Drawabox Lesson 1, Exercise 5: Ellipses in Planes

This video is accompanying material for the text available here: drawabox.com/lesson/1/ellipse...
As promised, the link to the video of ScyllaStew working through this exercise: • Drawabox Lesson 1, Exe...
This exercise takes what we've learned about ellipses and takes it a little further. As always, remember to focus first and foremost on achieving a confident, smooth, even ellipse.
You can find the free lessons at drawabox.com - if you're new to Drawabox altogether, you can start over at drawabox.com/lesson/0
Other Links:
Drawabox Discord Server: / discord
Patreon: / uncomfortable

[@thoughtssailor]

I just really like that you point out your own mistakes lol, it actually kinda helps in a way . Thank you :>

[@Uncomfortable]

I definitely think it's important to own up to the fact that we're not perfect, and teachers and students alike shouldn't expect perfection. We're continuously learning and improving - mastery is a direction, rather than a reachable goal.

[@thoughtssailor]

@@Uncomfortable Before I found out about draw a box, I used to learn from tutorials on KZbin. And I used to get stressed a lot when there's so much difference between my work and theirs. So thank you so much!

[@maddscraft5459]

@@Uncomfortable "Mastery is a direction, rather than a reachable goal" Now *that's* a good quote!

[@justafreak4986]

I'm regretting for doing my planes *very* exaggerated

[@jewska]

already done with this exercise but the words still apply to later lessons. Thanks

[@draw9768]

Nice to see that you also make "mistakes". I'm loving the new videos!

[@sharonlindgren9525]

Amazing exercise . On my second batch it's as if my brain jumped ahead to where I was supposed to put the elipse.

[@ryze_xspitez2920]

I like this exercise cause I drew the planes 3 days ago and my line work with the fine liner pen has already improved. Making the sacrifice my pens made worth it.

[@alexpinkston8095]

What I've learned: I can draw ellipses better using both my shoulder and elbow.

[@jhetling]

I love these courses, I do these along side of Digital Art courses on Udemy. I draw my own stuff sometimes but usually photo manipulate pics of interesting things around me. Anyway it's fun so yea. Aliens and stuff so yea.

[@coltennial9513]

In your opinion do you think it's better to not touch the paper with our hand as we draw, or should our hand be dragging/touching along the surface of the paper?

[@Uncomfortable]

I think it's a worthwhile tradeoff. I talk about it here: drawabox.com/lesson/1/2/hoverhand

[@coltennial9513]

@@Uncomfortable Oh cool thank you for replying! I must have missed that, but around lesson 4 I started hovering my hand on my own and then ive been questioning myself recently if it's been the best option.

[@hitundo]

did anyone else get freaked how neat his planes were? in the planes video he was like dw too much but bro when i saw his my brain malfunctioned. mine are nowhere near that neat lol

[@frenchfries2148]

All the earlier episodes were easy, this is where the challenge begins

[@Squishiiy]

i feel like i am hyperfixated on using my shoulder to draw that i'm too tight (i hope that makes sense) & i'm overthinking. Anyone have any tips to help this? D:

[@ahmedsahto5500]

that mistake by you at the last part was the only noticabe difficulty i faced

[@robbinkelly2565]

Concentrating on not let my hand rest on the table plus concentrating on drawing the ellipsis has shown me what I need to work on. My shoulder was feeling the strain of not resting my hand on the table. 🤨

[@Uncomfortable]

Might be a good idea to take another look at what's written here, in regards to not resting your hand on the table: drawabox.com/lesson/1/2/hoverhand

[@aldente3868]

When you say an evenly shaped ellipse do that mean both halves of the ellipse should be the same size or does it mean the smoothness of the shape?

[@kultuk]

When submitting the exercises, should I submit the planes separately with and without the ellipses?

[@Uncomfortable]

If you remember to, sure, but it doesn't make that much of a difference. Having ellipses within the planes does not make it any more difficult to assess how the planes' lines were done.

[@ultranite5885]

one of my planes is a dart shape, how would i draw my ellipse in there while hitting all four sides?

[@BassamAlsharki]

uncomfortable first i would like to thank you for all your hard work second when i draw ellipses with out using borders they come out smooth and well done but with borders the second time around the ellipse always comes way off the orginal path is there a solution -sorry for my english

[@Uncomfortable]

The solution is really just practice. The borders establish a goal for us to target. When you're drawing ellipses without constraint, there's a lot less stress on what that ellipse is in the end. When we set ourselves to the goal of drawing an ellipse that fits within a given shape, then our brain is more likely to hesitate, and to break away from the principles addressed throughout the lesson (in regards to confident executions of our marks). That's entirely normal. Remember that the goal here is not for you to produce perfect work, or to demonstrate mastery right now. It's to demonstrate an understanding of how to use the exercise, and how to continue using it on your own as you carry forward through the course.

