Structure Basics – Making Things Look 3D
Structure Basics – Making Things Look 3D
This lesson has a premium version with extra content. Get it now!

Figure Drawing Fundamentals

Structure

Structure Basics – Making Things Look 3D

1.2M
Mark as Completed

Structure Basics – Making Things Look 3D

1.2M
Mark as Completed

Start by practicing cylinders and boxes of the things around you. Here you’re using observation and what you know about structure to draw the forms. Then move on to drawing them from your imagination. Can you imagine a box in your mind and draw it exactly how you imagined it?

When you’re ready, get some reference of animals and try to simplify them into balls, cylinders, and boxes. Avoid flat angles. Try to find dynamic angles of the animals in motion. That will be a much more valuable exercise.

Post your work and participate.

Submit your assignments here
Drop images here to attach them to the message
Newest
Lenserd martell
Write reply...
Drop images here to attach them to the message
Marco Sordi
2023/5/26. Hi everybody. This is my today’s exercise about shading technique. Thanks.
Write reply...
Drop images here to attach them to the message
Jesper Axelsson
Hi @Marco Sordi Nice drawing! - The shading feels a little "muddy". Maybe you could make it more clear how the planes differ in value. Judging from the photo, there seems to be planes that clearly belong to lights and some that clearly belong to darks. Then, in turn, within those groups there is variation. I know you where trying to capture all the details as well, but you might benefit from practicing doing drawings of an object like this one, where you focus on only capturing the major planes and how light interacts on them. Doing studies where you focus on value grouping might also be a good idea. You might also benefit from doing drawings, where you try to show light and value with line only. The dark contour lines you put down seem to be a stylistic choise, but I also get a feeling that it could be a habit. Maybe you don't actually want to have a line as dark as the darkest dark enveloping a shape that has a light value. I attached a study like this that I did recently. I hope this helps :)
Reply
Anna Sch
I googled geomatric shapes and tried to draw them most accuratly. Pyramids and donuts give me headaches….. next step is to draw forms from imagination.
Write reply...
Drop images here to attach them to the message
Bubble Gum
My homework for structure basics. I'm following draw a box course which got me eating enough boxes already so forgive me if I only draw cylinders. The last animal is supposed to be tigers but what I draw looks more like wolfs and dogs
Write reply...
Drop images here to attach them to the message
Marco Sordi
2023/5/19. Just finished my 3 hours class at K atelier. Here’s my last drawing from life for today. Thanks.
Write reply...
Drop images here to attach them to the message
Gian Amir Calibuso
Write reply...
Drop images here to attach them to the message
Grace Mounce
Hi everyone! I just finished my structure assignments. Here are my boxes/cylinders from imagination and constructed animals. Might I ask you all for some critique? I hope you're having a great spring day! Sincerely, Grace Mounce (ps: I apologize for the poor image quality. I'll try to brush up on how to take better photos of my work.)
Write reply...
Drop images here to attach them to the message
Justin ONeill
Hi Grace, amazing work! Perspective is great. Making sure lines at the back of the forms are a bit lighter can help them to read a bit better. For the animals I’m really having to get nit picky to find things, but I feel like the form of the gorillas head and face could be better defined. For your horse, the front right foreleg is a bit hard to read, and the rear hooves would be flat on the ground to support this gesture. (Horses are heavy!) Your pig is the most adorable thing ever! Great stuff!
Reply
Kaily House
Here are my assignments from this lesson! I have a hard time connecting all the shapes. Am I not breaking into into small enough structures?
Write reply...
Drop images here to attach them to the message
Grace Mounce
Hi @Kaily House , these look lovely--nice foreshortening on the back of that polar bear! Also, I'm looking at your cylinders on the first page, and the top ellipses look nice and round (which I should have been doing for mine!) On a few of the bottom ellipses of the cylinders, as well as some of the cross-contours on the cylinders in the animals, it looks like the corners of the ellipse are starting to flatten out to a point. If you round those corners a little more, I think it will help. But other than that, nicely done!
Reply
Eveline Rupenko
Hi! Here are my submissions for this assigment, Still struggling with defining a planes sometimes
Write reply...
Drop images here to attach them to the message
Jesper Axelsson
Really nice! To take the feeling of space to the next level I would ask myself which part is closest to me, and which part is furthest, and relate to these extremes as you draw the animal. Try to clearly communicate the proximity, of each part to you. In the drawing of the zebra for example, the forms and overlaps read clearly. I can tell that its right front leg is behind its left. However I don't really feel it. The space feels a little flat, like both front legs exist on the same plane. Making sure that you're aware of the different proximities of the parts will help you capture subtleties that could sell the illusion. In the drawing of the cheetah the front could be more turned toward us, and the back recede into space more. I think its left (our right) paw should be closer to us than the right. In your drawing it seems to be further away than its right. This is being picky, but when I received this tip I felt like it added something to my drawings. Hope this helps :)
Reply
Crimson The Kitsune
23/4/2023 Last day of structure that went on for 4 Weeks, I’d say I learned a lot from this Course and would like to thank everyone for their Criticisms!
Write reply...
Drop images here to attach them to the message
Crimson The Kitsune
