Week 1 - Basic shapes

[fresh plume]

<@&1357861264184971304>

Welcome to Study groups
weekly study challenge to practice art fundamentals

for anyone who wants to join - here's reference!
Try to observe simple shapes, composition, proportions and focus on drawing the reference accurately

general rules: use any technique, any medium and don't trace or over paint the reference!

this week study ends : <t:1744489320:f>

I will be here to help, feel free to post here or ask questions
Have fun!

Here's my process!
I've started with sketch, then added flat colors and then focused on details
I am including timelapse video as well!

[sullen glade]

Here’s my attempt.
Ive made so many mistakes , this made me realize how much I lack when it come to proportions and perspective, not mentioning value.
Looks like a mess .

Hopefully my second attempt would look better!

[gaunt gate]

Here’s mine! If anyone wants to give me feedback, it would be appreciated.

[urban violet]

i hate textured paper smh

(forgot to add the table)

[fresh plume]

Hello,
for the future I would suggest checking the angles of your lines and compare them with the reference. mostly the vertical lines are slightly off so your cube doesn't look so stable! a good tip could be drawing in wireframe - capturing all the sides of the cube, even the ones that are not visible in the reference. For me it's easier to decide if the proportions are correct that way
thank u for joining !

[kindred granite]

why was it that hard T-T

it took me 10 min

[fresh plume]

haha simple studies are actually pretty hard, thanks for trying!!

[teal relic]

hello i am joining as well (reposting the drawing, i fixed some things)

[azure flame]

Had some time to do a quick little sketch

[urban violet]

this literally looks better than the reference

[hazy spear]

Shitty camera but this is my shot at it :]

Any critiques are welcomed

[shrewd heath]

Struggled so much with the shading omg 😭 lowkey gave up at the end

[hazy spear]

Still looks pretty good kep it up

[shrewd heath]

Another angle because idk why I feel like its messed up on camera

[shrewd heath]

THANKS POOKS

[fresh plume]

that's why I don't post traditional works, I can't take a decent pic u did a good job 💯 💖

[shrewd heath]

Thank you yor 💗 🫶 ‼️ you're so awesome

[waxen quail]

heres mine :)

[kindred granite]

i cant draw straight line...

[proven wedge]

Fire 🦾

[kindred granite]

how do ppl draw that clean?

[fresh plume]

it takes some time but u got this!!

[proven wedge]

Also there is a study group ping in id:customize

So you get notified when there's a new one

[kindred granite]

👍

[fresh plume]

sometimes I use lasso tool! but practice line confidence with hard brushes helps too

[kindred granite]

ngl i need to practice a lot

[urban violet]

damn bro

[fresh plume]

don't we all

[kindred granite]

[hazy spear]

Everyday before drawing take just a sketchbook or an A4 sheet and draw straight lines. Just one or two strokes. Or mark two points and join that with a straight line. Just one or two strokes only. At first you won't be able to but as time goes and more practice, you'll get gud

[teal relic]

What i personally find very useful is looking at the negative spaces around what you're drawing and comparing it with the reference. That way you can easily compare angles and dimensions.

[prisma glen]

Nothing has prepped me for colouring with grey D:

[sullen glade]

How did bro make a grey block look so pretty 😭

[prisma glen]

I hallucinate colours ❤️

I'm so off 😭

[waxen quail]

i think next time im gonna make the vibrant colors at the edges more noticeable, i like how it looks

[prisma glen]

ye that's rim lighting

used a lot to define silouettes

[waxen quail]

i see

[prisma glen]

Also if you use a lot of outlines, just think of it as areas with harsh shadows or lights

[waxen quail]

thx for the explanation

[kindred granite]

i didnt understand, what are negativ spaces?

[teal relic]

give me a sec, i will sketch on the ref

[prisma glen]

"empty" space around a subject

it's theory for compositions and framing

Try to think of it as focal point vs out-of-sight areas

[kindred granite]

so, the area at the outside of siluette?

[prisma glen]

yeah

[kindred granite]

how do you compare?

