow you're supposed to be showing far more skill. I really don't know how many ways I can convey the same message to you.

Long story short: Stop describing your problems and show me an attempt at completing lesson 2.

Uncomfortable in the post "Lesson 1: Lines, Ellipses and Boxes"

2016-08-05 21:40

Then that's pretty impressive - but keep in mind that you want to draw with a confident pace - that's a much higher priority than your accuracy. But keep up the good work!

Uncomfortable in the post "Lesson 1: Lines, Ellipses and Boxes"

2016-08-05 20:07

Generally quite well done. The biggest issue that I'm noticing isn't so much with the quality of your work. It's with your ellipses, where you didn't really follow my directions in regards to Drawing Through Ellipses. Please ensure that you apply this technique to every ellipse you draw for my lessons. Based on what I can see, you should have no trouble keeping those ellipses tight, but it is important that you draw each one with a confident pace - not slow and steady - and that you go around the shape one more time before lifting your pen.

Jumping down to your organic perspective boxes, you are still struggling with this area, and that is entirely expected and intended. This exercise introduces you to the challenges of rotating boxes freely in 3D space, with no expectation that you're going to nail it this early on.

I'll be marking this lesson as complete, but I'd like you to move onto the 250 box challenge for more targeted practice with constructing these arbitrarily rotated boxes in 3D space. Be sure to read through the notes on the challenge page, especially the tip about drawing through your forms. This approach in particular should help you better understand how each box sits in 3D space.

Uncomfortable in the post "Lesson 1: Lines, Ellipses and Boxes"

2016-08-05 20:03

Nice work! There's certainly plenty of room to grow, but you're moving in the right direction with each exercise, and are about where I'd hope you to be. I can see that you struggled with your rotated and organic perspective boxes - by the end the rotated boxes came together a bit better, though the organic perspective boxes certainly are still quite difficult. They're supposed to be - you're not expected to fully grasp the concepts involved with freely rotating boxes in 3D space just yet, it's merely there to introduce you to those challenges.

I'll be marking this lesson as complete, but I'd like you to move onto the 250 box challenge next for more practice with those freely rotated boxes. Be sure to read through the notes on that page before starting the work - especially the tip about drawing through your forms. This approach in particular will help you better understand how each box sits in 3D space.

Uncomfortable in the post "Lesson 1: Lines, Ellipses and Boxes"

2016-08-05 20:00

Very nice work! Your lines and ellipses are solid. For your rough perspective boxes, I highly recommend that you go over your completed work as described here: Lines Not Lining Up With Vanishing Point. This will help you better identify areas of weakness in your estimation of perspective.

Your organic perspective boxes are generally quite well done, though there is some room for improvement. This is entirely expected - this exercise was included primarily to introduce you to the challenges of rotating boxes freely in 3D space, which is not something I expect you to conquer fully this early on.

I am going to be marking this lesson as complete, but I'd like you to move onto the 250 box challenge next to put the finishing touches on your understanding of working in 3D space. Be sure to read through all of the notes on that challenge page, especially the tip about drawing through your forms. This in particular will help you better understand how each box sits in 3D space.

Uncomfortable in the post "Lesson 1: Lines, Ellipses and Boxes"

2016-08-05 19:55

Generally quite well done! Just a few things to point out. The only significant one is your rotated boxes, where you appear to have made a fairly conscious effort not to draw each box in its entirety, instead stopping your lines where they become hidden by neighbouring boxes. It's important to follow my examples and instructions closely. You'll see how I drew every box for this exercise completely, going so far as to draw through each form, including the lines that exist on the far side of each one. This exercise is all about learning how each box sits in 3D space, and how that changes as the box rotates. Not drawing each box in its entirety won't really give you much of a sense of this.

Keep in mind that while presentation is important, these exercises are not intended to result in a pretty picture. They certainly can, but any effort towards that end is wasted and can distract you from your goal.

Of course, your organic perspective boxes certainly do need work as well, but this one is entirely expected. This exercise was only included as a first taste of the challenges involved in rotating boxes freely in 3D space. You are not expected to be able to nail it this early on.

So, I'll be marking this lesson as complete - I do however want you to move onto the 250 box challenge next, to get more practice with those freely rotated and manipulated boxes. Be sure to read through the notes on that page, especially the tip about drawing through your forms. This in particular will help you better understand how each box sits in space, as I mentioned in my critique of your rotated boxes.

