Week 41 & 42 - Basic forms, shapes

[eager basalt]

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, proportions and focus on drawing the reference accurately

WHEN POSTING INTO GALLERIES PLEASE ALWAYS ATTACH ORIGINAL REFERENCE WITH IT

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

this week study ends : <t:1769292000:f>

I will be here to help so feel free to ping me anytime
Have fun!
Reference photo source : Geo Art Ref on Artstation

you can turn on ping for studies here id:customize

Week 41 & 42 - Simple shapes

adding some more for color practice

[mellow lion]

@eager basalt hey

i just had a question

this is my 4th day of using krita/drawing app

am i still allowed to participate in this?

im also confused on what you mean by shapes

like, just a regular cirlce? or a ball with depth in it?

circle*

[cobalt pawn]

I'm not the person your tagging but they mean basic forms - if you look at the reference, there's spheres, cubes, cones, stuff like that. If you're unsure about beinf able to participate using digital, you definitely can! A lot of people do digital art for these things, but traditional is also allowed. It says in the first message that any medium/style is allowed, so make sure to read those! They typically have a reference (as I mentioned earlier) that you can draw from or use as an idea for what kind of reference you need

[mellow lion]

so, its just like, shapes with depth?

[cobalt pawn]

Yeah! Cubes (a square with depth), cylinders (elongated circles), spheres (circles with depth), or any shape you can think of with depth added to it. Typically they're referred to as "basic forms," but "shapes with depth" could also be appropriate

[mellow lion]

okay

[eager basalt]

Hello, sure you can participate!! by shapes I mean the ones on the reference pictures I've sent!
the best way to study these is not tu 'guess' them but rather draw from reference so you can draw based on structures in the picture!

[mellow lion]

i just still have no clue how to do it on krita

im using a mouse too so

[grave parrot]

Also known as 3D-shapes, yes. They are good practise. My father taught me to draw those using shading only to get a good grasp of both

[eager basalt]

exactly, I should rename the post to basic forms instead to make it more understandable!!

Week 41 & 42 - Basic forms, shapes

[mellow lion]

am i allowed to get help for it?

[eager basalt]

sure!!

[mellow lion]

or is this something i need to do alone

[grave parrot]

If all you have is a mouse, I recommend drawing on paper until you can afford a tablet. Mouse is really bad

[cobalt pawn]

Just look at the reference and try your best to understand and copy it. I don't have any experience with using a mouse or with Krita, but I'd assume you just select a drawing tool, right click and hold on mouse, and drag the cursor to create a line

[cobalt pawn]

I agree

[eager basalt]

tbh I would recommend you to use traditional medium instead of mouse, it will be very frustrating to get it right with mouse (without stylus)

[mellow lion]

oh

i dont have that stuff

plus i dont like the touch of pape

paper*

damn

[grave parrot]

Then use chalk and a blackboard. Anything other than mouse

[mellow lion]

welp i tried

[cobalt pawn]

Just paper and a pen/ pencil! It can be notebook paper, on the back of an envelope, or really anything you can draw on

[mellow lion]

am i still able to try?

[cobalt pawn]

Ofc!!!

[mellow lion]

or should i quit while im ahead

[grave parrot]

We never quit!!!

[cobalt pawn]

Don't quit!!! Not having all the materials you think you "need" isnt something thay you should let hold you back. If you want to try, you should. Ideally use ANYTHING other than a mouse, but if that truly all you have access to, use the resources you have available

[mellow lion]

okay

[sick elk]

Finally the study group isn’t people, this is peak

[cobalt pawn]

Fr🙏

[mellow lion]

how this?

kinda like a pyramid

i think?

[cobalt pawn]

make sure to use reference!!!!!

[grave parrot]

@mellow lion Since you don't loke the feel of paper, try a drawing app on your phone. You can even make a DIY touch pen with an empty pen case, a Q-tip and som aluminium foil 😅 The Q-tip has to slightly damp, and it has to touch the foil, and the foil has to touch your hand

[mellow lion]

reference?

where do i find that

sorry im new to this

[cobalt pawn]

theres some attached to the first post here! you could also use google, pinterest, or any number of websites that provide 3d models (like practicedrawingthis.com)

[grave parrot]

Just means look at the thing you're trying to draw

[mellow lion]

i just did this by memory

[bright narwhal]

😨

[mellow lion]

is that bad?