[prisma glen]

I feel like this is entering the realm of intuition

it's something you pick up after a lot of experience

You can also compare by overlapping the reference and your drawing

[kindred granite]

nope i dont understand

[teal relic]

for this particular image i think these are some areas to look at

[kindred granite]

OH

[teal relic]

and you compare the volumes of these areas to what you've drawn,do they look about the same?

[fresh plume]

y e s!!

[teal relic]

it can help with placing the diagonal block here and the proportion of the top block

[fresh plume]

you can check for some hidden shapes in light/shadows as well!

there are more but u get the idea:D
pretty much observe your reference and try to see if u have the same shapes in your drawing

[kindred granite]

got it

[azure flame]

I do the same on mine lmao, I just made mine a little bit more subtle so it doesn't look different but gives a vibe of it

I like adding color to stuff to make it more lively even if doesn't look exactly realistic

[fervent cave]

Hi

[hazy spear]

Post the cubes

[fervent cave]

I haven’t drawn anything yet

I just got back from school

[waxen quail]

chop chop

[hoary fossil]

WOWWW I WANT TO NOM NOM NOM ALL THOSE CUBES

[waxen quail]

yummy cube flavored cubes

[crude juniper]

same goes to me

[mellow eagle]

That's cool, i'll give it a try

[gaunt gate]

Thank you!!

[proven wedge]

Look at yall being cute and studying art

[kindred granite]

how can i improve my shading? it looks amateur when you look others. like Menacing's one

[fresh plume]

even tho it is flat surface u will need more variation in values, check this part of the reference for example! the bottom is much darker
for clean shading you can use lasso tool, select the area you want to shade (pic2) and and then use bigger brush for shading (pic3)

[kindred granite]

thanks a lot!

https://tenor.com/view/gojo-jjk-nicevagg-gif-21465196

[hazy spear]

Study group is fun (you're too scary to speak up to) ||jk you're cool||

[iron marten]

Yay! Yor study sessions are back!

[waxen quail]

looks awesome, i like the 5 min sketch a lot

[iron marten]

Ty! It was the most fun to draw but i decided to make a more in depth study so that I can compare it to my old one! Urs looks amazing btw!

[jaunty ravine]

Love seeing this! Everyone keep it up💪💪

[urban violet]

very useful for traditional

[nocturne cloak]

For shading in traditional drawing you can use a brush to get that smooth blending between values. Or, just a q-tip!
https://youtu.be/SuBUv54XSGM?si=sFfM9Q-NlzC5D70x

[shrewd heath]

bruh...i should have known about the Q-tip- i was using my finger the whole time and it smudged everywhere 😭

[teal relic]

if you smudge with your fingers, the oils from your skin will make the graphite uneven

[shrewd heath]

yeah should have known

[teal relic]

it's better to wrap your finger in a paper towel or use a brush or q tip

[fresh plume]

that person was working in digital so I didn't feel a need to include traditional in my tip but alr
pencil : variation of values still stands, so u will need darker values on the bottom. if your pencil isn't dark enough, use softer pencil (something around 4b+). for sketch make sure to work with sharpened pencil and work lightly so you can adjust lines easily. for shading : fill the whole area (pic1) with light grey first to make a good base and only after that add more darker ones, it's easier to manipulate your values that way!!

for blending I prefer gradually adding more graphite/charcoal or whatever for smooth transitions but depends on your own taste! for shading it's easier to make a base with harder pencil (something around HB,2b) and then use the softer ones

[mellow eagle]

@fresh plume the smaller square, on the top why are it's colors more yelloish?

Maybe it's just the impression i get from my display

But i was wondering if it's local colar is indeed a different shade of white

[fresh plume]

I've checked the other photos from that pack and it looks like it has same shade as others (but in this reference it really looks like completely different shade)
Also for anyone interested here's whole pack with many cool refs!
https://www.artstation.com/marketplace/p/VRxj/primitive-shapes-pack-1

[mellow eagle]

It's about the same shade as the top of the bigger square, interesting

[urban violet]

Yor u didnt need to bother typing this im sorry 😭 i was just kidding but tysm for the info 🙏

[iron marten]

Oo wow so cleann

[sweet yoke]

Ty!!