Uncomfortable in the post "Lesson 1: Lines, Ellipses and Boxes"

2016-08-05 03:22

Much better. You may move onto the 250 box challenge.

Uncomfortable in the post "25 Texture Challenge - fleshed out into an actual challenge for those of you struggling with how to render different materials"

2016-08-05 03:21

I've seen the next lesson is drawing a leaf, which requires knowing how to draw texture.

You are completely mistaken. Texture is the least important part of all of my lessons. Beginners tend to get this backwards, as they're entirely focused on detail and finished results. Infinitely more significant than texture and detail is construction, which is primarily what my exercises focus on. I've said this a lot in the past, though it's come up much less recently - you could go through all of the lessons without paying any attention to texture, focusing entirely on the construction and forms of your drawings, and you'd come out a significantly better artist. On the other hand, if you were to focus entirely on texture and detail, and not a lick on form and construction, you wouldn't be much better than when you started.

So yes, move onto lesson 3. Continue working on the texture challenge though, gradually. Don't try and rush through it all at once, spread it out over a long period. Certain things need time to stew before they'll click. It certainly seems like the idea that the texture of an object is made up of little bumps, which cast small visible shadows across its surface giving us all of the marks that make up our details, is one that will take time to settle in your mind. Don't let it discourage you. Instead, find a way to appreciate your every failure.

Uncomfortable in the post "Lesson 5: Drawing Animals"

2016-08-04 21:55

The reason that I push people to stick to the 0.5 is so that they have to learn how to vary their pressure, rather than just moving to thinner pen tips. In your case, it's clear that your lines do carry the appropriate nuance that shows a developed degree of control. It wouldn't hurt you to work on it further, but I won't hold the use of the 0.1 against you.

Uncomfortable in the post "Lesson 1: Lines, Ellipses and Boxes"

2016-08-04 21:52

That's up to you. You're clear to move onto lesson 2, but the 250 box challenge wouldn't be a waste of time.

Uncomfortable in the post "Lesson 1: Lines, Ellipses and Boxes"

2016-08-04 21:06

Very nice work. The only thing I'd like to mention is that in your rotated boxes exercise, you're demonstrating a purposeful aversion to letting your boxes overlap. I fully understand why you might wish to do that (to reduce clutter and such) but in general keeping those boxes close is much more helpful when it comes to looking at a box's neighbours to figure out what angles certain lines should follow. You can see how your corner boxes tend to be incorrect - part of this is because you're not able to easily refer to their neighbours.

Also, your organic perspective boxes are looking well done (and much improved), though it's a good idea to familiarize yourself with the idea of drawing through your boxes, if you haven't had the chance to read that yet. I believe I mentioned it in the last critique I gave you for this lesson.

As for your questions,

• It's still best to use your shoulder for everything for the first few lessons - drawing from your wrist will result in a sort of stiffness that will result in ill effects, and is only really useful in every specific cases that you will not come across for some time.

• I generally encourage people to pick two or three exercises from the basics section to do for 10-20 minutes as a warmup. The important thing here is that you do it regularly, and that you ensure that you're not just sticking to a few exercises (and neglecting others).

• This is kind of specific to you, and how your brain and body work. If you feel that you've stiffened up, a warmup won't hurt. There's no hard/fast rules to this sort of thing.

• I have no idea what the pomodoro technique is, but if you find it helpful then that's ultimately all that matters.

Uncomfortable in the post "Lesson 1: Lines, Ellipses and Boxes"

2016-08-04 20:53

Excellent work. I have just two recommendations:

• For your rough perspective boxes, it's a great idea to go over your completed work as described here: Lines Not Lining Up With Vanishing Point. This is something I suggest to everyone, and was not a part of the actual exercise itself.

• For your rotated boxes, you did a good job as far as the final result is concerned, though by neglecting to draw each box in its entirety (instead stopping each one where it is hidden by its neighbour), you did not really get as much out of the exercise as you could have. The exercise is focused on understanding how the boxes sit in 3D space, and how this changes as they are rotated - this is achieved largely by drawing the entire thing. I talk about this in greater detail here: Draw Through your Forms. Keep this in mind for the future.

Aside from that, you did a solid job. I'll mark this lesson as complete - feel free to move onto the next one, though you may want to take a look at the 250 box challenge next as well. That is up to you, but reading through the notes on that page is definitely worth your while.

