Drawabox Lesson 1, Exercise 5: Things to Remember (Ellipses in Planes)

This video is accompanying material for the text available here: drawabox.com/lesson/1/ellipse...
While we explored the Ellipses in Planes exercise in the previous video, here we go back over some of the key points you should be keeping in mind when going through this exercise.
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

[@tlayta8823]

First exercice : draw a plane anyway you want Me: Cool i'm gonna make some weird shapes ! Two videos later : About those planes .... Me : Shiiiit 😂

[@BananaDope]

well think about the bright side of it if you succeed, you're gonna be really good at elipses

[@tonyanimations5377]

Same 😂

[@sidneyrobinson18]

Same dude I made mine whack as hell since I just wanted to experiment hahaha

[@michal4736]

I love to think, that we are all playing this real-life, souls-like game together and train our characters with drawing skills!

[@ReblazeGaming]

My character is getting his ass beat rn lmao but with practice he'll get there

[@vaughan2632]

@@ReblazeGaming hey let me know if you're still going or complete and how its going. Im on the 250 box challenge and i feel like im getting my ass kicked

[@Shilpa_Kujur]

Unfortunately, the "exams event" has halted my practice.

[@sidneyrobinson18]

Yo how you hanging in there a year later?

[@taemo3707]

​@@sidneyrobinson18 i died and came back again 💪('ω'💪)

[@samuellouis4940]

I thought this would not be too hard. Boy, I was so wrong. Loving the lessons so far!

[@deliro8758]

Little did I know I actually seem to have two pairs of feet instead of hands

[@urielsalvador2618]

Aw man, this is the last updated video by far, hope to see the new ones in the future! These videos are really giving a favor for the rest of us smucks that just wants to learn, so thank you! Edit: Yeah just saw the following part and the old video about boxes takes 30 minutes so we all hope that you don't tire yourself from making it.

[@MA-zo3cm]

Always a treat

[@GlenrynSilva]

I'll start these exercise!

[@SAMEER-ft5yw]

Thank you so much

[@ravisavvana3684]

Started DAB and I am here today….hope I will make it through to lesson 7 in the next three months or more.

[@OwenLearnsDrawing]

It's been 3 months give us an update

[@NobleLaika]

Its been 9 months since. How about now?

[@sidneyrobinson18]

A full year has passed, where's the update

[@ravisavvana3684]

@@sidneyrobinson18 LOL.. I am back to square 1

[@MehmetSarkd]

I draw my planes 1 year ago LMAO Finally continuing...

[@Palindrome3945]

I think I'm getting addicted to these ellipses things

[@lucasmoreira3237]

Please, consider making lessons about character design and invention.

[@Uncomfortable]

That's not really an area I'm especially strong in, so it wouldn't make much sense for me to try to teach it.

[@juli_ju172]

Is it always a perfect ellipses when the it touches all edges? I get confused sometimes because sometimes my ellipses are egg shaped and I'm not sure if it is right like that

[@Uncomfortable]

You should be striving to stick to evenly shaped, "perfect" ellipses here. Egg shaped implies that it is not an ellipse, so that would be incorrect. All that matters is that the ellipse is a proper ellipse, and that it touches all four edges. It doesn't matter *where* it touches the edges - it doesn't have to be at their midpoints.

[@juli_ju172]

@@Uncomfortable okay thank you! It's so cool that you answer to the comments :)

[@russellfairbanks5062]

@@Uncomfortable Would an egg-shaped ellipse be reasonable to express foreshortening? (Assuming the ellipse hits all four sides of the quadrilateral)

[@Uncomfortable]

@@russellfairbanks5062 in theory that does make sense - though I really have to stress that you should be using proper ellipses for this exercise, and that you should not be worrying about foreshortening here.

[@MikianF]

Unfortunately my ellipses are too wobbly, even though I try doing it confidentely

[@user-zt3vr3hs7u]

Try to increase speed maybe

[@Boxthebeat6]

Try drawing it in clockwise direction

[@laitrinh3634]

when it comes to drawing boxes, chests. should i be using vanashing points and horizon lines constantly until im supposedly supposed to have it down intuitively?

[@murmur578]

Interesting

[@LockTheMage]

Today is day 1 and I suck so far. Hopefully ill be better in a month or so.

[@NotAppIicabIe]

I didn't go too far out of the line but yeah for this one I didn't have confidence for a lot of the ellipses oof.

