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@lemonmerchant
A quick sketch of my telephone at work to see if I'm getting the idea, the one on the side doesn't feel like I'm really turning it in space, I just kind of... Drew it sideways. Any strategies for breaking out of this?
Randy Pontillo
If you're familiar with video games or 3D stuff, a way you can think of it is like rotating an item in wireframe mode. Another way is to look at the object, and to imagine twisting it like you would with a wooden alphabet block in your hands. If its proving to be extra difficult, close your eyes and envision the object as you observed it, then mentally turn around it until you 'see' it in the desired orientation, then just do your best to copy that.
Randy Pontillo
This was quite challenging, especially with a pivot point, but it was fun to work out! The blob was less helpful as a guideline for me, but it was a good way to make starting on the motorcycle's forms less intimidating. anyway, here's my bike!
Irving SW
I agree with the others, I love your simplification!
Rachel Dawn Owens
This looks really good!
Andreas Kra
Great simplification here! Nice work. A pretty challenging object to start with.
Randy Pontillo
Every artist is adamant about doing exercises like these daily, but i noticed everyone seems to have their own method, seemingly tailor-made to the individual. How can you work out what would be best for you in particular? Is there some kind of "secret sauce"? A commonality between the infinite number of methods? Is it simply all in an attempt to bring your hand skills up to the level your brain skills are at on a particular subject youre actively working on? As for the Assignment, I did the circles in a variety of sizes that would make me use my wrist, hand, and arm movements separately. I also tried to make circles without using the *symbol* of a circle, but most of them ended up turning into squares or diamonds!
Marshall Vandruff
Good job Randy! I found in doing this demo that my first two "cross-hair" lines tended to lean, often, into the same errors. If we notice consistent deviations, we can lean the other way. That's one way to gain control of directions. It's analogous to noticing which shoe wears out more, and working to equalize our steps. But for many of us, especially with longer line sets, the first attempts are more like an infant learning to talk. Lots of wild variations. You are beyond that, as many who posted here seem to be. One of you mentioned putting random dots all over the page, then connecting them at random angles. That could be fun to go from short to long distances until you can skate the page triumphantly. In response to your question: Rote exercises may seem non-creative, but here is where you can make them creative: change up your regimen, weekly or monthly, to evolve it into your way of growing your skill for your purpose.
Randy Pontillo
My judgement is getting thrown off pretty drastically by lense effects, would a character under the effect of a wide angle lense be subject to both forshortening and overlap? or would it be one of the two? If a character were to point at the "camera", wouldn't their hand, forearm and shoulder all be overlapping? Or am i looking at the character as a whole and deciding if it is forshortened as if it were one object (like a box)? Thomas Chamberlain's pieces tripped me up a lot here. Also the guy in the last picture is VERY small in relation to the stairs!
Marshall Vandruff
Good observation/question, Randy. That wide-angle effect (proximity) can exaggerate foreshortening — but always exaggerates diminution to the extreme. The amount it exaggerates overlap depends on positions that create overlaps, and a great big close thing sure seems to overlap everything behind it. Look at how your third example above accentuates the overlap effect by adding that fog-load of atmosphere between the close kid and the distant canyon. There is no question which is closer. Overlap, diminution, and atmosphere galore... to create bigness. But as I mentioned in our first work review, it is possible to treat a big subject, like that final example of the tall ruin, as such shallow space that the building itself relies almost entirely on overlap to show what columns are in front of another. This was good work, and if it creates some tension of "what's going on here?", it's doing the good work in you of questioning the illusion. Thanks for this!
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