Uncomfortable in the post "250 Box Challenge"

2016-08-04 20:49

Very nice work! Your boxes are looking solid, and your use of line weight goes a long way to emphasize the weight of each form. Also, I'm pleased that you went over and marked in the correct lines as instructed. I'll mark this challenge as complete - keep up the good work.

Uncomfortable in the post "Lesson 1: Lines, Ellipses and Boxes"

2016-08-04 20:47

Generally you've done well, but my biggest concern lies with your ellipses. For your ellipses in planes, you don't draw through them at all, and for the rest you do, but you maintain a very stiff, slow stroke that results in an uneven shape and a wobbly line. I explain why this is not ideal here: http://drawabox.com/comic/1. You want to be drawing with a more persistent, confident stroke instead, that doesn't allow your brain to course-correct as you draw. To compensate for the inevitable drop in accuracy, you would instead invest your time in applying the ghosting method's preparation techniques before execution.

Jumping forward, you're generally doing a solid job with your boxes exercises. Your organic perspective boxes do need work, but this is entirely expected as this exercise was added here only to give you a first taste of the challenges involved in rotating boxes freely in 3D space.

Before I mark this lesson as complete, I'd like you to do one more page of the table of ellipses exercise, drawing through each ellipse twice, and doing so with a smooth, confident pace rather than a slow, belaboured one.

Once you submit that to me, I'll mark this lesson as complete. Then I want you to move onto the 250 box challenge for more practice with those freely manipulated boxes. Be sure to read through the notes on the page, especially the tip about drawing through your forms, which should help you get a more solid grasp of how each box sits in 3D space.

Uncomfortable in the post "Lesson 5: Drawing Animals"

2016-08-04 20:42

Very nice work! Your constructions are very solid, whilst maintaining a sort of organic flow to them. Your textures are also generally very impressive for the most part. There are a few areas where things could have gone a little bit better, but such is the way of things when we experiment. Some of those include:

• The nursing bison - you applied standard hatching across the mother's back leg, which flattens the forms out considerably. This is totally fine in some cases, as where you used it on the legs on the opposite side of the animal from the viewer. It's not a good idea however when that side of the animal is facing the viewer, as that's where you want to convey a strong sense of three dimensionality.

• Generally your mark making is very conscientious and purposeful, but here and there you get a little more scribbly than you should (like the first horse). You definitely want to avoid any zigzagging strokes.

As for your questions, I believe for now, the answer to both is the same - first and foremost, ignore the colours in your coats. Remember that you initially want to think about texture, and the colour of a thing has no impact on this. It's very easy to confuse the two - that is, the little shadows made by varying small forms along a surface, and the colour of the surface itself, so setting the latter aside will help you better grasp the former.

Secondly, with colour out of the way, it's completely fine to leave a surface somewhat uncovered. If a material is truly perfectly smooth (they rarely are, but they can come close), there will be no raised little bits and bumps to cast shadows, so there will be no marks to be made upon them. These shadows, these marks, are by nature a sign of roughness. You should be equally comfortable with leaving a surface blank as you are with covering it completely.

Anyway, you've done a great job. I'll mark this lesson as complete, so feel free to move onto the next one.

Uncomfortable in the post "25 Texture Challenge - fleshed out into an actual challenge for those of you struggling with how to render different materials"

2016-08-04 18:49

That's it, I think I can't see shadows.

That doesn't really make any sense - every mark you see, everything you might consider to be a line, is actually a shadow. Furthermore, it's inevitable that it's going to look like a mess right now - there's no trick to it that will allow you to draw beautiful, detailed renderings right now. You have to make a LOT of mistakes, and slowly learn from them. Approaching it with this attitude of "I can't" is not going to help you.

Get used to failing, as it's not only inevitable, it's an entirely necessary part of the path before you. That's why I don't simply ask people to show me their work after one or two. That little mileage does not give them the opportunity to make a plethora of mistakes, and ultimately learn from them.

Uncomfortable in the post "Tackling the Rotated Boxes Exercise"

2016-08-04 16:26

Keeping scale consistent is a normal thing people struggle with, if that's what you mean. The important thing here is not to get tunnel vision - there's many things to consider when constructing your boxes, primarily your center and the extremity, and then where between them your box fits (and therefore how similar it should be to either end). You're going to make mistakes, there's nothing "horribly" wrong about that, it's just part of the learning process. You just have to keep practicing, and try to stay aware of all the variables in your scene - if you focus too much on just the center box, then you'll fall out of step with the extremity. You need to keep both in mind when determining how much smaller each box gets as you rotate them.

