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58m
It's a cool composition! I like the idea you have using the hat's holes to bring in rays of light as an effect framing his face. I think for the blade to pop more, I would scale up the hand + blade together and move it towards the right, where more of the blade can be seen. This will push the foreshortening and set it further apart from the rest of the image. I would also suggest adding light bouncing off the edge of the blade, which you can do just with a soft large airbrush lightly over the edge with white.
As for rendering, what I would suggest is to work large rather than small. What I mean is that, instead of zooming closely into the canvas and focusing on small details, try to remain in full view of the image, where you can make larger decisions over the entire canvas. This helps you find a solid structure for all the elements in your picture first. I would especially recommend to start by grouping your areas of shadow and light, as this will be key to clarity and composition as you continue to render. You'll find often that details will need to remain simplified due to light and shadow, otherwise it may break the illusion of the 3D setting or overwhelm the composition. So even after you start adding details, continuously returning to check the picture as a whole will help keep you on track.
If there are any artists/specific styles you are seeking to learn from/emulate, feel free to share, too. It always helps to get an idea of what your goals are as an artist :)
7h
Asked for help
I know there's no way I could draw like Charles Gibson, but I really admire how he organized the 'flow' of the lady's hair. You can almost feel the thickness and softness of it.
2h
Nicely done--definitely good practice for thick to thin line weight!
3d
I post my Master study from a book anatomy draw from Matt Smith.
1d
I think something that's interesting about Matt Smith's drawing is how he organizes his main shapes through line weight, which makes sense given his purpose is to communicate the forms of anatomy. You'll notice the darkest outlines surround specific shapes in a way that divides them into clear groups, like the pec/serratus/oblique group, the latissimus dorsi shape, and abs shape. Only afterwards will he bring in smaller details and shapes with light line weight. It helps give clarity and unity to his drawings and is definitely worth studying.
6d
Asked for help
First attempt on procreate before watching the demo. Not sure if shading is required so didn't do it.
1d
You're good, no shading is required--the focus is on the line for this assignment :)
I think you captured the light and shadow in your 2nd image quite nicely, it definitely gives the drawing depth and value. For the first one, I notice you are applying a difference in weight between larger outlines and smaller details, which is on the right track, but I think you can push this a bit more. A majority of the lines right now are on the heavier side, so they all compete against each other, but bringing in a middle weight and more light lines can help balance it out. I would generally recommend using the heaviest lines mostly for the outside contour, with middle and light weights for the inside. Though it's not a concrete rule and moreso a guideline, this can help you organize the drawing and give the subject more unity and clarity.
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2d
Asked for help
Level 2 version. I've had great fun with lines drawing these, and I kept wondering what I can potentially achieve with more knowledge and practice! The possibilities look breathtaking, and at the same time I can't believe how much I have improved already, only just with the very basic knowledge about lines that I learned in this course.
1d
The rocks look great! It's a difficult subject matter to not get lost in, but your line weight decisions definitely give it clarity and depth :) For your rhino, I'm assuming your new light source is coming from the bottom left? If so, some shadow would be seen around the right nostril area as its facing the opposite direction, but that's a bit of a nitpick--great work overall :D
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Here is my submission for the drawing from imagination assignment. The rough sketches and reference photos are also included. I spent a lot of time trying to work out an interesting pose without losing the distinct characteristics of the boar's body. The first couple of attempts ending up looking more like a bull than a boar.