[terse frigate]

Gave myself a one hour time limit :> any constructive feedback appreciated!

[sullen glade]

Hmm Im curious, where is the “composition” in the reference exactly?
And what’s an example of bad composition? (to compare)

Since I’m not sure how to capture it in such simple shapes

[terse frigate]

the composition is slightly off centered, I'm not completely sure what you're meaning to ask haha

A good rule of thumb for composition is to never have the focal point be completely in the center though, look into the rule of thirds or golden rule

[main matrix]

I'm a bit nervous about attempting this not going to lie.
Also, thanks for posting this! I've been a bit lost as to how to learn art, so this is a big help!

Really quick, a few questions. Should I try and do this every day? should I give myself a time limit per drawing? And is there anything you'd recommend doing when drawing?

[teal relic]

you could do one iteration, post it here and ask for crits, and if you want to, you could do another and take in account the crits given

[iron marten]

You can do whatever you want! I did a 5min sketch and a 45minute study but you could do any amount of time, as often as you want all u have to do is finish it

[fresh plume]

Hii, feel free to use whatever works for u!
If you should do this every day - honestly, if u are just starting I would recommend u drawing less frequently and focus on consistency! Sometimes it's too exiting but then it's suddenly not haha
About time limits - up to u. I would try with and without and see what works best for u!!
And about drawing tips - observe the reference first, notice the details and then go for it! U dont have to go in with colors yet, try lines only and if you feel confident add shading etc. after! I have posted artstation link with the full photo pack so if you want to practice more, you can use other photos too!! Feel free to post here and ask about anything!! And honestly I was nervous too, it's week 1 after all haha thank you for joining us

[misty pivot]

here's my attempt haha, any feedback is appreciated

[misty pivot]

realized i forgot a shadow

[main matrix]

Ah, okay, thanks!
also, side note~I wasn't able to access the pack in artstation, as I am not yet 18 years old.

[lusty flame]

https://tenor.com/view/cat-scared-gif-27466237

[lusty flame]

Should I color pick the colors?

[fresh plume]

You can, but for color practice u can guess them instead xd depends on u tbh

[carmine bone]

The practice I meed after weeks of not drawing anything

[hazy spear]

Nice start

[waxen quail]

Looks really good

[meager void]

Oop-

[lusty flame]

meh was my first time coloring so i color picked

[lusty flame]

@teal relic completed it

[teal relic]

Good job on colour picking

Wait is the pencil sketch or

Lokks great

[lusty flame]

no the left one is i just was trying meh traditionally thats a quick one

[lusty flame]

zamn beautiful

[regal lintel]

Zam zam ty

[regal lintel]

Without elements no fun
(Finger art )
Can't turn on my pc now

[waxen quail]

Idk why but this makes my phone hella lag out😭

Looks sick tho very metallic

[regal lintel]

Yea it's the fps which makes it lag

[lusty flame]

haha

[sullen glade]

Hollow knight reference

https://tenor.com/view/hollow-knight-gif-9526794102890742745

[lusty flame]

wouldn't have been complete without it

[hazy spear]

@fresh plume are we allowed to send a second study of the same reference? I would like to try it out on digital medium too

[fresh plume]

Sure thing

[hot parcel]

Is this good

[fresh plume]

U might want to try it on paper instead:D

[hot parcel]

💔

[hazy spear]

Its alright everyone starts somewhere

[fresh plume]

If u are using mouse paper will be much better!!

[hot parcel]

I must be starting in a nuclear reactor smh

[terse bane]

Hi everyone I want to ask I don't know what to draw I practice alot of geometry what should I draw next? I alr learn shading.

[hazy spear]

You can try this week's study post

[terse bane]

Okay

[hazy spear]

I suggest keeping a timer and trying

[terse bane]

How long should I time?

[tired arch]

Sorry i got creative

[hazy spear]

Upto you. Since you do practice a lot of geometry I'd say go for 20-10mins

[weary shell]

After a truly awful amount of time wrangling angles, line and wips i finally have a version of this study that i think went decently enough; though i would appreciate some critiques on how to better improve it

[rough flower]

Oh my god this is new?!?

