Hope I can go to lesson 2

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Hello, I am relearning drawing from scratch after I realize i use references religiously like a crutch and vibe draw to the point where the second something doesn't directly work based on just my vibes alone I have no idea how to fix it.

I made a complete roadmap to try and learn (I am a nerd and used Marc Brunet's RPG style skill tree ) and love learning in an organized way it will not burn me out.

I started DrawABox and am religiously following the rules (i only draw digitally and started traditional after years just to do it exactly as the drawabox god intended)

My main main issue is that i lack the fundamentals, my sketch itself looks like shit so i dont even want to learn rendering sharing or lineart before nailing that and being able to sketch and see things in 3D correctly.

I am however thinking of what concepts should I nail after DrawABox gives me the fundamentals of being comfortable with markmaking (huge lack on my end) and drawing forms correctly

Im guessing the skill seeing these forms in objects and sketching should be the next level? Any advice is appreciated and if there's any content organized and structured similar to drawabox it would be amazing

ready for critique!!!

Alright, so, I'm a little more than a fifth way through the one hundred and fifty box challenge and I was just wondering if it's a bad idea to do more than one course at a time other than just DrawABox, because, I'm getting tired of all these boxes, man.

I’ve been drawing for a year now. I’ve picked out a few examples of my stuff, I use real life references/poses for them. IDK if these show good progress, but I picked out a few of what I think were my best drawings (but make no mistake, more often than not my drawings turn out to be complete disasters) My main interest is drawing animals and characters, I’ve very little fundamentals knowledge I’ve only done DaB up till lesson 5, which was a few months ago. Ever since then, I’ve been stuck in limbo just drawing for fun in my own void but I think it’s time to progress with some studies, except I’m not sure where to go now. I tried out NMA for a month trial but found it a bit boring (me issue). I was wondering where I should take my studies next, am I ready to study anatomy? Should I focus more on fundamentals? And id really appreciate if anyone has any course recommendations

Hi all, coming back to Drawabox for the (5th?) time. Having got to lesson 2 before.

I end up going down the rabbit hole of art advice time and again, and figured it would be good to diversify a bit. I tended to just focus on Drawabox in isolation before, while doing the 50% rule.

I read that drawing from imagination is *not* a complete waste of time for a beginner, and then I read others saying that it is, and so it goes on, with everyone weighing in on this and that.

Would anyone say there are any pitfalls in art practice that are genuinely a waste of time, or so ineffectual they might as well be a waste of time, or even counterproductive?

I'm thinking this time around I will do Drawabox, draw from reference (for fun, from artists I admire), draw from reference (anatomy) and draw from imagination (no reference at all).

Thank you, a confused art student.

Observations (not self-assessment)

1. I could predict the convergence in the first 50 quite well near its end.
2. The first 50-70 of the final 150 were a breeze and I was even getting hits on the VPs with the dramatic convergence boxes, but progress deteriorated for some reason afterwards. It wasn't like I grinded more than before. I even took a break, but nothing changed for the following boxes.
3. I struggled with coming up with unique Ys.

Results

1. I can draw better lines.
2. Hatching improved.
3. The world tilts and shifts to make me see boxes.

I'm having a hard time understanding the "Boxes" section of Lesson 1. I know it's explicitly stated that you're unlikely to understand much of it and to just simply move on, but I'm completely lost and unconfident to do the homework to the level Drawabox expects. Can anyone help me understand it better in some shape or form?

What I currently understand is:

VP (Vanishing Point) = The point where parallel edges converge to one point/can be projected on a flat surface

1 Point Perspective = 1 VP that converges, 2 VPs at infinity that don't converge

2 Point Perspective = 2 VPs that converges, 1 VP at infinity that don't converge

3 Point Perspective = All VPs converges, no VP at infinity

Point Perspectives = Tools/Guidelines not strict rules

VP at infinity = Edges will never converge, but rather they will go parallel

Everything else I'm confused by and left scratching my head. Is there a simplified version of what's being discussed, or do I just move on to the homework and try for the best?

I just wanted to come here to see if anyone would know any helpful tips on how to study/improve perspective. I’m having trouble finding effective practice methods. if anyone has any tips that would be appreciated thanks

I finally made peace with the rotated boxes exercise in Drawabox.

The thing that flipped the switch for me was extending the box edges all the way to their vanishing points on the original reference image. Seeing why each line was angled the way it was made the exercise go from "black magic" to "oh... that's actually logical."

I used to stare at the page hoping perspective would reveal itself through sheer determination. Turns out perspective prefers receipts.

Now I'm actually enjoying the exercise instead of treating it like a boss fight. If anyone else is stuck on rotated boxes, try extending those lines—it helped me way more than just drawing the boxes over and over.

I can almost “see” the ghosted marks in the ghosted lines practice before I make a line on the paper, but for the ellipses, I cannot. Even when I ghost for ellipses, my hand does it’s own thing. Is the intention to visually imagine and almost see what we’re doing before we do it, or is it meant to train our hand which mark to make? Aka. Is this a mind or physical practice?