1d
Great explorations! I like the variety of angles you practiced and the consistent gestural and fluid quality throughout--you definitely succeeded with the poses. Something I notice in the boar are its teeny beady eyes and your stylization of them into something more expressive. I think it's something you can continue to play around with, especially since eyes are one of the most important features for character, to explore different outcomes that can push the design even further. So you could try exaggerating them into something bigger and angrier, maybe even cartoonishly so, or push them in proportion towards something small, together, and high up in its face, for example. There are endless possibilities, so I hope this helps give you some more ideas to try out :)
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I might have deviated a bit from the project goal here, but at least I had fun doing it :)
1d
Hey, it looks great! I love how you incorporated all the different references into a cool moment in action with a dynamic pose. It even feels ready to be polished as an illustration of its own, though even as a sketch it still feels complete. Awesome job :D
1d
I like the looseness you are getting into your sketching line quality, very well done and in the spirit of the assignment, though I would suggest keeping your lines lighter when they are looser, and using a dark line only until the end when you have found a more exact line that you want to use to finalize the drawing. This way, less lines are competing against each other and there's more clarity to the final sketch. I also see that you're breaking the reference down into larger sections before going into the details, and I think you can take this a bit further by breaking it down into entire shapes, like drawing a rectangle for the VR girl's torso or a circle for the penguin's head. This can add more stability and structure as you lay the foundation for your drawing. Hope this helps!
Asked for help
This is definitely the project that I had the most trouble with by far. I don't think I did really good, though at this point I can at least say what I have looks kinda decent. Either way I hope you like it. Any critiques, comments, and feedback is appreciated.
1d
It seems like there's more focus on sections of details at a time, where you could benefit from taking more time with the big, simple shapes that make up the penguin first. With just the main shapes, you can take a look at your drawing, especially a bit from afar to see the big picture, to check if it's starting to match your reference, before even going into final details, and make any early corrections. It will also help give you more practice with big, sweeping strokes for your line work. Instead of drawing small strokes to make up a larger line, try going for the full stroke in one motion. Even if it's not quite right, you can always try it again drawing lightly, and once you find the correct line, finalize it with a darker stroke. Hope this helps, you got this! :)
5d
Asked for help
First attempt, I have a hard time with clean lines and not pushing too hard on the paper
1d
As someone who also has a naturally heavy hand in drawing, I definitely relate to the struggle 😅 It does take some conscious practice to have more control over pressure, but continuing with line warm-up exercises is definitely on the right path: https://www.proko.com/s/sNxz Especially try out page skating using change in pressure from heavy to light, and the light, medium, and dark lines exercise. But also, with the CSI assignment, having perfectly clean lines is not something to worry as much over. In fact, it can help more to start with a very light (rough) outline, and once you find the right line, you can go over it once more with a darker stroke to give it more clarity.
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4d
Asked for help
This is my first attempt at these. I did them before watching the demo’s. I found it challenging to remember drawing CSI lines. I keep finding myself falling into detail. Anyway lots of room for improvement but I’m fairly happy with the first attempt. Comments welcome.
1d
Pretty good overall! I do notice a tendency of sticking more to curves, which gives the appearance of complexity and detail. Try finding areas where you can bring in more straights, especially in the smaller shapes where complexity may not be as necessary.
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From left to right: first, second and third try. After the first one I watched the demo from Proko to try to see what I could improve in the next pears. I'm having a lot of difficulty trying to increase the contrast and controlling the pencils is indeed hard holding with the tripod method for shading, I'm using 2H, HB, 2B, 4B, 6B and 8B.
In the third one I TRIED to do 3 values for shadow and 2 for light, trying to use the darker value to the "floor" to see how it would translate, but yeah, I don't know if it ended up better or worse. lol
Feedback is always appreciated! Going to try the portrait now.
1d
It can take some time getting used to a new grip, but your results are already showing consistency and control, so keep going :) I do want to mention to watch out for the difference in value between the steps, as some halftones can get too close to each other rather than maintaining an even distance in value. For example in the third pear, the jump between the 2nd and 3rd darkest values could benefit from distribution across values 2, 3, and even a bit of 4.
As for trying with 3 shadow values and 2 light, I think it's a great method of practice to gain new insight and perspective. If you want to try it again, a way to approach it would be to use two values for the shadow side on the pear (one for the lighter shadow area and one for the core shadow) plus the 3rd shadow value for the floor. This way, all three shadow values would be on the same side of the terminator (the line that divides shadow and light groups).