[hollow slate]

Ya!

[fresh plume]

Hii yes, we have started yesterday

[rough flower]

This is so cool!

I want more of dis fr

[fresh plume]

Working on it 🫡

[wary blade]

That looks so cool

[jaunty ravine]

These are awesome everyone!
The most important thing about these studies is not to copy it 1:1, it's all about understanding the relationship of everything.

One way to make sure you truly understand it is to rearrange the shapes or change the shapes in the image but still keep the same lighting. That's what I did when I was in art school

[iron marten]

^^ def smthn i need to work on! Im good at copying but i gotta understand it

[neat laurel]

I'm scared to attemp maybe ill just use a ruler

[hasty quest]

This was pretty fun! (:

[main matrix]

How do people get that gradient texture on their cubes?

[iron marten]

Personally i select the surface im working on, add a base colour and then add the colour that would be on the other side of the gradient and then smooth it out

You could also airbrush it on

[hasty quest]

I used one of my favorite texture brushes at the end but before that did what nineteen mentioned (:

[junior shadow]

Does it have to be a 1:1 copy?

[fresh plume]

Hii no, u can check Han's message above that explains it! But ofc u can practice your accuracy and try the 1:1 too

[junior shadow]

Oic ty. Guess ill use one of the skerchbooks i was given and store all tthe study groups there

[dusty glacier]

first attempt

[dusty glacier]

second attempt

[hazy spear]

Tried it in digital art. Although it ain't as good as others to me it's decent. Critiques are always welcomed

I moreover focus on the bigger shapes and getting down the major parts rather than the small details

And no there is no lineart as always

[iron marten]

good job!! id recommend getting a darker colour of the base colour for the shadows rather than black and try smoothing them out more! you can try lasso tool-ing the individual rectangles for it to be clear

[hazy spear]

I did think of lasso but the lasso tool makes it really pixelated so I kinda skipped it

But again thank you for the critique

[hazy spear]

@night yoke

[hazy spear]

@night yoke

[fresh plume]

I will try to come up with more ideas for posts and some different things to practice!! If you got any ideas feel free to ping me in #🎨・art-chat to keep this thread clean

[dull rock]

I like this new study group

Relearning the fundamentals

[dusty glacier]

i really like how you did the shadows :D

[dull rock]

Smudge em mostly, pencil wise

[waxen quail]

heres my second version, i tried with vibrant shading, id appreciate critique since my current knowledge about color theory and shading is a little limited

[bitter sapphire]

OMG a study group?

lemme try to draw the shapes

wait

i must make it in digital?

[fresh plume]

hii, feel free to use any medium!!

[viscid tangle]

Here’s mine, feedback?

[fresh plume]

hii I would suggest practicing line confidence!! strong straight lines will do a lot for u in drawing simple shapes like these! thank u for joining 💯

[bitter sapphire]

wait a minute

i dont have a camera

nooooooo

[viscid tangle]

Ok, lemme try again…

[fresh plume]

hii I think your colors look great but I would check this part portion wise! I really like the top cube's details✨

[waxen quail]

Alright, thx for the tip I'll look into it :)

[night yoke]

YOOOO THATS AMAZINN

[bitter sapphire]

lil bill doesnt know how to do shadows 💔

[fresh plume]

hell yeah thank u for joining!!!

[main matrix]

So...I just started the process of drawing the cubes (can't say it's going great). I'm having a difficult time viewing the shapes as three dimensional objects.
Because I'm a beginner, should I try and copy the reference exactly? or should I try and move the shapes around into different positions?
(Also, on a side note, how do you get your lines to be so clean and crisp?)

[sweet ruin]

If you're struggling with perspective, then I'd recommend either doing your best to follow what you see on the page or do one block at a time using perspective guidelines
I wouldn't recommend getting too creative with it if you aren't comfortable with the shapes as they are

[teal relic]

I recommend drawing the boxes transparent like this image
(Not my work, taken from pinterest)

[main matrix]

Ah....okay, that's helpful, thanks!
(I decided to focus on each shape by itself before I start stacking them) I used no guidelines, I've never really used perspective guidelines. So I'll have to learn about those.
It's a wip, so hopefully it gets better.