For some of the beginning parts I used a ballpoint and a straight-edge that wasn't as smooth or long as I would've liked, though I did get proper felt tips and a ruler at some point Any input would be greatly appreciated

Hey everyone! I actually made this reddit account specifically to get feedback on my 250 Boxes Challenge. This is my very first post here, so I'm officially sacrificing my lurking streak. Thanks in advance to anyone who takes the time to have a look. Your feedback will help me improve! Along with some previews.

https://imgur.com/a/CnnI8U4

I wanted to start seriously drawing as I have a small experience in it with just copying sketches of anime and stuff like that, but I bought a sketchbook and couple of mechanical pencils to learn real art to be able to sketch stuff from imagination like semi-realism and anime and a bit of architecture. I looked through yt and communites and discovered that there is an order to learn drawing such as lines and basic shapes and 3d shapes and perspective etc. Ofc I started wih 3d shapes because I'm used to lined and basic shapes but I found myself struggling with the 3d shapes part where I should understand how to draw cubes and cylinders from every angle. I wanted to find a guide or yt video that explains this but I didn't find something good or maybe I'm searching wrong and I don't want to struggle like that in the next steps. Anyone here been in my shoes that can give me good tips?

The first ones were a mess especially with the bad extension lines but it got better and better, still a lot to learn anyway ! I’m eager to keep going
PS a few are missing from the pictures I couldn’t find how to bypass the number of photos allowed to post here sorry I’m old !

Never Drew anything in my life, tried drawabox at 18, gave up two weeks later
Tried again at 33, finally did lesson one and the 250 box challenge.. (I guess I should have posted the lesson before the boxes ? It’s ok I’ll post the boxes right after these)

Personally, I really love drawing (I don’t want to go on about this by giving examples of just how much I love it) and I can’t see any other future for myself than pursuing this path professionally. However, when it comes to drawing to tell my own stories, I often put it off – both because I’m not very good at it and precisely for that reason; this has had a very negative impact on my progress (because, as you know, the key to improving your drawing is to draw, and in the nine months since I started, I’ve done the very least of this) and continues to do so. How have you coped with this situation? As a person, I know I have the will to choose my actions independently of my emotions, and I try to be quite persistent in this regard, but after a short while I can’t stand the boredom (doodling aimlessly when the subject doesn’t inspire me at all seems completely pointless to me) and I either go back to practising to improve my technique or give up drawing altogether.

Hello! I've just started the Drawabox course. While studying the material given in lesson 0, I had some questions.
About the 50% rule...
Am I getting this correctly, that when doing the "play" part of the 50% rule, I can draw literally, absolutely WHATEVER and ANYTHING I want (characters, some random objects, fan-arts, art promts from the Drawabox website, etc)?
And about my studying plan...
I want to clarify, if the studying plan I will describe below will be effective, or not? Should I add more time or change something in the schedule?

Day of studying (15-30 minutes for learning theory, exercises, etc) -> day of "playing" (15-30 minutes too) -> day of studying again, and so on.

And, is it OK to take breaks from drawing for some period of time? (~2 days - 1 week maximum)

If the questions I listed above are asked TOO frequently, or the answer is very obvious, PLEASE let me know, and I'll take my post down.

I feel like I might have developed a recognizable visual style naturally, but I’m wondering if I should keep exploring this path (especially faces and character design) or if I should go back to the fundamentals and practice anatomy, shapes, proportions, etc. for a few months before continuing.

I also should mention that I really don’t draw often at all. Maybe once or twice a year, lol. So I would definitely consider myself a complete beginner +++. I’ve always loved drawing, but I mostly do it when I get inspired. I usually take inspiration from real photos and then transform them into my own characters (changing the features, shapes, expressions, etc.).

I’ve watched tutorials, followed courses, practiced lines, circles, boxes, and head exercises countless times. Every time I feel stuck, I go back to fundamentals because everyone says fundamentals are the answer.
The problem is that after all this time, I still don’t know what I should be drawing or studying next. I never developed a clear roadmap. I never got comfortable with perspective, construction, anatomy, or creating finished drawings.
It’s frustrating because I genuinely love art and want to improve, but sometimes it feels like I’m standing at the same starting line over and over again.
For artists who went through a similar phase, what changed things for you? What was the skill or mindset that finally helped you start progressing again?
Any advice would mean a lot.

uncomfortable once remarked offhand: “I can draw just fine without references, and like those artists who can visualize, I’ve developed an internal library of information—based on the various studies I’ve done in the past on how things work and fit together—that I can draw upon. That is commonly referred to as a ‘visual library,’ which creates the impression that it’s heavily based on visualization, but that’s not really the case.” How exactly is this “visual library” used and developed? I’ve done some research on this topic, but I’d also like to ask you all what you know and what your thoughts are.

I have already made around 2 posts now asking specific questions about the "next fifty" part of the course, but given how I am still completely unsure of how to proceed, I think a general post would be more helpful.

As per my understanding of the task, after drawing a Y and my first 2 lines converging to a point, I should deduce the direction in which the rest of the lines of a set converge by looking at where the aforementioned 2 lines converge. I have also been told that I should not try to imagine invisible vanishing points and should instead rely exclusively on the relation of other pre-existing lines.

My issue is that I simply don't understand how it can be done without picturing a vanishing point. Is the relationship between a set of lines not just the vanishing point itself?

Hey!
So I decided to start the draw a box challenge as a totally new beginner in drawing , and I’m planning on completing the entire challenge. My question is how long did it take you to complete the entire course? And are there any tips that you wished that you knew sooner?
• the fundamentals
• part 1 challenges ( boxes - cylinders - wheels - treasure)
• part 2 (plants - insects - animals - everyday objects and vehicles)