Hope this helps! Great work overall, you got this :)
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1d
There's a good illusion of three-dimensionality. I think you can further push this by bringing in a clear scale of 5 values, as right now I can only really see 3 distinct value steps. It seems like the reference has more values in the shadow than the light (though it may be in part due to the camera, so cross reference with your first-hand observation) so a good breakup would be two values for the light--one for the main area of light and another for the brightest highlight--and three for the shadow side. You're definitely on the right track though, so you got this!
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3d
Some more two value studies, which is the theme this week.
BTW, I'll be leading a drawing group on two value studies at the Combat Art Studio at the National Museum of the Marine Corps at Quantico VA on 9 Dec at 10:00 am. It's open to the public and free. If you are in the DC area and want to join us, the more the merrier.
1d
Great work!
2d
Asked for help
My first attempt. It looks good in a general sense, but it feels stiff some reason. Any advice is welcome.
1d
Hey there! Something to keep an eye out for, especially when your drawings are feeling stiff, is to watch the angles that are being created by the figure's pose and the lines themselves. So if there are many parallel lines going horizontal, that could create a very sturdy or stiff feeling, whereas bringing in a change of angles could bring in a more dynamic quality. Hope this helps!
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2d
Cool scenarios!
2d
Asked for help
Hey, here's my first attempt to the pear assignment! I would appreciate any critiques :)
2d
Nice work :) I might just suggest bringing in the highlight seen at around the middle of the pear, where the pear's bottom curve starts. This can help bring in some more dimension and description to the pear's shape. I would also recommend removing the outline between group shapes, as this border can break up a bit of the 3D illusion.
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2d
Asked for help
First attempt is the graphite one, second the one with no background and third one the one with background. I used the three provided photos in order. The first two were done before watching the demo, the last one after the demo.
This project was fun, it was also the first time I drew digitally (clip studio paint) and I'm loving this program's brushes. After watching the critique video I found some improvement opportunities myself, but I'd love any critiques, even if just to confirm what I annotated.
I know I used colour but it's the same shade of green in 4 different values, I just couldn't resist taking advantage of having exact colour choices with drawing digitally.
2d
Looks great! There is good improvement and self-correction between each step :) In the graphite one, the midtones do start to get a bit blurred together, so if you decide to return to traditional, it's something to keep an eye out for. In the second one, the shapes get a bit complex, but by the final pear, it's definitely on the right track. Overall good work!
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2d
Asked for help
I really struggled with this one. I kept on pitching at it but never felt like I was doing a good job of replicating someone else's lines. The Karl Kosinski one at the end is unfinished- I tried using a brush pen and ran out of ink!
2d
Hey! Good job taking a look at line weight variation, it really does add a dynamic quality and volume to drawings. With the Rembrandt piece, another key element that I admire is how he maximizes the potential of every stroke, and this is something useful to emulate. Using a few key lines with variety in weight, he places them to create a rhythm and flow throughout the image that helps it feel complete.
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A tangerine. Some discrepancies in lights and shadow 'cause I took the photo with my phone but drew it just by looking at the fruit. Enjoyble, but couldn't make it look like a tangerine if it weren't for the stem (if it looks like...). Feedback is appreciated. Sorry for my english and the low quality photos.
8d
Hey there! Nice rendering, it looks very smooth and consistent, and good simplification of shapes. It's great that you're labelling the different types of tones as well :)
I would like to mention that when approaching shading, it's helpful to first think about the two overarching groups: shadow and light. If you squint at or blur the photo, you'll notice that the shadow area is a distinct shape from the light with a clear line of division. So anything on the side of shadow is darker than anything in the area of light, including the halftones. While the current dark halftone area closest to the ground is lighter than the rest of the shadow, it would be darker than the current version to still be part of the shadow group. One way to change this would be to shade it as the current tone of the "light shadow" and combine the rest of the shadow into the "dark shadow" tone, so you can still see that change of value on the tangerine. Or you could instead combine the dark halftone into the group of light shadow instead, to separate the tangerine and the ground shadows--it's up to you and your first-hand observation.
Hope this helps! :)
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