Uncomfortable in the post "25 Texture Challenge - fleshed out into an actual challenge for those of you struggling with how to render different materials"

2016-08-04 16:23

Bronze is smooth - it doesn't have little forms that stick out and cast little shadows. What you can use to convey it however are the way light reflects off the surface - it does so in a very particular fashion. This is a really simplistic example, but I would generally approach depicting those kinds of smooth surfaces with really long, parallel lines like this: http://i.imgur.com/xE4Luw5.png.

All in all, smooth surfaces are painfully simple to approach - it's when things get bumpy and scratched and scuffed and mucked about with, that things get complicated - and frankly, fun. Always keep in mind that texture comes from shadows - it's perfectly valid for something to be smooth, and therefore have a distinct lack of texture. Surfaces can be blank - not everything needs to have detail drawn into it.

Uncomfortable in the post "Lesson 4: Drawing Insects and Arachnids"

2016-08-04 01:15

Knowing my policies and just how many homework submissions I get, you really shouldn't be posting homework halfway through an attempt, even if you're struggling with something. With a fully completed submission, you give me the opportunity to identify issues and explain what I see, and enough volume of work to communicate them to you.

Coming to me half-baked like this, I can't really give you a whole lot more advice than continue practicing. On the second page, I can see you trying to flesh in your scorpion claws by starting off with balls that are somewhat too big - so there's one point you need to practice, estimating a more accurate size for your initial forms. Looking at the beetle beneath it, you're progressing well in terms of understanding how to use less rounded contour lines, but you need to work on better visualizing how a form turns in space. Recognize the planes of the form, the top, the sides, etc. I have a demo in the "other demos" section of this lesson about this in particular.

Also, watch your line quality - you're getting sketchy, especially on that scorpion.

Uncomfortable in the post "250 Cylinder Challenge"

2016-08-03 21:49

Definitely imgur, by a mile. Dropbox's image-viewing interface is somewhat clunkier, and imgur has pretty smooth integration into reddit via reddit enhanced suite (or whatever RES stands for, I forget).

Anywho, onto your cylinders. Generally pretty good, but I've got a couple things to suggest:

• Have your minor axes cut all the way through the cylinders. When they only penetrate about halfway into each ellipse, you're naturally going to have a much more difficult time identifying areas where the ellipses don't quite align properly (remember we want the lines to cut the ellipses into two equal, symmetrical halves). Ideally you want it to go all the way through both ellipses, like this: http://drawabox.com/images/lesson1/cylinder4.jpg.

• Draw through all of your ellipses, and don't worry about drawing over them to clean them up. I see many where you just drew around the shape once and stopped, and others where you drew through them, but then attempted to draw a cleaner ellipse around them the second time. Drawing through them encourages you to maintain a confident, smooth pace. That is of course the first priority, after which you want to start leaning towards tightening the ellipse up. If you give up on that and default to not drawing through them, you'll end up with slightly awkward, slightly uneven ellipses.

• I do see a lot of cylinders that have some pretty stark differences between the degrees of the two ends. It's true that your nearer end should have a smaller degree, but this is very similar to how when drawing a box, the near plane is larger than the far plane - but not by a huge amount. When the difference is massive, we end up with very dramatic foreshortening, which speaks to a generally large scale for the drawing as a whole. Same thing applies to your degrees - if you end up with a dramatically skinnier ellipse on one end than the other, it's going to tell your viewer's eye that the scale is much larger than you likely intend. Long story short, be subtle about that difference.

I believe that for now, you'd probably benefit a fair bit from taking a ruler and drawing in the correct minor axis, from end to end, for each cylinder. You'll find that many of yours are off by varying degrees, and this awareness will help you remain aware of the issue, so you'll be less likely to repeat it in the future.

Anyway, keep up the good work and consider this challenge complete.

Uncomfortable in the post "250 Box Challenge"

2016-08-03 19:19

Nice work! I agree that your line quality does improve over the course of your set, and I also see that your corrections are generally well done. In the future you may want to practice your use of line weight further - there are notes pertaining to this on the challenge page. Anyway, keep up the good work and consider this challenge complete.