[@careforme7773]

my problem is even in the planes i feel like my ellipses seem flat :( idk why or how

[@houin___]

What should be the scale of the planes/line/eclipse that we draw on paper? As I do not want to draw too small or too big.

[@Uncomfortable]

There's no specific scale you should be aiming for, but you can certainly use the example provided in the website ( drawabox.com/lesson/1/13/example ) and in the video where the exercise itself is demonstrated ( kzbin.info/www/bejne/b3a4lGCko85kldk ), as a reference for that.

[@Fireking-1]

Do I need to have the same color fine liner for this exercise as I did for the original planes exercise?

[@Uncomfortable]

No, but there's no real reason not to use the same colour.

[@BananaDope]

When should I go over to the next lesson/Exercise?

[@Uncomfortable]

You'll find this explained in Lesson 0, so if you haven't gone through it yet, definitely do so. Basically every exercise has a specific quantity assigned as homework (these are listed in the written material on the website). Once a student completes all the assigned homework for the lesson, they get feedback on their work (either for free from the community, which is available on the website, on the subreddit, and on the discord chat server, or via the paid 'official critique' route). So you rely on others to look over your work, call out anything you may have missed or misunderstood, and assign revisions if they're necessary. If you're demonstrating a good grasp of the material, they'll mark the lesson as complete and you can move forward, while continuing to practice these exercises as part of a regular warmup routine.

[@crsag1473]

Hey uncomfortable, I just wanted to ask where the rest of the videos are? Like the video about the 250 boxs challenge? Update: Nevermind, I found them. Just that the playlist disappeared and I was starting to panic!

[@Uncomfortable]

Glad you found them. Generally you should be following along with the course on the website itself, alongside the written material. The newer videos (whose production is currently paused as my apartment flooded, should resume in september) are designed to be more concise and cover more of the stuff you'll find in the written material, but the old stuff *definitely* needs to be consumed alongside the written stuff. That's why I removed the old playlist, so students would have to follow along with the website and wouldn't be at risk of missing huge swathes of content.

[@crsag1473]

@@Uncomfortable I am following the written material but I usually use the link that you put in the description box to access it and why I was looking for the playlist. I'm sorry to hear about your apartment tho. I hope your apartment gets fixed soon.

[@fadingship935]

I know its gonna be a the kind of question instructions dont like but will drawabox help me build the foundations to learn digital drawing/art?

[@gustavofinkler1229]

Sure it will! Foundations are foundations, and DaB will help you on digital, ink, pencil, canvas, etc. There is a good reason to do that on ink and paper, and it is not related to just "ink and paper is the tradition". You can find a good explanation here: drawabox.com/article/ink

[@pedrosheypado2260]

Bro, i'm brazilian and i don't speak english very well, i undertand a little bit. I watch your videos cause i know that the fundamentals is a very important to learn and thank you for this free content. Just now, i finished the 250 box challenge and i will be go to do the 250 cyllinder challenge. I have a Question: I wan't only learn perspective and construction drawing from basic shapes (sphere, cube and cyllinder), should i skip the texture lessons? Sorry about this text, i don't use any translator, i wan't to learn english and i'm training for this.

[@moussafiradil1700]

even if i can t answer your question i just want to say that your english is awesome ! Keep it up man

[@KslayE]

a few exercices in the texture part will challanger your 3d(looks like 3d but is 2d) drawing skills

[@haythem9134]

i am doing a lot of elipses , but in a certain time , i lost my confidence , it is fear ?

[@alcarlos3412]

Do the fine liners need to be black? I'm not sure if it has been mentioned, thanks!

[@Uncomfortable]

They do not specifically have to be black. I would however stay away from any overly bright/neon colours, for the sake of whoever ends up giving you feedback.

[@alcarlos3412]

@@Uncomfortable Ok thank you, i only have one black and the rest are different non overly bright/neon colors, appreciate it!

[@mayv1.0]

i kept procrastinating on this one bc i thought it looked hard and it is but it was also quite fun, my ellipses look awful and most of them are egg shaped but it is what it is

[@Somtric]

I'm confused about Drawabox, so... I finished first part of lesson 1, up to this point (Ellipses), but after that.. do I need to go back and do the same exercises later on or just move on and never do those again?

