Proportions are definitely a issue for me and also when the perspective is not that dramatic it's hard to stick to the grid.

the whole thing is far to elongated. Never mind, this exercise is great and I am learning a lot

Well, I got the process, just not always the result. 4 of 7 acceptable but I guess I can at least see what went wrong after the event. I think those that went wrong, either went wrong early i.e. the base/legs proportions were too off and did not spot that until finished, or I tried to change things on the fly like lengthening the ‘horn’ to make it look more ‘up close’….which of course does not work when the box/grid is not ‘up close’. Duh.

Here are my anvils. The first three were drawn along with the videos (with a certain amount of pausing…). The last was a redraw without the video. I did the above view on one of the grids from a few assignments ago, but the perspective was really rough. On the eye level anvil I did the vanishing points of the page. I liked the outcome the best, but it did make it harder to keep the lines accurate. On my draw along with the below view, I had vanishing points on the edge of the page, which I think caused more distortion than I was expecting. I definitely messed up when I eyeballed the square in the middle early on, which I think really threw off the base and the horn. So I redrew it with A LOT more measurement early on. I was a lot happier with the outcome, although the curves of the horn didn’t come out as well as I wanted. Great challenge.

At last, survived the last trial of the Anvil Challenge. The contour curves on the head horn are challenging from this angle also I feel like the ellipse base is off. note: sorry for the thin lines!

I know it wasn't an assignment but it was good practice with an unfamiliar form. Checking my work by watching the demos helped point out the many mistakes in my process.

I used the 3D model from the Basics Course so my anvil has a slightly different shape but here are my orthos and the three view points. In the first one, looking from above, I feel like I didn't foreshorten then anvil enough and it looks very elongated. I think the other two are better. Also, it really helped starting with drawing cross-sections of the envelope box (in yellow) - this helped me to see the box dimensional and not just a bunch of crisscrossing lines ;) As I was drawing the eye-level view, I started to wonder: how would one do it in three point perspective? Would the third vanishing point be above or below the horizon and what would it depend on? Or would there be two more vanishing points and the anvil would be distorted as if by a fish-eye lens?

Got to the third vid. think I might not have gone low enough and the anvil looks a little compressed. I read the comment on the previous video about this just being a demo and realized I skipped the " How to draw above and below eye level" video. will work on that over the week. Here is my third drawing of the day. I got to use some of that roll of tracing paper I bought 20 years ago. and never opened thanks to my light box.

I'm not sure if everything is correct, especially the curves on the front and sides of the base, but I loved drawing from this view. It just makes everything seem so much more dramatic.

Does it make sense what I’m trying to do? can anyone tell me if it looks correct, I feel that it might be off, but that could have something to do with how I drew the curves, or is it in the way I connected to corners?

@Marshall Vandruff This is a big leap in this lesson. It is difficult to draw without setting the initial lines, I mean the grids!!. very complicated, maybe after a few tries it will work.

Hello everybody. I've had a bit of trouble trying to find good objects to do orthos and then drawings from. I have therefore explained our project to ChatGPT, so that it could help me find ideas for objects that would be good to draw from in this exercise, like Marshalls anvil: Im working on a perspective drawing course and my current project is to choose an object, and draw orthos from that object, and then from that orthos, draw the object in perspective. Our teacher did demos using an anvil as his chosen object. It was a good object to draw from because it had a good balance of straights and curves, and it was relatively simple, but still complex enough to challenge you. On the attached images you can see some photos from our teachers demos. Can you give a list of other objects that could be a good reference material for this assignment? here was its answer: Here’s a list of other excellent reference objects you can consider for this assignment, organized by increasing complexity: 🔹 Simple (for clarity of form and projection) These are great for practicing fundamentals: Hammer – A simple tool with both cylindrical and boxy forms. Padlock – Geometric, mechanical, and good for exploring symmetry. Teapot – Round body, cylindrical spout and handle; useful for curves and ellipses. Hand plane (woodworking) – Combination of curves and flat surfaces. Wrench (spanner) – Mostly symmetrical, interesting negative spaces. 🔸 Intermediate (like the anvil: balanced complexity) These add more subtle shapes, mixed geometries, and practical use: 6. Vintage iron (clothes iron) – Solid, heavy form, lots of bevels and curves. 7. Stapler – Good moving parts and mechanical form; combination of arcs and lines. 8. Old rotary phone handset – Excellent for compound curves and symmetry. 9. Screwdriver with grip details – Cylindrical with subtle taper and textures. 10. Oil can (classic metal type) – Sharp spout, curving body, often with a handle. 🔺 Challenging (for advanced exploration) These push your observation and spatial reasoning: 11. Electric hand drill – Asymmetrical, great mechanical structure, many components. 12. Binoculars – Cylindrical forms, interlocking shapes, organic symmetry. 13. Vintage coffee grinder – A mix of wood, metal, crank handles, and gears. 14. Gas mask – Complex geometry, strong perspective challenge, lots of ellipses. 15. Animal skull (like a cow or deer) – Excellent for organic complexity and structure. 💡 Guidelines for Picking an Object: When choosing your object, aim for one that: Has distinct top, front, and side views. Combines straight lines and curves. Isn’t too small or detailed (avoid micro-objects). Isn’t too glossy or transparent (harder to analyze form). Has some mechanical or functional logic — makes projecting and rotating easier.

Here’s my follow along for Anvil demo 3 -my other drawings are on a comment on Anvil demo 2 along with a question! These are fun Marshall 👍

This time I wanted to figure it out myself, but failed a few times 😕 With the base I had I built the rest along with the video (without a 3rd VP). Cleaned it up in Procreate. The ellipses probably are still not accurate.

These demos are great. When drawing the grids for these demos, how do you determine the line spacing from the VP's for the grids? Is there an assignment to follow the demos?

Good…good. When the tumbling cubes project arrives I will be ready. 😤