22/4/2023 Ended up doing something I was meant to do tomorrow for the last week/day of Structure, which was to combine Gesture Lines with Gestural Forms/Shapes. @Jesper Axelsson I’ll be honest in saying they don’t feel as strong as I’d like them to be.
Write reply...
Drop images here to attach them to the message
Crimson The Kitsune
Sorry for the darkness, I thought I had enough light where looking at my drawings wouldn’t be a problem. Dm me if you wish to see a brighter version of this.
Reply
Crimson The Kitsune
22/4/2023 Continuing from the other day as pre usual. Criticisms are welcomed.
Write reply...
Drop images here to attach them to the message
Crimson The Kitsune
21/4/2023 Another day of doin purely the gesture for this course, I’m starting to see all these different lessons as foundations towards building a house. since my gestures aren’t the best I practice them here till they’re good enough to add gestural forms. (I,e Cylinders, Squares, Circles etc).
Write reply...
Drop images here to attach them to the message
yecai
Assignments part 1.
Write reply...
Drop images here to attach them to the message
Jesper Axelsson
Hi @yecai, your drawings show a good understanding of the structure basics! - I might work a little on the ellispes, especially the ones you've used to draw stucture that isn't visible (where the head of the soap bottle meets the container for example). They tend to be a little pointy. - Make sure to draw through the forms (drawing what's on the non-visible side, lightly). That will help you construct with greater control. Hope this helps :)
Reply
Crimson The Kitsune
20/4/2023 I’m gonna be doing Moths for 2 more days since I’ve felt like I haven’t been doing them enough justice. @Jesper Axelsson should I focus on making convincing gesture lines first? Or do I proceed with adding the gestural forms regardless of the quality of my gesture drawings?
Write reply...
Drop images here to attach them to the message
Jesper Axelsson
I would start by finding the gesture before clarifying the forms. Follow the process I suggested here https://www.proko.com/s/xL5Y. Work inside out. Start with a flow, then flesh out with forms to get the contour. When finding the flow it helped me to really imagine a river flowing through the body. The gesture lines I draw are the water in that river. Since the moths are short and chubby you might find it tricky to find the flow in the torso, but just do your best. "Or do I proceed with adding the gestural forms regardless of the quality of my gesture drawings?" As mentioned, I would recommend starting with the gesture. However I wouldn't expect it to be perfect, since the concept is new to you. Just do your best. Once you've drawn the gesture, add the forms, even if the gesture isn't well drawn. Did that make sense?
Reply
cburdett26
04-19-23 I was having trouble trying to show the structure of the animal, while also showing the flow. I would greatly appreciate any feedback. Thank You, CB
Write reply...
Drop images here to attach them to the message
megreet
Hi cburdett26, I take your images for inspiration for doing my daily exercize and here the result. If i can give you a suggestion it's seem that you lack the concept of perspective and construction so first you have to train your brain to think in 3D. The course on perspective of Marshall Vandruff help me a lot (it costs 12$ bucks on his site) and drawing simple cubes and cilinders in perspective is the first step to understand more complex forms. 
Reply
Crimson The Kitsune
18/4/2023 I don’t know why, but it feels like my drawings are getting worse? Like when I try to construct them it feels like I’m just placing a bunch of blocks together instead of trying to construct the body of an animal. I have no expectations of my progress when trying to construct the figure, maybe that’s why? Should I try and change up my approach? Criticisms are welcomed.
Write reply...
Drop images here to attach them to the message
Jesper Axelsson
Hi @Crimson The Kitsune, it might be that your drawings are not getting worse, but that you are getting more skilled, so that you can spot more mistakes 💪😎👍 "Should I try and change up my approach?" Yes I would change the approach. Try this: Start by drawing the flow, as if there was a river flowing through the body. Then wrap round gestural forms around the flow. You could think of it as a simple sculpture, where the flow lines are your armature, and the forms are large chunks of clay that you wrap around it. This is a process you could use for anything you draw. For a demonstration, check out this Drawing Demo by Glenn Vilppu. The process you're using currently, probably won't lead to the best result. However it might be a good way to practice and understand the structure concept. But I see it more as an exercise than a process you'd want to use for your drawings and paintings. Hope this helps :)
Reply
Crimson The Kitsune
17/4/2023 Not gonna lie. I feel like I could do better for these 30 minute drawing sessions, I’m noticing my mistakes really easily, but I don’t think it’s because I’m getting better at observing. Any Clues on what I could do to improve faster?
Write reply...
Drop images here to attach them to the message
Oskar Bråne
Read Betty Edwards ”Drawing on the right side of the brain”. Proko is great but Betty is the best. 😉 https://www.amazon.com/Drawing-Right-Side-Brain-Definitive/dp/1585429201
Reply
Crimson The Kitsune
16/4/2023 Last Day of my Easter break, not gonna lie I feel like I didn’t put my all into this one, felt overall lazy with the final results. Criticisms are welcomed.
Write reply...
Drop images here to attach them to the message
Crimson The Kitsune
15/4/2023 I really need to start remembering about spacing when I sketch these animals into simple boxes.
Write reply...
Drop images here to attach them to the message
Gift Cards
Gift card for art students to use on anything in the Proko store
About instructor
Founder of Proko, artist and teacher of drawing, painting, and anatomy. I try to make my lessons fun and ultra packed with information.
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!
Your name
Email
Message