[@Lingatsu]

Should I draw ellipse from the outside or from the inside like you do or whatever ? By "inside" I mean, you draw with your arm from the right to the left.

[@Uncomfortable]

It's not really something I've given much thought to - so you should be good with whatever feels most comfortable to you in that regard.

[@o.fm.a5573]

im following the lessons in digital, is that possible across the whole program? well if its not possible, i think i will do it anyway so my question is irrelevant :C jeje

[@Uncomfortable]

I explain the reasons why I recommend the use of ink and why I do not recommend digital tools when tackling these lessons in this article: drawabox.com/article/ink - while those not submitting for official (paid) critique are free to choose how they want to use the lesson material, it does help to understand the reasoning behind the recommendation. I've also got another video coming out in a few weeks for Lesson 0 that explains this in the context of introducing students to the tools we use in this course. Keep in mind that this has nothing to do with my views on the value of digital tools. I myself am a digital artist - I just think that ink complements the specific concepts we're teaching here, and reinforces the habits we try to develop in our students, making the whole thing far more effective.

[@o.fm.a5573]

@@Uncomfortable thanks a lot for the reply and the read! It was exactly what I was wondering, I won't stop doing the elipse planes and tables in digital because I find they are a great warm up for my gestures ^^ but most definitely will start the lessons on ink and paper. Thanks again!

[@qwertyuiop-pj3dw]

My ellipses are much much better without the ghosting method. It's just that I can really focus where my line is going to go when I firstly align my pen to some point on the plane (the right one in most cases) and then execute the ellipse. I can't do that if I previously move my hand around. It just messes me up.

[@Uncomfortable]

Keep in mind that the goal is to learn how to execute marks effectively long-term. There are certainly things you can do to have your ellipses turn out better right now, but they may have a far lesser impact on how much you take away from the exercise itself. When we get too focused on what'll result in a better end result for the task we're doing in the moment, we tend to lose sight of why it is we're doing these exercises in the first place.

[@grqfes]

easiest one so far in terms of work

[@Randomthingshorts]

It’s so hard to draw ellipses I did the 4 exercise multiple times and it didn’t really looked good I really tried my hard but I culde not do it currently so I skipped it and saw that I need to do it in this exercise as well is it ok if I skip 😢

[@Uncomfortable]

Ask yourself this question: what is the reason you're taking this course and doing these exercises. Is it so you can draw things you feel look good right now, or is it to get better at the things you aren't able to do successfully right now? If you haven't already, I would strongly recommend that you go through Lesson 0 of the course, which you'll find here: drawabox.com/lesson/0

[@Randomthingshorts]

Ok I’ll try my best and keep going thank you for your reply

[@JonMW]

If you're aiming to center your ellipse on your plane (as if it's a circle on a square in perspective), then the one at 2:50 is also off, because it's slanted. A correctly aligned ellipse should be tangent to each edge where the side-to-side line meets it.

[@Uncomfortable]

The intent of the exercise is just to have students focus on getting the ellipses to touch all 4 edges, not to have them align in any specific fashion. Slanting here is fine, for the purposes of this exercise in the context of this lesson and course.

[@JonMW]

@@Uncomfortable ah, thanks!

[@Dave51262]

How do we determine which one is to be the minor axis? Also, shouldn't the ellipse be an equal size on both sides of the minor axis?

[@euntae1377]

ANYONE IN THE COMMENT SECTION!!! I would like to ask if drawing ellipses clockwise/counter-clockwise differ from each other because my brain is confused right now.

[@Uncomfortable]

Use whatever is most comfortable for you. I personally draw them counter-clockwise with my right hand, but I see no reason there would be any issue in drawing them clockwise, if that's what feels more comfortable for you.

[@The_Broyi]

I reached this point in drawabox just doing the exercises, and with some ellipses I found myself drawing them poorly, I tried changing my posture (as I've seen that it helps me) and the way I hold the pen, but I never payed attention if I was drawing clockwise or counterclockwise until reading your comment. After drawing some circles I think that it's easier for me to do it counterclockwise. I guess that what I'm trying to say is thanks for asking that question, it made me see something I didn't even think of

[@anandalovesJR]

Wow this is difficult

[@supahjadi8944]

So many people already gave up. The views on the videos previously and in succession are telling.

[@redstar587o7]

That's how it is in most things. If it was easy more people would do it.

[@zsurvivalist7996]

Should my hand not be touching the paper?

[@Uncomfortable]

That question is answered in this section from a little earlier in the lesson material: drawabox.com/lesson/1/2/hoverhand

[@zsurvivalist7996]

@@Uncomfortable ok thanks! Sorry i guess i forgot about that part.

[@mayv1.0]

wow I hate ellipses so much