Uncomfortable in the post "Lesson 3: Drawing Plants"

2016-08-03 19:16

Generally pretty decent, although you ignored an important step on the leaves with more complex, wavy edges. In the steps I outlined in my previous critique, I mentioned:

Next, you build in the simplest terms possible - two basic curves with no more complexity than that - the general shape of the leaf.

You still jump fairly often to lines more complex than two simple curves enclosing the shape of the leaf. Take a look at this: http://i.imgur.com/nFudEkX.png. You can see on the left there, I've highlighted an example of a leaf that does get a little more complex, but I'd say it's still okay because all of that complexity relates directly to how that leaf flows through space. Then on the right, you've got a few leaves that just have rippled/wavy edges. This kind of complexity doesn't relate to how that leaf flows through space, and should be left to a subsequent pass, after you've managed to establish the basic flow.

Anyway, keep that in mind - I'm going to mark this lesson as complete, so feel free to move onto the next one.

Uncomfortable in the post "250 Box Challenge"

2016-08-03 19:03

Nice work completing the challenge. Generally you are improving, but it is very important to go over your completed work with a different coloured pen and both identify mistakes and draw in the correct lines, as instructed in the challenge page. Half the battle is being able to go back and see what you did wrong, so you can be conscious of it the next time you do a similar exercise.

Also, in the future you should experiment more with line weight. There are notes about this in the challenge page as well.

Uncomfortable in the post "Lesson 1: Lines, Ellipses and Boxes"

2016-08-03 19:01

Generally pretty nice work! There's a few issues, but nothing overly significant. Your lines section is very well done. Your ellipses are alright, though your funnels get a little too loose and a bit sloppy. Your ellipses in planes are also a little stiff, which isn't entirely abnormal - people tend to draw slower when they're trying to fit the ellipses into the somewhat awkwardly shaped planes, but it's important to try and maintain a confident pace to achieve a smooth, even ellipse.

Your rough perspective boxes are alright, but your hatching is sloppy as all hell. Make sure you draw consistent, parallel lines that stretch all the way from edge to edge. No zigzagging, no lines that float in the middle of the plane, etc. Every line you put down on the page is important, so don't half-ass anything.

Your organic perspective boxes are coming along decently - of course they do need work, but this is entirely expected. This exercise was included here as a first taste of the challenges involved in rotating boxes freely in 3D space, and you're not expected to nail it by the end of this first lesson.

I'm going to mark this lesson as complete, but I'd like you to move onto the 250 box challenge next to get more practice with those boxes. Be sure to read through the notes on that page before starting the work, especially the tip about drawing through your forms. This technique will help you gain a more solid grasp of how each box sits in 3D space.

Uncomfortable in the post "Lesson 4: Drawing Insects and Arachnids"

2016-08-03 18:50

No, the exercises have value regardless of what medium you choose to do them in. That said, certain tools (in this case, ink), in the grand scheme of the whole course are much more effective when it comes to developing your skills.

Drawing in pen is difficult, it's true. That's not in any way limited to you specifically, but is something that everyone who does these lessons struggles with. It forces you to think before you draw, to plan things out and to draw those lines worth drawing with confidence. The fact that you find it difficult is not a reason to try and find another route - it's a reason to face the challenge head on and overcome it. Never allow the difficulty of a thing dictate your choices.

Uncomfortable in the post "250 Box Challenge"

2016-08-03 12:28

I think it'd be best if you did the corrections after you submitted the work to me for critique. Rather than being distracting, it puts me in an awkward position of you clearly having recognized your mistake, but me still having to comment on it. Ends up being a little redundant. If you leave the corrections for later, that lets me point out every little mistake I see with a greater degree of freedom.

Uncomfortable in the post "Lesson 1: Lines, Ellipses and Boxes"

2016-08-03 03:27

Just post your homework. No need to sign up or anything like that.

Uncomfortable in the post "Lesson 1: Lines, Ellipses and Boxes"

2016-08-02 21:06

Quite well done! There's a little bit of stiffness in your ellipses (remember to draw them with a confident pace, and compensate for any inaccuracy this brings by applying the ghosting method), but aside from that you've done a good job and I have no major issues to raise. There's room to grow, of course, but you're moving in the right direction with all of your exercises.

As for your question, it's inevitable that drawing from your shoulder will be difficult in many circumstances, but I insist that you do it for all of your lines, big and small. There's reasons why it may have decent results for smaller lines, but ultimately it's not just the length of the line that is a factor in which pivot you want to use, but also the type of line itself. The wrist gives you a lot of control, but virtually no fluidity, and so those lines tend to come out much stiffer, and more lifeless. Right now, and for some time to come, you will have no need of drawing lines that are better off drawn from your wrist, so just keep doing it from your shoulder.