[main matrix]

About forty minutes, not going to lie, the results are sort of...depressing.

The longer I look at it, the worse it gets.

Please give me some advice, and be harsh with it.

[sweet ruin]

I feel ya' XD
It's looking good tho, and I really like how you did that block on the right
But anyways, it doesn't help that the blocks are separate so the viewer doesn't see why the shadows are there if they don't know the context
It would improve it to put some shadows down on the table so the blocks don't look like they're in a different plane of existence tho

[weary shell]

I think it looks fine but i agree with angel here, putting them apart take away the context of why the shadows and light hits the way they are.

For the middle box i think itll be a great idea for you to try and visualize how the light might hits the box and how the shadow might fall, for example notice how the darkest oart of the shadow in reference fall almost diagonally as opposed to the straight ome you use? :D

That being said good job mate🫂🫂 espevially on the long one it looks absoutely lovely esp with the details in it:00

[main matrix]

Thank you! both of you, your answers were encouraging, and helpful.
I plan on doing it again tomorrow, and hopefully I continue doing it for the rest of the week, that's the plan at least.
I'm working with the standard krita brushes, so I'm having a bit of a hard time getting texture on my colors.

[main matrix]

I finally finished day two, no idea how long it took, maybe 1-2 hours? somewhere around there, I feel like I improved it a lot, but as always, harsh feedback would be nice!
(I feel like the center big cube needs some more work done)

[fading shoal]

Can we pls have the main reference pinned thanks

[fresh plume]

it is attached in description!

[fading shoal]

Uhhh I'm struggling to find that on mobile

[fresh plume]

here it is

[fading shoal]

Oml this was rough
Would be nice if I had ink for the darkest shadows

[fresh plume]

I think u did a great job💯 💖

[fading shoal]

Thankss

[hazy spear]

You can use ball point pen for the darkest shadows

[blazing hazel]

My best attempt

[nova ruin]

Woahh this is a thing?

[plain schooner]

Ooh this is new :D

[oblique quartz]

i think i got the shapes down pretty well, couldve done a better job on the shading. i used watercolours

[hexed garnet]

COOBESSS

[plain schooner]

This was more painful than I thought. Some of the colors are definitely messed up but I don’t have the willpower to fix it

[fresh plume]

haha blocks are painful but I think u did great!!!

[plain schooner]

Oh wait fixed the little corner

[plain schooner]

Thanks :]

This was super fun though, can’t wait for the next one

[fresh plume]

hehe happy to hear that!

[terse bane]

It look so weird please help

[fresh plume]

hello @terse bane !! I would suggest the same thing for u ↑ ❤️

[terse bane]

Okay thank

[abstract socket]

I tried it but it looks kinda wonky idk what I did wrong
Also I have a really hard time figuring out how big the side planes and the top should be, any advise?

[sweet ruin]

I did notice that the bottom plane of the long box doesn't have all parallel lines
The line touching the floor should be almost parallel with the line across from it/ have the lines get closer as they get "further away"
The sizing looks really good to me, so sorry but I don't have any advice there

[main matrix]

Day three, I don't feel like I made too much progress from my last drawing, but oh well. Tomorrow I plan on switching up the cubes.

[sullen glade]

this looks pretty great!
The proportions are spot on, and the shading looks pretty cool

[oblique quartz]

thank you so much ❤️

[blazing hazel]

Also the mistakes are too noticeable 😔😭

I'm gonna tweak it's been days since I have touched my pen

[terse bane]

I think it's same problem with me. @blazing hazel

Sorry for poor camera I think I need help shading?

[night yoke]

The mistakes r pretty noticeable but eh @hazy spear

The more I look at the more prominent they r 😔

[fresh plume]

hii I think u did a good job!! for the next time try to check the angles on the reference, especially with the block on the right side! for the shading if u will use pen again, start much lighter and gradually add more color, for now some parts have little variation in value and you can avoid that with slowly building the shades!!

