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.

I'm watching it again after practicing. I've watched this a few times. So the major axis always splits the ellipse in half, right down the middle? So I could think of it that way when I am trying to place the major axis in the box.

how do you draw these ellipses in 2 point perspective? I'm having a hard time visualizing how do that the ellipses into a cylinder when the box only has two vanishing points. Or rather if you cant see the top plane or the bottom plane.

If you are like me and the major axis gives you major headaches: don't worry. Scott Robertson in his book describes how the minor axis is key to place the ellipse successfully in perspective. Nevertheless: I made a little animation to make it easier to observe what is happening with the major axis. You can watch it here: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/R4XWJ1ct1gI

Do we just eye ball the major axis? Or is there a way to be able to tell where it is supposed to be like how we discover the minor axis?

I had a lot of fun doing this. My shoulders are sore now. I don't think I've ever done a workout like that before. I am just curious if I'm getting this correctly before I spend another 30 minutes doing this. I used Stans 2 minute gesture drawing as my references without just copying him. I only glanced at his only once to see if mine looked like his at all . Would love critique of possible. Thank you!

One day i will revisit the course and do the level 2

This is kind of a fun thing to do. I can see how the 1p and 2p were so important to understand this. But now that I do I can think though the vanishing point, rather I can comprehend the vanishing points rules now so that objects looks correct. I love this.

has proko done on camera reference 12 anywhere? i am scrubbed each video and i dont know if i missed it. I'm having a lot of trouble with it.

I love this, Its cool to see your process. I noticed he showed another sketch book and said he drew a quick wireframe. Do you have a separate sketchbook for thumbnails and wireframes to help you envision what the scene will look like?

I think I got this correct. it's sort of hard visualizing a box around the head a little. Sense I just want to see the curves and not think of the box sitting in front of the face and around it. I would love some critique .

I practiced a lot till I felt comfortable and confident with it. This assignment was so much fun. It made me have a burning in my chest to keep doing it till I felt good about it

Is anyone else getting a lot of anxiety as the lessons get harder. Just trying to draw a model or a fun pose and i feel like i'm rushing through it and then disappointed by the outcome, like as I do the lessons and not really feel like i understood if it was successful or not I am sort of dragging that negative energy into my personal drawing and I feel like i'm rushing, or being super sloppy because I feel like my old way of doing it was wrong or something which i end up making a very ugly sketch that i don't want to work on anymore since I dont think any work on it would improve it at all which depresses my mood. I was just curious if someone had a similar feeling at times and how they worked through it? Edit: I have seen some opinion pieces that recomend taking drawing less seriously and relax and make it something more simple to help enjoy the process of learning like telling my self, i'm not drawing, i'm just making scratches on a piece of paper. And if it turns out good i can celebrate it.

After watching the lesson I had some confusion about the assignment. I tried to do the rhythms as I saw them and based on the continued guidance Stan had after the critique video. I'm not sure I quite understand and would love some guidance how I could improve the assignment so I can work more productively in the future. If possible if you see what I might be misunderstanding I would love to hear your insights. I really want to be able to practice this correctly so I form good habits.