I'll be marking this lesson as complete, so feel free to move onto the next lesson. You may also want to take a look at the 250 box challenge. Even if you don't, be sure to read through the notes on that page, especially the tip about drawing through your forms, which will help you gain a more solid grasp on how each box sits in 3D space.

Uncomfortable in the post "Lesson 1: Lines, Ellipses and Boxes"

2016-08-02 21:02

Generally well done, though I do see one consistent issue across your box exercises - you're not applying the ghosting method. This approach of identifying, then preparing and building up muscle memory, then finally executing a mark with a smooth, confident and fluid motion should be applied to every single mark you put down. This includes straight lines, curves, waves and ellipses.

Also, I noticed that for some of your later ellipses, you stopped drawing through them - I insist that you draw through all of the ellipses you draw for my lessons.

Aside from that, you did a pretty solid job. Your organic perspective boxes are do have issues, but that exercise in particular was included to give you a first taste of the challenges involved in rotating boxes freely in 3D space. Also, as I recommend to everyone, you should go over your completed rough perspective boxes as described here: Lines Not Lining Up With Vanishing Point. This will help you identify areas of weakness in your estimation of perspective.

I'm going to mark this lesson as complete, but I'd like you to move onto the 250 box challenge. This will allow you to practice actually applying the ghosting method to actual construction, while also giving you much needed practice with constructing freely rotated boxes in 3D space. Be sure to read through the notes on the page, especially the tip about drawing through your forms which should help you gain a more solid grasp of how each box sits in 3D space, which is key to drawing them successfully.

Uncomfortable in the post "Lesson 1: Lines, Ellipses and Boxes"

2016-08-02 20:57

Not bad! There are some considerable issues with your rough perspective boxes, but aside from that you've done fairly well. That issue in particular appears to be that you don't entirely understand what it means to draw in one point perspective, and as a result are guessing at how many of the lines should behave rather than truly understanding the rules behind it.

Give these notes a read, as they should clarify things: Guessing, Instead of Knowing.

And of course, I always recommend going over your completed work as described here: Lines Not Lining Up With Vanishing Point. It does appear that you were doing it already for some of them, but be sure to do it for all.

I'd like you to do two more pages of rough perspective boxes before you move onto the 250 box challenge. Once you've submitted those and submitted them to me, I do believe that it would be best for you to move onto the 250 box challenge, as it will help iron out some of the mistakes made in the organic perspective boxes exercise. Be sure to read through all of the notes on the challenge page, especially the tip about drawing through your forms. This in particular will help you better understand how each box should sit in 3D space.

Uncomfortable in the post "250 Box Challenge"

2016-08-02 20:53

Pretty well done! Your box constructions are fairly solid, and they certainly improve over the set. As you continue to move forwards, you may want to try practicing applying line weight in the future, as it helps emphasize the solidity and give your boxes an extra sense of weight. Consider this challenge complete.

Uncomfortable in the post "Lesson 1: Lines, Ellipses and Boxes"

2016-08-02 20:52

Not bad. One thing I caught early on is that in your planes exercise, you failed to apply the ghosting method to your lines as instructed, and overall were more chicken-scratchy than you should have been. Keep in mind that you should draw only one mark per line, and execute each mark with forethought and planning. I'm pleased to see that you do seem to have applied it to the box exercises as you were instructed.

Jumping ahead to your funnels, you forgot to draw in the central line (the minor axis), to which each of your ellipses should be aligned. If you don't remember, the minor axis is the line that goes through an ellipse's narrower dimension, cutting it into two equal, symmetrical halves.

Your plotted perspective boxes are fine. Your rough perspective boxes are alright as well, and are moving in the right direction, but you'd benefit significantly from going over your completed work as described here: Lines Not Lining Up With Vanishing Point

Your rotated and organic perspective boxes do need some work, but this exercises is only expected to give you an initial taste of the challenges of rotating boxes freely in 3D space. Ultimately, I will be marking this lesson as complete, but I'd like you to move onto the 250 box challenge - as you already mentioned you're planning to do.

Be sure to read through the notes on the page, especially the tip about drawing through your forms which should help you gain a more solid grasp of how each box sits in 3D space, which is key to drawing them successfully.

