So, due to my Maui vacation, I missed two of the three classes where the teacher actually went over perspective in class. Still, I’ve had a good understanding of perspective since elementary school, so I was able to understand what he was teaching by looking at the other students drawings. The only difficulty was the “busy work” that took up all of my weekend with doing careful drawing after careful drawing. We also had a “final” basic perspective drawing that was due today that combined the elements that we learned from the other assignments. (For those of you paying attention, this means that I did the final assignment that comprised what I learned from the other assignments before I began the other assignments, since its deadline had not yet passed and was thus the most important, temporally.) About half an hour before the end of class last Wednesday the teacher advised us that he would like to see shading on the “final” drawing, and ran through about 5 minutes “teaching” shading. He said we wouldn’t be graded on our shading. We should begin actually learning how to do shading in two or three weeks.
So, I did the perspective work, no problem. I was very careful to have a clean drawing with no smudges or unintended marks on the page, which can be quite difficult when working with a giant triangle and T-square resting on your drawing the whole time. I went over everything more than once, with increasingly soft leaded pencils, so that I could remove any early mistakes and only emphasize the lines that were good. Then I timidly followed his basic shading instructions, not wanting to make my 6-8 hours of careful perspective work to be ruined by my untrained inability to shade.
Today in class, we all hung our thumbnail drawings and final drawings on the wall and had to discuss what we had trouble with, and what we didn’t like about our own drawings, and then the rest of the class would try to find something they liked. Due to random selection of the side of the wall to start with, my drawing was next to last, and I got to hear the teacher spend most of his comments focusing on people’s shading. My blood pressure was rising, my mouth becoming dry, my heart racing as every new thing someone could have done better was something I saw in my own work, often by design. Had I made all the wrong choices going in? Was I supposed to somehow teaach myself proper shading in my “spare time“? One or two comments about perspective or composition came from the teacher, but even the comments about composition seemed to be attacking my use of negative space! I wasn’ sure I’d be able to open my mouth when it got to me. He even made jokes about some people’s circles not being round, something I feel I have particular trouble with, right after not being able to draw a straight line.
We finally got to my drawing after over 85 minutes of drawn out discussion, where even the most impressively-shaded drawings were getting negative feedback about their shading. I said I had tried to emphasize negative space and that I had tried to de-emphasize shading to focus on the perspective work and composition. I pointed out that I had one round sphere, but that I have a lot of trouble making circles round. I pointed out something that I had actually thought I could have done better, and then the teacher started by saying that he really liked that part of it. He was impressed by the roundness of my circle, and thought I had real control of perspective. He even said that I had a good grasp on the beginnings of shading, but that I should go back through and darken it up. The only thing he said I could work on was that it didn’t make him feel dizzy enough.
That was it, he moved on. One other student started to say that the shapes were too crowded, but when he walked up to it to point at where it was too crowded and could see it better, he stopped himself. I don’t know what feels worse; the anticipation of getting negative feedback or not getting any real feedback. Every other student had 5-10 minutes spent on their drawing. A couple that came after mine were even compared to mine (“Try to get a feeling for light vs. dark when shading, like Teel’s here.”) during the process. I get almost nothing. “Keep up the good work.” “Try a little harder on the stuff you haven’t learned yet, but are still good at.” It frustrates me.
It frustrates me because I paid $420 tuition for this class, plus most of the $350 I’ve spent so far on supplies has been for this class. If I’m just going to be told to draw without being taught to draw, then is it worth it? Another year and I should be in Painting I, which is where I want to be. I have to get through this semester, then an entire semester of “Color” and “3D Design“. Oh, and I have to find a job (or two) that I can do at the same time I’m taking classes, that pays enough to cover living expenses and classes. Which at these prices and at this rate of classes, raises what I need to earn per hour by almost $0.74, to $13.36/hr. Crap.
Perspective is one of the areas I need to get a better grasp on. At least when it comes to anything besides humans floating in a void. I am probably going to pick up a Haedler Rule to help with this. Since so much of Darwin’s Complex happens in environments other than big white voids, I feel it is important to focus on getting better at this. Drawing a room properly, with lighting and shading happening properly based on the light sources in the room, is going to be something I do a lot of.
So, anything you learn along those lines you’d like to share with the class would be great and dandy. If you’d like, you can give feedback on my work, then live vicariously through that.
Or, try to emulate or anticipate the mistakes the other students will make so you can get similar feedback to them.
Perspective is one of the areas I need to get a better grasp on. At least when it comes to anything besides humans floating in a void. I am probably going to pick up a Haedler Rule to help with this. Since so much of Darwin’s Complex happens in environments other than big white voids, I feel it is important to focus on getting better at this. Drawing a room properly, with lighting and shading happening properly based on the light sources in the room, is going to be something I do a lot of.
So, anything you learn along those lines you’d like to share with the class would be great and dandy. If you’d like, you can give feedback on my work, then live vicariously through that.
Or, try to emulate or anticipate the mistakes the other students will make so you can get similar feedback to them.
Or accept the fact that you are doing busy work to get to what you want, even though you already have the requisite skill.
Like when I go to cooking school and have to spend a semester learning what a skillet is…
Or accept the fact that you are doing busy work to get to what you want, even though you already have the requisite skill.
Like when I go to cooking school and have to spend a semester learning what a skillet is…
If it takes them a semester to teach you what a skillet is, you’re going to the wrong cooking school. Or you have ridiculously stupid classmates.
Still, I understand. I didn’t say I was quitting. I can be very committed to something, through thick and thin. This happens to be a point where the work is thick and the learning is thin. …
The rest of this comment is here.
If it takes them a semester to teach you what a skillet is, you’re going to the wrong cooking school. Or you have ridiculously stupid classmates.
Still, I understand. I didn’t say I was quitting. I can be very committed to something, through thick and thin. This happens to be a point where the work is thick and the learning is thin. …
The rest of this comment is here.
Observation, take it or leave it:
You picked apart your drawing so much before the teacher gave any feedback that he didn’t want to send you over the edge so to speak. You already knew what was wrong with it before anyone said anything, so why say it? You did get feedback, it was just in your own head, and you might not have seen it as clearly if you were not in the class listening to other people’s comments. I understand what it is like to want feedback and not get any, but sometimes we already know what’s wrong so we don’t actually need someone else to say it.
Observation, take it or leave it:
You picked apart your drawing so much before the teacher gave any feedback that he didn’t want to send you over the edge so to speak. You already knew what was wrong with it before anyone said anything, so why say it? You did get feedback, it was just in your own head, and you might not have seen it as clearly if you were not in the class listening to other people’s comments. I understand what it is like to want feedback and not get any, but sometimes we already know what’s wrong so we don’t actually need someone else to say it.
Hummmm….could be you did it well and the teacher said so. Many of your paintings involve perspective and have for many years so you should be good at it by now. I see your report of what the teacher said as confirmation of your success.
As for allready knowing things being taught I think that makes it easier to do the home work. Hummm seems like I have said that in the past…
Anyway you have too ride ride your bike to get to the place you want to be – you have to take these classes to get to the ones you want.
Hummmm….could be you did it well and the teacher said so. Many of your paintings involve perspective and have for many years so you should be good at it by now. I see your report of what the teacher said as confirmation of your success.
As for allready knowing things being taught I think that makes it easier to do the home work. Hummm seems like I have said that in the past…
Anyway you have too ride ride your bike to get to the place you want to be – you have to take these classes to get to the ones you want.