Hi everyone, here are my attempts at both levels prior to watching the demo videos. I feel pretty good about the pear however I think I could have used a variety of pencils to create more contrast between values, I also think I did not simplify the shapes enough for the objectives of the project. I gave the portrait a good go but I found it really difficult to draw the shapes using only straight lines! I struggled with the proportions (especially the eyes). What else could I do to improve my simplification of shapes/values? Thank you in advance!

Had a very hard time keeping sharp edges. Thank you in advance for your critiques.

Project 1, done without watching Mr Stan’s demo.   After watching the demo, I noticed two main mistakes I made when drawing my pears.   1st mistake: I used curved lines and not just straight lines. The drawing is less simplified.   2nd mistake: the line separating the light from the shadow should not always be the same thickness. I never realized that it had various thicknesses. I was already too happy to establish the terminator.   I will do the exercise level two with this new information in mind.   I am travelling all of October. Unfortunately, I will not be able to make much progress. As soon as I get back, I will be working hard. I really like the approach, the clarity, the precision and the professionalism of Mr. Stan.

Hi! Here is my drawing of level-1-pear-2 before watching the demo, I am doing this on a tablet so it was interesting trying to shade with the pressure on the tablet, also tried not using the undo instead sticking to a 50% opacity eraser

First attempt! I was uncertain on how detailed I was supposed to be and ended up not being detailed enough. I just watched the demo and have written down a lot of pointers on what I can improve for my next attempt. Very excited to give this another go!

From what I saw you guys do, the idea is to simplify the shapes of the fruit so it looks a bit geometric right? Having sharp edges extend to the shading and all. I think I need to work on my shade shapes and observation. Any tips you guys can offer? Thanks so much in advance for taking the time of critiquing!

Hi, Complete beginner here. I just started the Drawing Basics course and instead of the pear, I chose to draw guava that I had in the fridge :-) It is far from being a piece of art but hey…. Everyone needs to begin somewhere, right? All comments, advices are welcome. Have a nice day!

Draw from your shoulder! Working on your control of the pencil is the first step towards confident linework: https://www.proko.com/course-lesson/how-to-hold-and-control-your-pencil/assignments If you see you need practice on this front I recommend going through at least lesson 1 of Draw a Box, as the exercises Uncomfortable proposes really help build the mileage for confident smooth lines. Check his lesson on markmaking where he adresses chicken scratching specifically: https://drawabox.com/lesson/1/3 He also talks about drawing from your shoulder for better line control: https://drawabox.com/lesson/1/2 I'd boil it down to consciously drawing from your shoulder at a confident speed, and practicing it until it becomes second nature (which is where Draw a Box's line exercises come into place, as they mean you'll make a lot of lines focusing on confidence and precision, which can help you build the mileage needed to apply it elsewhere). Keep this in mind every time you draw and do warmups, and it should all become easier and more unconscious the more you practice (even if it might be challenging in the beginning).