Uncomfortable in the post "Lesson 1: Lines, Ellipses and Boxes"

2016-08-02 20:46

Not bad, but there's a few things you could work on.

• Fraying/Separation on Both Ends

• You're being a bit too loose with your ellipses. Confidence and drawing fast is good, but now you've got to try and reel them back and maintain enough control of them to keep them tight and fit them inside of the targets you set out. This means putting more time into applying the ghosting method before drawing, to build up the required muscle memory before executing the mark. Also, it looks like you'd be better off drawing through your ellipses only twice - no more, no less.

• Your rough perspective boxes are alright (though your application of the ghosting method here also could use some work). I recommend that you also go over your completed work for this exercise as described here: Lines Not Lining Up With Vanishing Point.

Your rotated boxes and organic perspective boxes do need work, but this is to be expected. On one hand, it looks like you haven't had a chance to look over the updated rotated boxes exercise description (I rewrote it a couple weeks ago, it's considerably more detailed than it was before and is worth a look). Either way, both of these exercises are intended to merely give you the first taste of the challenges involved in rotating boxes freely 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 for more practice with manipulating boxes in 3D space. Be sure to read through the notes on the page, especially the tip about drawing through your forms which should help you gain a more solid grasp of how each box sits in 3D space, which is key to drawing them successfully.

Uncomfortable in the post "Lesson 1: Lines, Ellipses and Boxes"

2016-08-02 20:22

Generally looks like you nailed a lot of what's going on by looking over the self critique resources. There's a couple things I'd like to add though:

• Your ellipses are looking a little bit stiff, but I get the sense that you're moving in the right direction. Keep that confident, fluid pace in mind, and try not to let your brain guide your hand while you draw. Brain plays its primary role when preparing and applying the ghosting techniques, not while actually drawing - that's the muscles' time to shine.

• I see that when doing your plotted perspective, and when extending your rough perspective boxes' lines back to the horizon (which you should do with all of your rough perspective work, not just the one) you used dotted/broken lines. Avoid these at all costs. In these cases, it's less of an issue because you've drawn them with a ruler, but in the future you'll have to draw through forms, and doing so with broken lines is a bad idea. When you break a line, you break its flow - attempting to resume the stroke will do so with a slight deviation in its orientation. Basically, once you break a line, you can never trust that it's going to continue flowing in the same direction, making it useless. Don't worry about drawing extra lines - as long as those lines serve a purpose, they should be drawn completely and confidently. We are not here to draw pretty pictures, we are here to learn the lessons that will allow us to draw pretty pictures in the future.

• Keep working on applying the ghosting, especially when applying those lines to drawing larger things like boxes and so on. You're heading in the right direction, but you need to keep on top of it.

• Your organic perspective boxes do need work, but this is entirely expected right now - it's just a first taste of the struggles involved in rotating boxes freely in 3D space, so it'll take more work to really pin it down.

I'm going to mark this lesson as complete, but I'd like you to move onto the 250 box challenge next for more practice with manipulating boxes in 3D space. Be sure to read through the notes on the page, especially the tip about drawing through your forms which should help you gain a more solid grasp of how each box sits in 3D space, which is key to drawing them successfully.

Uncomfortable in the post "Tackling the Rotated Boxes Exercise"

2016-08-02 17:03

The point of this exercise is not to try and pinpoint exact locations for vanishing points. Instead of trying to rely on them, use the other angles present in the scene already, as shown here: http://i.imgur.com/sAJM4L3.jpg

We know that the vanishing points exist, and that our lines should be converging towards certain general locations, but trying to figure out where all of those points are can lead to some degree of creative paralysis. Trying to infer this information instead from elements already existing in your scene is much more intuitive, and while not as exact, is often enough to convince your viewers.

Uncomfortable in the post "Lesson 1: Lines, Ellipses and Boxes"

2016-08-02 13:59

Yes, though I make sure to draw the whole thing first, then go back to start applying line weight, much in the way that the super imposed lines exercise works. It's important to separate those stages of drawing so that you don't end up with the habit of immediately reinforcing your lines after drawing them, as a reflex.

Uncomfortable in the post "I dusted off my sketchbooks from when I took Dynamic Sketching with Peter Han back in 2013. Figured you guys might like to see me floundering with the material."