[fresh plume]

helloo same with Sandelite, u will need to start with more light and gradually add shading. If you are able to get more pencils for that I would recommend something around 4B + pencils for darker shades!

[fresh plume]

hiii some proportions are off but I think u did a good job. the biggest issue I see is with the right block. try to focus on ration between bock's sides. for example the bottom part is not as visible in the reference etc. etc.. if it will be helpful, just draw into the reference picture and redline all the lines and edges and after that try to draw it on your own!!

also guys keep in mind that it doesn't have to be perfect at first AT ALL. You are trying and that's enough💯

[thorny portal]

Didn't have my tablet available so had to do it on paper

[hazy spear]

Good try we can improve it :]

[viscid tangle]

Isn’t it a new week? Or is time just going by EXCREAMLY slowly?

[fresh plume]

haha next one is on saturday!!

[viscid tangle]

Ok lol

[teal relic]

Yay pins

[fresh plume]

managing them rn XD

[teal relic]

I think pinning the ref would be good for future ones as well

At the very beginning

[fresh plume]

post with process + some useful tips pinned!!

[abstract socket]

Okay thank you <3

[plain schooner]

That's a lot of pins

[trail turtle]

May I ask? Is it easier sketch out first than paint? Or just start painting for bigger pieces?

[fresh plume]

Hii depends on your process, I did the sketch first and then paint but only for educational purposes xd, usually I just go in with painting without sketch!

[fresh plume]

I got confused mid process✋

[terse bane]

Oh I have only 2b and EE.. I will try after I got 4b 🙂

[candid sand]

The information here is at the "how to draw a horse" level

[main matrix]

What do you mean by that?

[plain schooner]

I can tell LMFAO

[slender marlin]

I may not be involved, but i'd love to learn from the side bar!

I'm working rn on some shading shit with shapes sooo 🙏

[hazy spear]

Do whatever you can. As you can see many of us aren't that good either. You can try drawing one of those cubes pinned and shading them

[night yoke]

Yeah I had problems w that 😔 thank u btw I'll draw it again

[night yoke]

:3

[fresh plume]

Feel free to add more, I can pin that
But I didn't want to scare off people who just want to try, it should be fun after all and blocks are hard

[hazy spear]

Hello everyone while I was waiting for the next study drop, I went ahead tried to draw the same shapes with same lighting but from a different angle. I gave it what I could but I do see some mistakes. Critiques are always welcomed

[night yoke]

YOOOO :0000

( ^-^)ノ∠※。.:*:・'°☆

Iz amazing I like it >:0

The top cube is a bit wonky I think

[hazy spear]

Thank you I was bored so I did this

[night yoke]

Love the new pfp btw :0

[hazy spear]

Thnx

[hazy spear]

Yes I do realise that now

[proven wedge]

We love constructive criticism here, you are more than welcome to supplement with your own knowledge or tutorials!

[cyan surge]

@oblique quartz I'm looking at this... I'm not exactly enticed by wanting to draw just boxes. Can I add an Inteleon mannequin in the mix for shits and giggles

^v^

[fresh plume]

sure thing! the goal should be the study from reference but feel free to add more into it:D

[cyan surge]

Ok I'm inspired now 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥

[spice willow]

Decided to join last minute😅

[iron marten]

WHOAA

[fallow spoke]

If i think about i draw for longer than 10 seconds i hate it so here you go

[twilit gazelle]

an attempt

[placid cliff]

I did da thing but very smol

Also only used a B and 2B pencil which probs aint optimal

[gray pagoda]

Tried my best Could I have some feedback please?

[hazy spear]

It's not bad but we gotta work on those proportions a little more

Keep trying tho

If you read pins you'll find some negative space indicators

For pieces like these, negative space helps you draw it better

[gray pagoda]

Thank you. I will learn more about that

[hazy spear]

All the best and you're doing great ❤️

[tepid matrix]

joining last min

[astral owl]

@fresh plume there dont kill me

[true flame]

I’ve tried

[fresh plume]

https://tenor.com/view/cat-cute-happy-jumping-gif-26555219