[eager basalt]

References in pinned messages

[mellow lion]

i didnt have a copy of anything

how do i find a reference to something i just made?

[grave parrot]

Not bad really, but you learn better by looking and trying to copy

[cobalt pawn]

its not "bad" but it can slow improvement and make you draw things wrong because you think you understand them

[eager basalt]

Try to copy one of the pictures I have sent above, that's called study drawing

[mellow lion]

okay ill try

[grave parrot]

It's not supposed to be perfect. It's just to get used to shapes, because every single drawing ever can be broken down into shapes that just have been refined to look smooth. For example a human eye is roughly the shape of a rhombus

[mellow lion]

better?

woops forgot a line on the square lol

i think?

ah this is messing with my brain

does this work @cobalt pawn

[sharp tulip]

Er, what?

[grave parrot]

That's a good first attempt 🙂 Now try to study both pictures and see what you did right and wrong, then try again and again. No need to post every time, bit when you see improvement. Every time I sit down to draw, I warm up 10 minutes with some quick shapes to keep them fresh. The basics are the most important

@mellow lion

[mellow lion]

okay

[sharp tulip]

I should really participate in one of these but they keep getting posted in the middle of the night for me haha

[past elk]

I disagree

[grave parrot]

Just do it as soon as you can 😉

[eager basalt]

The deadline is in 2 weeks the posting time doesn't matter each study is 2 weeks long

So post whenever u want!

[sharp tulip]

I see, is pixel art allowed too or should it be closer to traditional?

[past elk]

A mouse is also a good alternative if you know how to use it, I often used it just to learn how to paint

[mellow lion]

i list to color

hey i know what kind of art i could do

i could be the one who colors it in

like decide on what colors go where

[eager basalt]

If you are able to work with the references posted above then you can definitely try it!!!

[mellow lion]

for other people

or would that be considered a collab

[eager basalt]

Please don't, this post is only for posting your own studies if you want to work on anything else please use #🎨・art-chat instead!

[mellow lion]

oh okay

i was just asking

sorry

my apologies ^^"

[eager basalt]

For feedback on other works I can recommend #978708583090892830 as well

[mellow lion]

okay

[past elk]

i wanna try

[eager basalt]

No worries

[eager basalt]

Go for it!

[grave parrot]

Here's my submition 🙂

Oh, phone camera turned it 😅

[sharp tulip]

Here we are, first study I actually am a part of (I might have been ignoring these xd)

My cube ended up kinda misshapen, then front is more like a perfect square in the reference but it ended up a bit warped

[cursive musk]

Guys my square looks way to flat what do I do TT

[shell sequoia]

Ehh idk low effort practice

[safe venture]

Line weight. Lines where they cast shadows should be much darker

[vernal sleet]

The cone's proportions feels off but I'm not sure, maybe it should be thinner

[hard pine]

Advice appreciated!!!

[latent timber]

I learned soo much doing this one , going to more ,

[brazen nebula]

@eager basalt what’s going on in this aria ? What’s it called ? Is there like an increase in saturation or somthing ? Like at the agges were the colors mix

Like it looks like the middle is darker and less saturated and the edges are more saturated is this correct ?

[versed pine]

I think I f,d up the proportions a bit, so advice is very much appreciated

[eager basalt]

you probably mean terminator line!
terminator is the shadow line that appear between two sources of light (in our case between blue light and yellow/orange one)
right after terminator the core shadow is starting which is not as noticeable because we have pretty strong secondary (blue) light however the shadow side is still present with other visible parts like ambient occlusion or cast shadow!

[eager basalt]

I think proportions are pretty fine however the cast shadow part is a bit too dark! there is more variation rather than one dark area so I would try to erase a bit of that to make it a bit lighter!!

[brazen nebula]

Oooo. That makes soo mutch sence !! Are thes parts the bounce light ?

