The image on the right was my first attempt at dividing the light and shadow areas. As I was rendering the halftones, I lifted the shadows in a few places (especially in the beard) to simplify the value groups. 14x17" charcoal on bristol.

Every once in a while in a course, there’s a video so densely packed with information that I have to watch it several times; this was definitely one of those! I loved the concept of “rivers, lakes, and oceans” of value; instead of trying to copy what I saw, I focused on connecting areas of value and finding gesture. I chose charcoal for this piece, experimenting with shifting the lighter values toward the top of the head. I initially intended to keep the values more distinctly separated for a Level 1 exercise, but smudging with my fingers was too tempting, so I guess it ended up somewhere between Level 1 and Level 2? Next, I’ll try a couple more drawings in graphite for greater control. Overall, this was an incredibly fun assignment.

Interesting assignment!

The 5 min one really makes you prioritize things, I enjoyed this! I'll probably try this again with a longer free study, my initial one was around 30 min.

A bit late with this assignment, but it was really fun.

A very fun assignment! Those cracks and stones really add something to it.

My truck, used some reference from Dune, but I think I went bit too much on grays, lost too much color I think.

My week 2 gestures.

Staedtler 4b