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.

This is my second round of level 2. First was pure reference. This one attempts to take reference and imagine a new pose derived from the original. As always, I'm amazed (and a bit intimidated) by the talent in this group.

Because I'm basically twelve, as I look at everyone's assignments, I can't help but think of this.

Level 2

Doing a Level 1 and Level 2 with a focus on line weight as well. On level 2, after few boxes it becomes difficult to keep track of where the horizon line is (even intuition wise), especially if the boxes are in tilted positions. Now, when I am looking at Cambiaso's boxes in 'Fighting Figures' with light and dark washes along with line weight, I truly understand how masterful that is!

Here's my boxy people.

Level 1. I tried to use the same blob multiple times and reinterpret it from a different angle each time.

Can anyone help me out? I though I was beginning to understand. I do understand the major axis to be perpendicular to the minor axis. Thing is when looking at the drawing video I lost track of how the minor axis was derived. Help using this drawing screen capture would be great thanks.

Applying lessons from the critique

Lots of useful stuff in this demo. One of the best was at 18:45 "the widest point is not necessarily the edge of the ellipse. You may see a small curve beyond the longest point." The major axis is getting more natural which is making my ellipses look more consistent within the same drawing. I used two point perspective which makes it a bit easier. It is very encouraging to be part of this hard working group. Keep it up!

I tried to duplicate the demo. Emphasis on the word _tried_. I'm not proud of the result. I am slightly proud of the fact that I kept going after wanting to quit multiple times. Biggest frustration was that internal consistency checks kept coming up NEGATIVE. On the plus side, I do get the minor/major axis business. Which I ignored in my project submissions.

Lots of great submissions everyone! Very inspiring. This is my Level one. Plan to work on more tomorrow.

This is my view from below and I will add the the side later today. I was working on this one for ages. Hopefully the next ones will be quicker now I am beginning to grasp thinking in perspective.

I got carried away with shading (which I am obviously not yet good at), but it is a persistent problem to force myself practice specific things while I just love to draw. Just keep trying I guess!

Once again my brain hurts. I tend to feel irritated when trying to get accurate proportions. But only perspective (so far) hurts my brain. In trying to duplicate the lesson the biggest challenge I found was drawing a "square" in perspective because as far as I know you just have to guess (or feel it or whatever).

Thanks Stan for the excellent course. I am making progress. I appreciate the way this course is laid out and the patience required by teacher and student alike to build up concepts and techniques slowly. You are also a fun instructor. Keep up the good work!

I'm a level one student. But I've learned so much in this course already that maybe I'm 1.5 :)

Here's my first batch of the assignment, I didn't time these drawings. Some poses were harder than others and I had to redo them, especially the ones with foreshortening. I kept feeling like I was making mannequin studies with some of these as we were supposed to be more accurate with these drawings than gesture drawings (at least that's what I think we're supposed to do). All critiques are welcome!

Level 2 - my brain hurts

This is really hard! Here is my try