This assignment made me realize that years of art school did not sufficiently prepare me to be good at this one fundamental concept. By the second pear, I was excited to see the results because I felt like I had a consistent process in considering all of the forms. Once I got into the portrait, however, I struggled to design simple shapes while keeping proportions and perspective. I failed in simplification because I fell back into just drawing what I saw instead of laying down a replicable foundation of guidelines. I need to break the habit of symbolizing facial features into what I have seen other artists do and simplify them my way. I'll watch the critique videos now and see what I can apply. I wish I would have signed up for the class when it was live!

Draw along. Shapes are a cheat code for drawing something you can't see. I can't believe I went this long without really thinking about them. It's essential for communicating clearly.

I have found that draw a box is a great supplement to the beginner course!