[@Uncomfortable]

In this section of Lesson 0: drawabox.com/lesson/0/4/grinding I explain that going forward, the exercises you encounter throughout this course will steadily become part of a regular warmup routine, where you can continue sharpening those skills while simultaneously continuing to move forward. Be sure to give Lesson 0 a read if you haven't already.

[@jazz5434]

Hey Uncomfortable, can you make a gesture drawing video? I heard it's the best way to start figure drawing but I've be following some tutorials on youtube and my gesture drawings still suck :(

[@Uncomfortable]

Unfortunately I don't have any plans to get into anything relating to figure drawing, gesture, or anatomy. I prefer to leave those things to instructors who are more focused in those areas, instead of trying to tackle everything myself.

[@VhonPlsSub]

@@Uncomfortable;'(

[@bananaice3469]

Hi there Maybe you could Proko a try if you haven't already I just started with that course and so far it has been quite helpful :) Wishing you the best on your drawing journey!

[@devanshithakkar2461]

Is it okay if I listen to songs while doing the exercises?

[@Uncomfortable]

It comes down to this - you don't want to be doing things that are going to distract you. How music impacts a person depends. Some people find that music with vocals is distracting but instrumental music is not. Some people find that certain kinds of music actually help them focus more. Some people get distracted by all music. This is something you'll have to reflect upon yourself.

[@cinallsup]

It’s really not possible to touch all 4 edges and still get a true ellipse, is it?

[@Uncomfortable]

It is! Your thinking is on the right track though, in that when we start making considerations for perspective, there are situations where the ellipse is a very useful but not entirely accurate *simplification* of how a circle looks in perspective. But, to the specifics of your question, you certainly can have a true ellipse that touches all four edges of a given plane. Each ellipse can be thought of as having two main properties that we can alter - its orientation, and its degree/width. In adjusting these, we can make the ellipse make single contact with all four edges - although nailing it freehand is another story entirely, and takes a great deal of practice for some of the wackier planes.

[@windylim4082]

Is it normal that my arm will get sore while doing these exercises especifically deltoids muscles?

[@Uncomfortable]

Drawing in this manner definitely makes extensive use of those upper arm muscles, which will make them sore, similar to any other workout. Be sure to pace yourself, take breaks, and stop if the pain you're feeling goes beyond basic soreness and becomes more of a sharp pain.

[@gabin940kys]

I think my elepsis in the other slide might have look like an awkward egg 😢

[@trevorm3680]

How do you get to the point where your straight lines stop right at the point you want? I frequently stop a fraction too early or draw through the point.. :/

[@Uncomfortable]

The simple answer? Practice. That's why these exercises, once you've finished Lesson 1 and moved on, become a part of your regular warmup routine, as explained back in Lesson 0. The homework here serves to confirm that you understand what you should be aiming for, but you're going to be drawing a ton of these lines throughout the entirety of the course - both in the warmup exercises, as well as part of your later lessons and challenges.

[@nirmalapatkare9091]

Actually I am waiting for videos on exercise 2

[@Uncomfortable]

Unfortunately the video overhaul has had to be paused- my apartment got flooded a couple weeks ago, forcing us out of our home while repairs are underway. We're in temporary accommodations with most of our equipment in storage, so there's no way to make videos. Won't be able to resume for a few months.

[@lewecusgame7598]

@@Uncomfortable Yikes, that’s unfortunate. I hope your living space didn’t get damaged too badly.

[@Uncomfortable]

@@lewecusgame7598 It'll pass, it's mainly just a matter of waiting for repairs and such. We assume our summer's shot, but we'll be back to normal towards the end of the season.

[@osrsonly6486]

@@Uncomfortable I hope you're doing fine now

[@Uncomfortable]

@@osrsonly6486 We're on our way, but things won't be right again for us until September. Just a matter of waiting it out.

[@leonardo9259]

goddamnit I thought I could move one from the tables of ellipses, all of them are egg shaped

[@Uncomfortable]

You maaay want to review this video: kzbin.info/www/bejne/pHPNhXqspclgp5o . It explains that even if you make mistakes by your own judgment, you should not do any of the exercises more than what's assigned. Once you're done the lesson, you get feedback on it from a third party, and they'll let you know if the exercise should be redone, or if it should just be relegated to your warmups as per usual.

[@leonardo9259]

@@Uncomfortable thanks

[@mrrox2085]

I think a translation should be added for the video😶😶👍

[@gustavofinkler1229]

To wich language?