question about drawing cylinders / ellipses correctly
26d
@danield
Hello, I have a question about cylinders or ellipses. I learned that the “minor axis” of an ellipse (at the end of a cylinder) runs in the direction, into which the cylinder is also tilted. And that the “major axis” is “perpendicular" to the “minor axis”.But in Michaels Hampton's book Figure Drawing Design and Inventionis a page about drawing cylinders. The cylinders are inclined differently and the “major axis” always runs straight up and the angle changes not at all. The “minor axis” also does not run in the direction of the cylinder. Why? Is this a mistake in Michaels Hampton's book? (The explanation of the illustration is on the left below.) I've just uploaded a quick sketch of what the cylinders and especially the crosses in the cylinders should look like based on what I've learned. I find this confusing and I want to learn how to draw cylinders correctly. Therefore I would appreciate an explanation. Thank you in advance :)
Daniel
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24d
Hey @danield, not a mistake -- just a different way of teaching. The old (and horrible) expression applies here: there's more than one way to skin a cat. I think your cylinders looks great, if there's a way that makes sense to you over another, take it and run with it :) Stan and Michael are both excellent teachers.
thank you :) I have now realized that both solutions are correct. My first mistake was: I thought that the cylinders in the book (the ones in a semicircle) would be slightly angled up and down, but they aren't. They are simply not shown at eye level in the illustration. In the book they are drawn as if you were looking at them slightly from above and that's how the effect is created. And because the cylinder is not tilted up or down, one axis always remains vertical. I learned that when I crafted a cylinder with a cross on it myself. I also noticed that you can rotate a cylinder on the spot at a certain angle of inclination, so that the cross changes, but the shape of the ellipse remains the same. and thank you for your tip :)
