I think they look great! Maybe the brush stroke shape could be more definitive, since your style is very graphic. Right now they look like you just put a stroke down and the shape is whatever the brush shape is, without much of your thought and control. Other than that I love the colors and the facial structure.

The rule mentioned by Robertson and others is a rule of thumb. It is not mathematically correct. However, it is the only practical guideline known to mankind, so let's stick to it...

Oh wow! You did a really good job I think! As for cool/warm tone regions, for now I think basically it's for shadow and lit areas, and actually it's quite free, you don't need to rule that down very precisely. From the original image you can actually see the warm light source and the reflected warm light on the body, indicating it's probably from a warm blanket underneath or something, while the feet are largely cooler.

Thanks everybody for the insights. - Philipp

To me your drawing feels a bit long and thin. Especially in the upper torso. Also the arm feels a bit long, even though I didn't check your drawing by measuring the proportions. Additionally I would lengthen the back of the head a bit and lower the ear. Other than that great job on the lay in. - Philipp

Hi David, the paper has great influence on the textural outcome of the shading. I believe the Strathmore 400 series has a quite toothy texture which propably shows in your shading. Maybe try a smoother paper and check if you can achieve a less textured appearance of your drawing. For graphite maybe try Canson Mi-Teintes and for charcoal Fabriano Roma or a hotpressed watercolor paper. Other than that I really like your drawing. - Philipp

what you can improve is the shading, use the side of the pencil, remember to sharpen it proko has a video on youtube that can help you "how to shade a drawing"

Just picked this book up so I flipped through to find the pic! Echoing others here I really like what you've done in the torso area, strong indication of form and good shading there. As others have provided more comprehensive advice I might say that the back foot could use some work in the initial shape design. The overall form of the foot should widen more as it goes from top to bottom and you could afford to exaggerate the splay of the toes a bit to enhance the impression of the force she is placing on that foot. Proko's foot videos would do a much better job than me of explaining in more detail. The foot thing might sound nit-picky but its an important part of what makes the pose dynamic as it supports the extreme diagonal nature of the pose.

This is awesome Philipp. Really strong proportions, and gesture. It's definitely a study to be proud of. What I would say is is widen your value range. The entire drawing right now is mid range with no darks. What that does is cause the eye to wonder around your entire drawing. It's correct, and well done but the lack of variety value prevents the drawing from having an visual hierarchy. With out that, it seems like the legs are as important as the feet. In a lecture I saw by Iain Mccaig, he said "The secret to drawing and the secret to life are the same thing: Contrast. Without dark, you don't have light, and without that contrast you don't know what to look at because it's all the same. Without sadness, happiness is boring because you don't have anything to compare it to." In school, I learned that art as a skill is all about relative relationships. Dark vs light, sharp edges vs soft edges, corners vs curves ect... And getting better is all about juggling those relationships. Also, careful of the shoulders, the angle of the breasts make it seem like her shoulder is way further down than it should be. If I were you, I'd invent an arm or something to give a better implication on where that should is. Hope this helps, and keep up the good work -Kristian

Very nice! I like the abs. Allthough as Gabriel Kahn said, you could exercise a bit more your core shadows making them consistent with the ambient, and the core shadow transition to shadows and reflected light, to make the values more realistic. You should check out Stephen Bauman for some tips on shadows. Keep it up the good work!

Great work mate! I really like your shapes. The biggest problem that I see right now is the inconsistency of the shadows (on her head the shadows are stronger than the ambient occlusion which is not going to happen in real life, I'm pretty sure). Other than that maybe try to strengthen the value of the core shadows and soften their edges more. Wonderful job! Keep it up! :)

Hi, I think I've browsed this book a few times & liked it a lot! Isn't it the one where he says that what changed everything for him was when a teacher told him that he was a digital artist because he drew like he didn't had a purpose? That citation marked me! I think your drawing looks great (I beleive the finished one is the firsty one?). A few things I noticed though I'm not sure I would have done this well: + I would think the cast shadow on her right tigh should be darker, considering you have other darker core shadows? not sure + the stool seems flat with a uniform tone (with drapery I guess?): It's hard to see her sit on it + the core shadow on her right tibia could use some more refining I guess

Hey Marta! Great study! I can't tell without looking at the reference, but it seems like the likeness is spot on! What I would say stands out to me most is it feels flat. The eyes and nose don't feel like one is further than the other, the hair feels like it doesn't have any form to it, and the neck feels like it's more of a box rather than a cylinder. What I would say is to define a singular light source, and commit to it. It's extremely difficult to create form if you don't know where your light is coming from. @Marco Bucci has a great episode on Proko where he goes through the ins and outs of drawing the head from imagination. He breaks down the planes, and how light falls onto form. Painting the Head from Imagination - Lighting without Reference with Marco Bucci Hope this helps and good luck!

some of my early works, still long way to go. open to everyone's critique

Finally bringing all the torso bones together:D, here is todays practice, if you see any errors please tell me, so I can improve faster