How to Curve an Arrow
How to Curve an Arrow
This lesson is premium only. Join us in the full course!
28:28
550 views
lesson video
How to Curve an Arrow
courseThe Perspective CourseSelected 2 parts (108 lessons)
-25%
$209.06
$278
You save $68.94
comments 19 submissions
Nassim A.
Thanks Blondie for the amazing arrow, and Marshall for the demonstration (and complexification 🫣) I tried the simple curve to better understand the logic. Not so easy not to get lost in the middle of all those crossing lines, but fun at the end. I'll try the tapered one later (after some brain rest..)
LESSON NOTES

What's in Premium?

In the premium lesson, we tackle the technical challenges of drawing an arrow that appears to taper but actually maintains a constant width. You'll learn how curves interact with perspective and how to use X lines to track width accurately.

We demonstrate how to project the arrow onto the ground plane to create an orthographic view, helping you understand its true structure without perspective distortion. We also explore how introducing tapering adds complexity and how to solve for both tapering and curves by projecting points and constructing compound curves.

Finally, we discuss the balance between technical accuracy and artistic expression, highlighting when to prioritize creative choices over strict precision.

Get this lesson and more in the premium course!

DOWNLOADS
mp4
how-to-curve-an-arrow.mp4
914 MB
txt
how-to-curve-an-arrow-transcript-english.txt
17 kB
txt
how-to-curve-an-arrow-transcript-spanish.txt
18 kB
file
how-to-curve-an-arrow-captions-english.srt
28 kB
file
how-to-curve-an-arrow-captions-spanish.srt
31 kB
COMMENTS
Marshall Vandruff
How to draw a curved arrow in 3D space using pitch, perspective, and orthographic views.
Newest
Myles Goethe
Debbie Dawson
Loved playing with these too!
Chloe Kmita
Sandra Süsser
Curved arrows & curves in perspective – Love the exercise
Iman
3mo
I did not use different colors for each of the axes because… I guess I wanted the extra challenge of getting confused and to push through that!
Alexander Bösch
Hey folks! I tried to draw a curved object from an ortho and thought it maybe worth to share?
@brimarie
3mo
I think your explanation is great - thank you very much for that🤩! I still find it hard to visualize things in space and to draw them quickly and correctly in perspective...
Ayesha Mahgul
@deadsm
4mo
The whole time you were twisting the arrow, the only thing I could think about was snakes.
Li Ming Lin
It was cool to discover those 'hidden rectangles' in the Right-angle method. I wouldn't have thought of it like that, and found it a bit hard because there are so many construction lines that it gets confusing. Fortunately, after thinking for a long time, I managed to pull through. Although, I wanted to understand and engross the cross contours into my brain so much that I ended up drawing the hidden lines darker. Resulting in a lot of smudging... Apologies in advance. I would need to work on this in the future to draw construction lines and hidden lines more lightly. Also, my grandma says that all the arrows that we have been drawing lately look like seahorses. So here is a seahorse :) I tried to treat the tail like a curved arrow that converges and gets thinner from the body to the tip of the tail; I ...think... it looks right.
Shayan Shahbazi
This was one of the most beautiful discoveries and adventures. Thank you so much.❤️
Rógvi í stórustovu
Josh Drummond
Curves going back and forth on the y and z axes aren't nearly as tricky as curving in and out along the x and z axes. Twisting also proves to be pretty difficult.
Ishaan Kumar
Love how well you dissect every process Marshall, so happy to have taken up this course! Here's my attempt at creating what I understood from this lesson. A few more manic lines for your enjoyment 😶‍🌫️
Rick B
6mo
Followed the video. Great information. Never thought of it that way. did a couple. to make the technique clear in my head. hope it comes across clear on paper.
Mon Barker
6mo
Some things clicked after this lesson - i) orthos are not just reference, you can use them as you draw to solve problems ii) building the box and scaffolding first is a very good idea before attempting curves iii) tracing paper is great for problem solving… As the penny dropped it gave confidence to try and solve a problem I’ve wondered about and tried to freehand intuitively with poor results; a hollow open canoe-like form in vertical perspective with a lot of foreshortening…so curves in perspective. Tried a simple oblique view first then tipped the canoe vertical for more extreme ~worms-eye view. Well, the results were a lot more successful than freehand intuition…! Also learned a pencil eraser works to remove ink on tracing paper. Useful stuff. 🤩
Rick B
6mo
Excellent observations.
Lin
6mo
Thank you for the arrow and the thinking it creates, Marshall and blondie. I used the ellipse cheat for the violins as I did not know how else to curve that middle area. It's awesome to know it's a well established way.
@ashfin613
6mo
What's the ellipse cheat @Lin ? 🙂
@ashfin613
6mo
Nassim A.
6mo
Thanks Blondie for the amazing arrow, and Marshall for the demonstration (and complexification 🫣) I tried the simple curve to better understand the logic. Not so easy not to get lost in the middle of all those crossing lines, but fun at the end. I'll try the tapered one later (after some brain rest..)
Ron Kempke
6mo
Marshall, is there a way to use this way of building for drawing the pose/gesture of a figure? Will you demo it for us when you think we're ready?
Spyridon Panagiotopoulos
Thank you, you seem to be in my mind continuously all this course, every-time I am pondering furiously on a question, you are not far away with a video on how it is done. Now, only 10000 bent, curved and twisted arrows to do!
Help!
Browse the FAQs or our more detailed Documentation. If you still need help or to contact us for any reason, drop us a line and we’ll get back to you as soon as possible!