This assignment is fun! I like the assignments where we can just use our imagination and explore ideas, when i'm not working on assignments I'm usually sketching from a model to learn about the shapes or design. So its nice to be able to take a break and just draw from imagination.

This project was really fun albeit more difficult then I was expecting. I definitely have lots to work on . But I definitely need to spend time on it being bad at it for a while so I can be a little more confident.

Thanks Proko! I really love these lessons. My drawing has gotten so much better over the past year at an alarming rate based on how I've been the previously before this class.

Hey basics students, I'm sick and can't record right now. The next lesson on Cross Contour will be delayed till next week. Sorry!

Hey , I had a discussion point that has been in my mind extremely recently about the role fundamentals has in our art journey and some of my misconceptions that I had when starting the course and I thought the most recent video would be a better place for people to not miss it. When I first started I think I had the misconception that art fundamentals were some how separate tool and knowledge from using reference when creating art. It goes back to the whole problem that has existed forever where people say using reference is "cheating" and that some how its supposed to be the end game for all artists to eventually never use reference ever again. And since you don't normally or if ever see the thousands of references artists use to create comics, manga, paintings, gallery pieces you may get into the mind set that they're just so advanced that they don't use references when they probably had lots just sitting out their studio they look at for a few seconds to make sure what they're doing still looks correct. I also heard another new artist recently complaining that they were learning fundamentals but it didn't feel like they were any closer to drawing from imagination then when they started. So this brings me to my biggest misconception I have had when I started the course. I thought using reference removed the need for fundamentals, where as fundamentals removed the need for references, when actually fundamentals allows for an artist to use references better then an artist that doesn't have those same fundamentals. Conceptually it feels like a misconception that I had dealt with and I would love for someone who is seasoned or a professional to weigh in on their thoughts about it. Sort of, the small parts that make up the whole. Learning Line, Shape, perspective, on paper seems like it wouldn't be necessary when creating character art using a reference of a person in front of you that clearly as a picture is showing perspective and the shapes and possibly lines that could be extracted from it. Does the fundamentals just give you a more solid conceptual grasp of what you're looking for when using a reference to draw something entirely different, like just using a model to not draw them as they are, but to use them as a starting point to make character art? I know @Stan Prokopenko is very busy, but I would love to hear from anyone who is really seasoned and has gone through perhaps the same misunderstands as I have had and have till recently after a year and a half been slowly peeled back to understand the actual role fundamentals and reference has for an artist.

a lot of these lessons coming back after 6 months just have way more value then they did the first time I watched them.

Stan, I really like doing the practice assignments, They make me feel good because I feel successful when I do them. However I don't really spend time doing personal projects. Whenever I draw I just do the most recent lesson or a lesson from the past that I felt like I needed more time doing. However I am worried though if I am stunting my growth by not drawing something for me- or rather something original, either from a reference or from imagination. How important would you say it is to make sure I spend a few days a week drawing for me and not doing old projects over and over again?@@ For reference I love drawing characters but they never look as good as I like them to. So i default to doing drawing that makes me feel comfortable.

I've really enjoyed working on this project. Recently, I found the courage to draw something personally meaningful, not just my daily practice exercises. I used this technique from this lesson to create a drawing of a character I really like, incorporating an interesting perspective. It was the first time I felt I could apply the lessons to something I'm passionate about. I have just been feeling so scared to draw for myself because it feels so safe just grinding the lessons every day for hours.

Do the 2mm Staedtler Refills work with the Nicpro 2MM Mechanical Pencil set?

This assignment was probably one of the hardest yet. I still am having a hard time with the ellipses. Whenever I place the major axis and try to make The lines cross over the major access and also touch the four corners it always looks weird and wrong. And Stans looks correct even though I feel like I'm doing the exact same thing. Although the assignment was fun. Had to sketch a lot of cubes to figure out what perspective I wanted it to be in. I probably made it harder for myself by choosing that low of an angle.