[versed pine]

Alright thanks, I’m gonna edit the shadows a bit then

[eager basalt]

yes and no
this one would be considered bounce light because the other two has direct light source from the blue light!

the pinkish tones on the shapes are bounce light from the surface they are laying on

[stuck breach]

Helo

[brazen nebula]

Ooo I see !! Thanks !! On the top part I circled ther is like a reflection on to the square. Right ?

[stuck breach]

join vc

[eager basalt]

reflection on the square? not sure if I am following

[brazen nebula]

Typo not a square but this part

[versed pine]

How’s this, i made certain parts of the cast shadow a bit lighter and tried to draw a little more variation between light and dark

[eager basalt]

yep the saturated blue right below the cone (on the base of the cylinder) would be bounce light, but the light on the cone would be directly from light source!
also it's useful to notice where is the ambient occlusion happening (it's the small areas with darkest shadows because no light is reaching those areas)

[brazen nebula]

Yess thank u soo mutch !!! I have more questions wen im done with my study if u don’t mind

[eager basalt]

happy to help

[brazen nebula]

@eager basalt I feel like the colours ended up being a bit muddy? Especially on the sphere And I coudent get the texture right. It’s also difficult to know were to have hard edges and were soft ones go. Any tips ?

[eager basalt]

some minor adjustments, overall pretty good

• added saturation with airbrush, I just picked some super saturated colors and added them directly but very softly to add some more life to it, the main issue is on yellow/orange side the colors were less saturated
• notice the difference in values in bg (right side of the sphere + bottom part of the cone) sometimes the object is lighter than the bg and for better depth it's good to pay attention to these small parts
• in sphere there is clearer terminator line on the ref so I emphasised that a bit more
• for hard/soft edged 100% keep the hard edges on the overall forms and keep the soft ones for the shading that way you will keep the depth of each object and they won't mix with each other *the shadow on the cone could have been even softer looking at it now
• also for the colors - you can notice (especially on the cone) that right on the terminator line there is variation of very saturated colors (there is a term for it but I can't remember it now, will ping u once I remember xd) adding that will give you some more saturation and interesting colors!

[brazen nebula]

Aaaa yea yea thank you !!! That helps a lot !! One question. I feel like the reference is harder and less smooth. Is that cus of the wood texsture ? Or dose that have to do with edge control ?

[eager basalt]

it's because of the texture + low resolution of the photo. If you want to get more texture into it I would suggest experimenting with different brushes rather than getting it right with smooth one. I don't think it's necessary to 100% replicate the texture but it's good if you want to get more from the study! Lasso tool + textured brushes and maybe some layer settings will be your friends for this:D

[brazen nebula]

Cool !! I’ll experiment around a bit !!

[eager basalt]

have fun 🔥

[brazen nebula]

THANKS

[brazen nebula]

Ok my experimentation of texture

[jade sage]

My first time posting something here. Think it turned quite good, what do you think? Any suggestions for improvement?

[shell flume]

Idk if this is alright

[proven tulip]

n

[brazen nebula]

I’m not a professional but coud I give it a go ?

[normal stirrup]

Quick doodle, trying to get faster. 9mins and 15 secs

I got the colours WAY off lmao

And honestly everything is way off. I’m not good at replicating references

Critique and advice appreciated

[kind frost]

all i can be bothered doing, might add the material textures

holy crap i need to calibrate my tablet, it looks so bright and desaturated when i uploaded it here and looked at it on my monitor

slightly better

[woven sinew]

Does anyone have any tips when it comes to value and shading? I struggle with this a lot - it feels like I’m seeing too many values, and when I try to adjust one it throws everything else off. And I just end up chasing my tail forever, get frustrated and give up. Any advice would be appreciated

[queen onyx]

I'm not too good with shading/ lighting, that's why this study week is exactly what I've been searching too, while I'm not that good of an artist, this one I actually liked and would like to share, however, something feels off- any help/ critique is appreciated!

[eager basalt]

really nice shading!!! Cylinder base still need some adjustments but overall great work, keep it up

[eager basalt]

Hii

1. find the darkest parts in the reference and fill them out first, you don't have to use the darkest shade you can at first but it's helpful to fill them with dark enough color so you have some 'base'
2. add mid tones, make sure to watch out what shades you are using and if they are accurate to your ref!
3. use eraser for lightest part of the drawing to achieve the lightest tone but only for the lightest values, don't overuse it!

