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João Ferramacho
added comment inProject - Simplify from Observation
1d
Asked for help
These were my first attempts before watching the demos and the critiques. I think I may need to simplify more on the portrait.
8h
Beautiful work! I love how you simplified it, plus the accuracy and pencil control are great. Just be careful going too dark too soon -- the value scales have a good progression between each step, but when approaching the actual drawing, it seems like the first light grey starts off darker than in the scale. You're off to a great start though, I can't wait to see your future work! :)
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6d
Asked for help
Practice: Light Eggsperiments :)
4d
Great variety, lots of fun eggsperiments! :D
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6d
Asked for help
This was the hardest lesson yet but probably my favorite! I had never heard of Dave Malan before this but I fell in love with his art. I struggled to really understand what some of his lines were trying to convey but I tried to capture them as best I could.
4d
Great study, thank you for sharing this piece! I was noticing on the original that it seems like each section of hatching would start from the same direction, e.g. all the hatching for the cast shadow section under the goggles would start from the bottom upwards -- and so forth for the majority of clumps of lines. I think this is an interesting approach, as it both helps control the unity of weight in lines as they all taper in the same direction, as well as keep the separation between them clean. Definitely worth practicing!
6d
Asked for help
A very fun project for a single pear! Feel much better doing it after watching the demo, thought?
4d
Awesome job! Your second attempt shows much more control over rendering with your pencil, as well as a grasp on light vs shadow values. Great work, keep it up! :)
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5d
Asked for help
i actually really enjoy this exercise. will warm up by drawing these funky mushrooms now .. very fun!
4d
Great variations, and lots of fun! :D
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I am thrilled to begin my learning journey here with this course finally!! Same pear, soon going to try different pictures provided. The first pic is the one I did before the demo, and the second is the one after. Found myself struggling with seeing the difference between cast shadow and pear bottom where they meet, and I am still unsure if I got them right. What should I do next time I have this problem? Would like to get some advice on what to do next time I have the same struggle and some critique maybe? Thank you!
4d
Great improvement! There's definitely more control over both your medium and design. When it comes to the difference between the pear bottom and the cast shadow, this can be where your eye for simplification makes a decision for the exact point of division. Sometimes, the bottom of the object will be dark enough that it can be simplified into part of the cast shadow. I would suggest allowing the 2D shapes/values that you see have more influence on the decision rather than knowing exactly what object physically begins where and when, when it comes to simplifying values. It can even help to try this exercise with the image blurred (or by squinting your eyes), so that you get an idea for what the 2D abstracted image looks like, instead of the literal object. Hope this helps! :)
4d
It seems like your value scale has its steps very similar to one another. Try utilizing pure black as the very darkest step, with every value in between evenly spaced out. For example, the middle value would be at 50% between white and black. That way, you can work with a full range to break down the tones of the original image. Even though his skin tone is lighter, the shadows will bring certain sections almost to a pure black, so every value step will count. But you already have great simplification, you're on the right track. Keep it up, and hope this helps! :)
I think I pushed my designes to far to the simple shape I choose. I'll try again keeping it closer to the animal.
4d
I love all the different styles you tried out! It's definitely good practice to try opposite approaches like you did, like one more realistic and another more simplified/stylized, or more angular vs more curved. Keep it up! :)
12d
🙂, FUN project.
🙌Thank you Proko.
11d
Lovely work!
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13d
Asked for help
I didn't have too much trouble with the snail.
The boot however had me procrastinate for around a month.
I started with a light sketch to get the general shapes. I then began refining the lines from the laces. When I got to the "loopy" ones I got kind of overwhelmed; I took a break, and it ended up being way longer than I was expecting lol.
I think the problem is that I was focusing too much on the proportions. I wanted to get them all exactly right at first, but at least the month-long break helped me break out of this tendency, and when I got back I was able to be a little looser.
Another thing I struggled with, again mostly with the boot, is drawing from the shoulder. There were many instances where I tried to draw some small detail from the shoulder, but it came out too imprecise and I switched back to the wrist.
For these reasons I decided to watch the demo before drawing the other boot.
11d
These look amazing! It's also great that you're paying attention to how you utilize your shoulder/hand in your drawing habits. Usually when it comes to the smallest details, using your wrist/fingers is fine if you need more control -- just remember to go back to using the shoulder afterwards. But taking a look at the boot, you could also lessen the complexity & details and go even simpler. Smaller groups of curves could be simplified into one overall line, and slight curves may be even simplified into straight lines. That also ought to make the second boot more approachable and easier to get into. Hope this helps! :)
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