2016-08-02 03:12

Looks like it's $770 at CDA currently (so in a classroom environment, as opposed to the online option) - when I took it almost three years ago, it was $620. The value of a thing, of course, is relative to what you hope to accomplish with it. It was the first significant step I took towards changing careers, so the cost of the course was an investment.

To put things into a greater context, I spent somewhere in the realm of $15,000 over the course of the six months I was in Pasadena, between tuition, short-term rentals and living expenses, and it was worth every penny. I wasn't exactly a garbage artist going into it (this album's got a bunch of my work spanning a decade, with various key points marked out), but my fundamentals were akin to swiss cheese, and I was unemployable as an artist. The time I spent at CDA, and specifically taking this class, helped immensely to fill in those holes and generally restructure my skillset.

If you're set on a career as an artist in the entertainment industry, and you're able to take the class in-person, then the cost is negligible as long as you're able to put in the work that is required to really get the most out of it. There were a wide range of students in my class, from total beginners to those polishing their skills off, and they all had something to gain from the material that was covered.

If you're just interested in doing this as a hobby, then $770 is understandably steep, as there's no return on that investment. Also, I can't speak to the online version of the class - I do know someone who took it through CGMA (and they were satisfied with it) but I do feel that it would be lacking some of what I appreciated most about the course. That is, the one-on-one time with the instructor, as well as being in a classroom with many people at roughly your own skill level - I'm at least somewhat competitive by nature, and that really drove me forward.

But I digress. The short answer is: yes. Totally worth the price of admission, in my experience.

Uncomfortable in the post "Lesson 1: Lines, Ellipses and Boxes"

2016-08-02 00:04

1. Yup, use the ghosting method for every single mark you put down on the page.

2. Technically it's not about drawing the line fast, it's about drawing it fast enough to keep your brain from course-correcting while you draw. For beginners, this does mean drawing faster and more confidently, though over time the required speed will decrease. Now, you say that your ellipses come out much better if you draw them slowly - can you show me a picture of one of your better ellipses?

Uncomfortable in the post "Lesson 1: Lines, Ellipses and Boxes"

2016-08-01 21:31

For now, no. You're not going to be drawing any lines that should be drawn from the wrist for some time. Elbow is a bit of a grey area - but if you're having trouble with drawing from the shoulder, it merely means that you need to keep pushing through and practicing with it.

Uncomfortable in the post "I dusted off my sketchbooks from when I took Dynamic Sketching with Peter Han back in 2013. Figured you guys might like to see me floundering with the material."

2016-08-01 21:17

Yes, that's a little small. A4 is a good size, though I believe working on loose printer paper would be preferable to working in a sketchbook. Sketchbooks can result in people being too precious with their work, and certain kinds of bindings can be more fussy than others. With a loose sheet of paper, you can toss it out when you're done, you can very easily rotate it around as you work, and they're generally pretty easy to get your hands on.

Uncomfortable in the post "I dusted off my sketchbooks from when I took Dynamic Sketching with Peter Han back in 2013. Figured you guys might like to see me floundering with the material."

2016-08-01 19:55

Well, I have this album I put up a while ago of my work from the very beginning to early 2015: http://imgur.com/a/PiIK8

Uncomfortable in the post "Lesson 1: Lines, Ellipses and Boxes"

2016-08-01 16:52

Your ellipses are generally alright, though I did notice that in the funnel there is one bit you're missing. That line going down the center of the funnel is the 'minor axis', to which all of your ellipses should be aligned. In case you've forgotten, in the lesson section I describe the minor axis as being the line that passes through an ellipse's narrower dimension, cutting it into two equal, symmetrical halves. All of the ellipses in your funnels should be aligned to this line.

Jumping ahead, your rough perspective boxes are reasonably well done, but I do have one recommendation - go over your completed work as described here: Lines Not Lining Up With Vanishing Point. This will help you identify areas where your estimation of perspective is weakest, ultimately allowing you to conscious compensate for it the next time you attempt the exercise.

Your rotated boxes are a good start, though there's certainly plenty of room to improve in terms of keeping the boxes evenly spaced out. Your organic perspective boxes are also moving in the right direction. Both of these exercises were included here with the intention of merely giving you a first taste of the challenges and struggles involved in freely rotating boxes in 3D space. You are by no means expected to develop a solid sense of 3D space by the end of this lesson.

I am 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 those freely rotated boxes. Be sure to read through all of the notes on the page before starting the work - especially the tip about drawing through your forms, which should help you get a stronger sense of how each box sits in 3D space.