[eager basalt]

• take your time with at, 20 min at least
• watch out for proportions of each shape (which one is the biggest, which one is smallest etc.) could seem pointless now but it's good to keep it in mind for replicating refs accurately
• focus more on values rather then colors, color choice is a bit off however you are missing darker values which is bigger problem

[queen onyx]

Thanks for the critiques and help! This is SUPER appreciated and helpful! I will note this for constructing in later arts, thank you againnn

[eager basalt]

very good, only minor adjustments and u are good! adding some darker values would also help

[eager basalt]

happy to help ❤️ ❤️

[woven sinew]

thank you for the feedback, afterwards i decided to try starting with shadows first on something else, seems like a better way to start things. can i ask what youre indicating with the red lines? looks like my lines are slightly off from the reference

[eager basalt]

yeah it depends on your workflow, some people prefer filling out whole thing in mid tone and then adding darkest and lightest tones after that, depends on u!
the red lines are only for smaller corrections, the corners with little ! are a bit off so I highlighted them because overall the lines are correct

[woven sinew]

thanks so much! appreciate it ❤️

[rare tundra]

freehanding 3d shapes is so hard 😭

but i think i got it

i'd appreciate some feedback or tips besides the cone not being in the right place

[jade sage]

ofc

[jade sage]

ty very much 😄

[brazen nebula]

Yea I was just gonna say the same about darkening the values and that there are some parts with very dark shadows that u missed

[umbral cape]

i had horrendous layer management thats why everything looks so sloppy. Too annoying to fix. Atleast i know what to improve

[jade sage]

ahh i see. thank you, appriciate it. I really need to learn values, I dont quite get it and how that influences a drawing more than colours

[brazen nebula]

If u turn your refrence black and white (monochrome ) and do some simple study’s like this one in black and white u can mutch easier see the value range. Values are inportant cus they tell u somthing about the depth and clarity of a drawing. If u have muddy values they shapes tend to blend together more and the image isent as clear as it shoud be. I used to make this mistake all the time and dident understand way I dident like my drawing cus the colors were pretty but it the readability of the image was gone.

[jade sage]

ok ok, i think i have a better understanding now. I hope i can turn the screen monochrome in the drawing application if thats an option. thank you

[brazen nebula]

If u cent find it In app u can also do it in image editing in your galary. Just turn down the saturation to 0 or click on monochrome

[jade sage]

true thank u

[jade sage]

somehow the outlines of the forms turned white lol. As in the previous art study i think i could have made the colours a lil darker. Open to hear any other suggestions for improvment. thank u : D

actually thats a lot brighter than i thought T_T

[severe osprey]

:))

[tiny shoal]

felt out of my comfort zone, but happy i tried :D

[lunar coral]

@eager basalt lil bit confused about the end date, can I still join the study? or no? because a new week hasn't come out yet.

[eager basalt]

U can, I will post new study during saturday

[fast onyx]

I'm still somewhat of a new artist, can anyone tell me how should I improve this (and shadow)

[brazen nebula]

What canvas size are u using ? Is it suposed to be that pixelated?

[loud rapids]

Why is digital rendering so hard what am i doing wrong

[kind frost]

you should grey scale the reference, also id recommend toning the background as well because the background value will impact how the values of the objects will read

[fringe valley]

I struggle a lot when it comes to rendering my art can I have some tips on how to finish this? Also any other tips are welcome

[loud rapids]

oh thank youu

ur right toning the background would really help

[hot smelt]

Hello, I was wondering how a I could make the bounce light and stuff look less airbrushed on

I was mainly focused on the colouring practice, so I like some feedback on that thanks

[eager basalt]

hello, I would say it depends in what style u want to finish it. In cell shading it works pretty well as it is however if u want more realistic approach u will definitely need thinner lines and experimenting with softer brushes!

[eager basalt]

hi, nice work!!
u will definitely need smoother transitions between colors in bounce light. Currently there is a bit too harsh transition. Try to be more softer with your brush and check your values (new layer > fill it with black > set the layer setting to color = u have black and white filter to easily check your values)