Found this a much lower threshold way to invent figures from imagination - lets you work systematically from the head to the feet without agonizing too much over shape design, anatomy etc. The blob is just an initial placeholder, the boxes then become perspective guides and hint at proportions… Would the idea be that with the mannequinised figures formed of boxes in perspective, you’d then make the effort with shape design, anatomically realistic forms etc to evolve the figure?

Thanks for the critique Stan! And great to hear your comments on everyone’s project submissions - really reinforces all the topic learnings as always 🤓👍

Level 1 - old race car ‘inspired by’ Maserati 250F. Level 2 - a made up tracked vehicle that puts out fires instead of starting them (echoing @Johannes Schiehsl re tanks!) inspired by Antarctic tracked vehicle.

Is the goal for this exercise to distort the hand to strict boxes or to also try to reflect major shapes and how they taper with ‘pseudo-boxes’? Stan was clear this is still boxes in perspective and if you try to reflect some of the tapering then you get boxes that broaden into the distance…which is fine, but would look like breaking the rules if these are strict boxes. Also where two boxes join that sets up joint problems - make a gap, x-ray or assign join volume to only one box (increasing its proportion). Is it just me or are hands harder than heads!?! Maybe I’m overthinking things but interested to hear people’s thoughts.

Took some inspiration from my daughter’s Minecraft Lego…

Lv1 and Lv2 ‘Perspective Heeeds’ submission 😁. Lv1 boxes looked pretty good until I started Lv2 - had to spend much more time refining the box angles and proportions to get the portrait structures ‘accurate’. Also discovered that picture 17 needs 3-point perspective (pretty sure) which I missed on Lv1 #17 box. Repeated image 6 as a 5 tone shading version as we did over a year ago during one of the intro assignments. Lines and structure are similar but with shading it looks like a different person. Anyway, my main learning - the box is the key….but….how do you move past this methodology to get good at just drawing direct without the box, then planes, as intermediate steps before a proper anatomical rendering, either from reference or imagination? It feels like drawing more intuitively would be a very different type of practice, almost a different path…whereas getting good at the box could make you reliant on it forever…?

Wormhole cheese. Included the pencil to ink iterations. No ruler except to check the main lines were more or less on point before inking….the fridge door was somehow way off and needed a redraw. Broke some of the assignment rules a little bit in the finer detail but….meh. Might try to colour it.

Level 2 attempt after watching the demo…not sure if I went too far with structure to detriment of gesture (?)

Hello all. For these attempts I tried to find as many rhythm connections as seemed appropriate….may have over complicated them a bit in the process (?). I figured out each pose in pencil first then went over with charcoal pencil in a vain quest for that elusive line quality - frustrating, and charcoal pencil was not a miracle cure. The flow was ok but the taper does not want to reveal itself for me. I must be sharpening the pencils wrong 😑. Made some attempts from other artists whose figure drawing/photography I admire (Moebius, Bruce Gilden). Goal was to make a bridge to drawing from imagination by trying to figure out poses without all the landmarks of the naked body and when covered with clothes. Even got a dog in there, which was nice. Let me know what you think!

Great explanation - particularly how to rationalize the concept! I guess it becomes quite strategic in terms of how to build this into complex images where shapes and emotions can compete or aggregate to form different meanings.

I found it difficult to analyse real time the concepts Stan showed in demo and precursor videos for dynamic shapes.....suspect there is some randomness in peaks and placement with respect to opposing peaks and such like.....also partially erased the initial loose sketchy lines and went over with a more solid line which I think was a mistake for this exercise as it stiffens the image up. Arrgh. Good lesson to learn for next time and I really need to improve my searching lines so I dont feel the need to cover em up!

Post summer catch-up but finally managed to start this project. Pretty astounded how the measuring techniques help. First pic is the basic shapes lay-in using the measurement techniques Second pic is the photoshop proportions check….I got a bit off the mark with the body (took Stan’s advice to relax outside the head a bit too literally) but the head was much closer than I’d have thought I could get. Third pic is my ref print with mark-ups. Fourth pic - before using the measurement techniques I did a 10 min eyeballing lay-in. Came back 30 mins later and was obvious how badly off angles and proportions were. Ok, I’m sold - measurements are necessary. Right, on to the small shapes…

Rooster, Hippo and Aye-Aye - al fresco sketching

I wanted to start with something simple and clear and then work my way up to more complex line drawings. I started with studies of one-line-drawings from Picasso. I love their ingenious simplicity, their level of abstraction. I used a marker (I think Picasso used a brush). The bird was easier to copy than the elephant. My elephant lakes a bit of the easy stretching / reaching out that Picasso's elephant shows. Next I went on to Heinrich Kley whom I admire for his casual and at the same time very informed line work. The energy of his figures is fantastic. He indicates anatomy with few, sometimes innovative lines such as an arc with the little loop on the belly of the dog. He omits part of the outline of the chest and draws a wavy line for the ribcage instead. Again I started with one of his relatively simple drawings (the dog) and then tried one of his elephants with a lot of hatching. For the Kley studies I used pen and ink - first time for me. In both cases I did rough pencil underdrawings first. Critiques welcome!

Tried five very different Masters. It is a fine line (sorry) knowing when you are copying vs studying…but feel like I learned something by emulating them all. Chris Riddell Moebius Eliza Ivanova Sir Archibald Geikie (19th Century Geologist who sketched outcrops) Scott Robertson With hindsight I should have put notes on the opposite page!

Always a ton of additional insight from these critique videos! Thanks Stan and team. A question to all - any tips on how you are structuring your practice? We’ve learned a good few fundamentals now and still the course has lots to come. I find I’m sitting down with my limited practice time (young kids, full time job mean probably average 1 hour per day) and struggling with what to do outside of the course assignments…seem to drift into extended warm-ups rather than starting any new e.g., drawings from observation. Already feels like any progress on early learnings is becoming rusty as I focus on new stuff……yes, I have given up TV and try not to spend so much time watching Proko videos on my mobile 😂

Tried this with Mario mushrooms…reworking lines to try to get them to flow is not always successful but can see how tone and thickness of lines can be used to position the viewer or light source in what starts as a flat image. Not the best subject matter for hierarchy of importance however..

It’s a Sunday morning in 1996. Pop tarts are in the toaster. You’re gonna stay in your pajamas all day. Life is good. Fun little throwback to show line weight in foreground, middle, and back ground. Line quality seems off and I feel like it could be better. I find it difficult to know when and how to make heavier ‘shadow’ lines without making them seem all bumpy and ugly looking

For level one line hierarchy, emphasis on head, horns, body outer contour and legs. Decided to put weight on base of feet and where legs join body…logic decision to emphasize where the mass is loading…but for feet could be better visually to lighten so joins to ground as per the Clare Wendling ref in video…hmm..logic vs visual…? Level 1 & 2 light and shadow lines, first did the 5 tone thumbnails we did in ‘getting started’ classes which really helped, especially imagining light distribution for level 2. Level 2 lines for depth; used a Stephen Shore photo and traced fore, mid and background with different width ink markers. Didn’t really have any lines that reach through all three to taper but will try again with different image. Went back to Rhino and did a final sketch from imagination - a world of decision making for what lines to emphasize but great fun. Loved this assignment!

Here’s my 6 pages of 5 in 1 warm-up combos - helps me come to terms with warm-up pages in sketchbook 🤓. These were nice exercises in maintaining consistent focus - I generally have the attention span of a puppy so this helps. A question on rotating the page- is the goal to be able to pull the lines with quality in every direction or would even experienced drafters work with arms moving in a preferred direction and rotate page as needed?