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Hey @Carlos Javier Roo Soto I hope it’s okay to answer your comment in this section, because the previous one is so full of projects and feedback it’s difficult to have a conversation. You wrote:
“On a unrelated note, today Marc Brunet made a video in which he talked about Caped Levels. Meaning that there are some skills that no matter how much you practice you can't improve upon after a certain point, and everybody's different. I'm quite scared of asking myself what those skill might be for me, because it might destroyed my goals or tell me I'm been wasting my time all this years, and is not just laziness and procrastination what has stutter my progress.”
So, I kinda wanted to drag this here for discussion because it’s a common fear, and definitely mine. I think there’s truth to it but it’s not something like “I suck at perspective/values/rendering I’ll never get better at this thing”, but more about the avenue you take to a specific goal. If you have a goal, I think more often than not it’s your strength because it’s what speaks to your soul, right? At least that’s how I set mine. I will come right out and say once again that I cannot draw boxes and cubes for shit IF I have to draw just those things without a HL. I’m never going to be a Michael Hampton most likely. But within a figure forms begin to flow if I don’t have to think about perspective. I’ve always been an ellipse and tube person and now I’ve begun constructing forms using mostly these, and you know what, it turns out Steve Huston does it that way too and it’s fine. I can only feel form if I’m gliding, and, well, Glenn Vilppu does it that way and he’s great at what he does. When I post fanart it’s mood and lyricism that gets compliments and they’ve always been my goal, so lately I’ve been focusing on making form the servant of gesture/emotion rather than making bodies out of boxes and cylinders. But I will also draw the shit I hate because it helps me learn things I didn’t know before.
And I feel like my figures have improved since embracing ellipses more than when I was than trying to grind boxes, - which is basically what Marc Brunet is saying about grinding your strength instead of your weakness. Find what doesn’t work for you and then think how you can achieve that goal differently based on what comes easier. For example, compare the first image with the second one from a few days ago and I do feel the second is stronger. even in imagination stuff or stuff I have no experience with (like the deer and cervtaur girl doing stuff with tubes/ellipses gets me somewhere without being familiar with anatomy.)
So yeah, I think there are caps but so much in terms of a specific fundamental necessarily but more its offshoots of that fundamental if that makes sense? as a friend put it, about the order of operations and finding the best order of operations for yourself, rather than the goal. And if there’s anything I learned in art, is that fixed mindsets are always going to be your enemy here. We can’t grow if we don’t open ourselves to new experiences and that’s where grinding the same thing can be detrimental.
LESSON NOTES
Check out the premium course for additional lessons, demos, assignments and critiques!
Forms are the secret to freehand drawing. They let you foreshorten without projections. You can draw like a pro by using simple forms, the figures of solid geometry.
Control of Forms
Work from general to specific. Start with a blob or cylinder. Add a rubber band to show which end is closer and set general position.
Make it specific. Add corners to block it up. This sets spatial axes. Carve out portions and add others.
Skill with forms lets you draw anything made of forms. It builds counterintuitive habits. You gain freedom to freehand from any viewpoint. You can make up objects in any position.
This is practical perspective. It is the classic language of drawing. Artists have used it for hundreds of years. Simplified form is the building block for making things up you can't see.
Lessons from a Master
Winsor McCay drew cartoons with lots of perspective. He stressed understanding solid geometry from every angle.
Why? If you draw a sphere, you can draw automobile wheels. If you draw a cube, you can adapt it to an automobile shape.
For training, set up a cone, sphere, cylinder, and cube. Draw only these for two months. Once you master them, you can draw anything, including cartoons.
Master primitive basics to handle complex perspective.
Check out the premium course for additional lessons, demos, assignments and critiques!
DOWNLOADS
intro-to-forms.mp4
224 MB
intro-to-forms-transcript-english.txt
5 kB
intro-to-forms-transcript-spanish.txt
5 kB
intro-to-forms-captions-english.srt
7 kB
intro-to-forms-captions-spanish.srt
8 kB
COMMENTS![]()
![Marshall Vandruff]()
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Mastering simple 3D forms is the secret to freehand drawing. I will show you how to use these basic shapes to draw anything from your imagination.
Hey @Carlos Javier Roo Soto I hope it’s okay to answer your comment in this section, because the previous one is so full of projects and feedback it’s difficult to have a conversation. You wrote:
“On a unrelated note, today Marc Brunet made a video in which he talked about Caped Levels. Meaning that there are some skills that no matter how much you practice you can't improve upon after a certain point, and everybody's different. I'm quite scared of asking myself what those skill might be for me, because it might destroyed my goals or tell me I'm been wasting my time all this years, and is not just laziness and procrastination what has stutter my progress.”
So, I kinda wanted to drag this here for discussion because it’s a common fear, and definitely mine. I think there’s truth to it but it’s not something like “I suck at perspective/values/rendering I’ll never get better at this thing”, but more about the avenue you take to a specific goal. If you have a goal, I think more often than not it’s your strength because it’s what speaks to your soul, right? At least that’s how I set mine. I will come right out and say once again that I cannot draw boxes and cubes for shit IF I have to draw just those things without a HL. I’m never going to be a Michael Hampton most likely. But within a figure forms begin to flow if I don’t have to think about perspective. I’ve always been an ellipse and tube person and now I’ve begun constructing forms using mostly these, and you know what, it turns out Steve Huston does it that way too and it’s fine. I can only feel form if I’m gliding, and, well, Glenn Vilppu does it that way and he’s great at what he does. When I post fanart it’s mood and lyricism that gets compliments and they’ve always been my goal, so lately I’ve been focusing on making form the servant of gesture/emotion rather than making bodies out of boxes and cylinders. But I will also draw the shit I hate because it helps me learn things I didn’t know before.
And I feel like my figures have improved since embracing ellipses more than when I was than trying to grind boxes, - which is basically what Marc Brunet is saying about grinding your strength instead of your weakness. Find what doesn’t work for you and then think how you can achieve that goal differently based on what comes easier. For example, compare the first image with the second one from a few days ago and I do feel the second is stronger. even in imagination stuff or stuff I have no experience with (like the deer and cervtaur girl doing stuff with tubes/ellipses gets me somewhere without being familiar with anatomy.)
So yeah, I think there are caps but so much in terms of a specific fundamental necessarily but more its offshoots of that fundamental if that makes sense? as a friend put it, about the order of operations and finding the best order of operations for yourself, rather than the goal. And if there’s anything I learned in art, is that fixed mindsets are always going to be your enemy here. We can’t grow if we don’t open ourselves to new experiences and that’s where grinding the same thing can be detrimental.
Can it be? After decades will Michael Giff finally be able to draw a box? Taking bets now! ... and no I won't tell you how I'm betting!
Welcome back Marshall! I noticed on your bookshelf behind you the book “How to Draw” by Scott Robertson, is like a star shining prominently. I just acquired this book recently, and I have noticed that it is the perfect complement to this course. I am very excited to start working again on basic forms as I tend to have artist block, never really knowing what to draw from my imagination. So, maybe after drawing nothing but basic forms for the next few months, I will never have the excuse of artistic block again? Again, welcome back! Cheers!
I also have the book and it is really great to have. There are some great drawings in there that show off perspective and can even give ideas for this course on some pretty cool things to draw
During the break i had the opportunity to shadow a small production, and now I'm half through reading the Artist's Master Series: Color & Light! A section about honing forms couldn't have come at a more perfect time!
WAIT that’s the book I’m on! Had a serendipity moment with a friend yesterday that we’re both on this one and now you. Ha!
