Ive been trying to apply everything I've learned so far, from sketching from observation to proportions to a bit of line weight (which I should continue to work on). I have definitely seen improvements, yet I cant shake away from scratching drawings. I've tried everyones advice on drawing lighter but it still ends up looking scratchy by the time I'm done with drawing. I also dont really sharpen my lead during a drawing, so that could be one factor (of many). For the people who struggled with this, how long did it take you to overcome?

Hello everyone, I just finished up the level 1 level one exercise, and I’ll say that I had a pretty hard time adding edges into the pear as I’m personally more or less used to blending everything together with my knowledge before. But other then that my shade work has a long way to go. I think the line work for the pear seemed good though. Let me know what anybody else thinks here, I would appreciate any type of feedback from the community.

Hello ! I just finished the biggest portrait I have ever made. But I really struggled with the values. The darkest value from my graphite pencil is much lighter than the darkest from my charcoal. I think I didn’t go dark enough, like around the eyes, but if I used charcoal it would’ve been too dark. Maybe it!s just me tough. What do you think? I also tried my best to make she shadows look interesting but I’m not sure if I succeeded. Do you have any type of pen you’d recommend? Any critique about the portrait is also welcomed! Thanks for reading and have nice one ;)

Hi everyone, I’ve just signed up to the Drawing Basics Course and thought it would be fun to learn alongside a few other beginners. I’m looking to form a small friendly group where we can encourage each other to keep practicing, ask questions, stay motivated and share our weekly exercises and progress. No pressure or judgement- just enjoying learning together. Maybe looking to post one exercise each week - not sure if that’s the usual thing. If you’re interested let me know where you’re from (I’m in Dorset UK), whether you are a beginner etc. If enough people are interested, we could keep everything on Proko or later try WhatsApp. looking forward to meeting some fellow wannabe artists! Lia 🇬🇧

Hi everyone! I put together this compilation sheet isolating the individual anatomy of the human face (eye, nose, lips, and ear) using graphite and a blending stump on paper.I am looking for feedback on my local value ranges—specifically, whether each separate feature carries a consistent sense of 3D depth and light logic when viewed together on the same page. And please also let me know what you think about my layout and composition as well as the general artwork!

Charcoal on Paper. A technical study in extreme value transitions and high-contrast atmospheric lighting. This piece explores the delicate application of loose charcoal to create soft, seamless skin midtones, heavily juxtaposed against rich, velvety pure charcoal blacks defining the dense texture of curly hair, beard stubble, and structural facial contours. I am seeking feedback on my edge control—specifically, whether my midtones along the facial planes are transitioning smoothly or starting to turn muddy under the light source. Reference photo is attached!

I'm doing Proko's Portrait course, trying to go in open minded with no assumptions but it's proving tricky. So far I have just covered the videos on the Loomis method. Are the drawing exercises meant to be done of random heads (minus features) from your imagination, say, just a featureless head pointing in random directions? That might be where I am going wrong. I think I find the size/shape of the chin tricky as well. I know my drawings aren't great, they'll need repetition. I would just appreciate being told anything glaringly obvious, with respect to the course that I am following. Lastly, is it ok if I keep updating this thread as I progress through the course?

Do you guys think the perspective is right?

I just visited the art center where I will begin a class format mentorship program on July 10th. And let's just get to the point. I'm terrified. Haha They were very nice, but I started sweating and stammering and they seemed to think my questions were weird. They kindly called them philosophical, but from their faces, you could tell they meant weird. :P The class is open and the mentor is going to walk around and offer assistance on whatever you're working on. I would be much more comfortable continuing to pursue this in the safety of my basement studio only sharing this with people I will likely never see, but I know that being in a room with better artists and having a strong feedback loop will be incredibly helpful for my growth. Anyone else deal with similar feelings in these situations and how have you coped with them?

Hi! I’m an artist from Japan, and like in my previous post, I want to use gesture, rhythm, and force in anime-style illustrations. The original reference photos have fairly straight and subtle poses, without much exaggeration in the body lines. I tried to find the rhythm and force in these quiet poses and translate them into anime-style characters. I’m still not used to doing gesture studies with clothed figures. This time, I would like advice mainly on how to approach drawing clothed figures from gesture, rather than whether I added too many details. Should I first draw a simple gesture and body construction under the clothes? How can I keep the gesture readable after adding the clothing? I used a translation tool. I’m Japanese and not very familiar with English, so simple English would be very helpful. Thank you! https://x.com/rugootkm/status/1297532942877487104?s=20

Finally got brave enough to draw the pear this morning. Time to follow along now.

I’m not sure I improved much. Definitely noticing more that I have very little control over my lines. But here it is. Photo, attempt 1 (before demo), and attempt 2 (after demo).

I'm not a huge fan of a lot of Degas' paintings, but holy smokes, this guy could draw. MASTER study indeed. The rendering in this figure was quite difficult for me to manage, especially because I refuse to use anything lighter than a 3b pencil haha. So I messed up the head a bit and the scapula, and the natural accuracy issues that crop up irk me to no end, but overall not too bad an effort. I'm willing to chalk this in the win column, and a valuable learning experience. After figuring out I could smudge and erase in order to get those super subtle halftones, it went a bit easier. Even though in the original he clearly used hatching with a lighter grade of graphite. The edge work and control in the original is also insane. Absolutely phenomenal. So many passages dance between soft and firm, hard and nearly lost, thick line, thin line... I really tried to pay attention to the variety and replicate it. Again, hard to be subtle with a heavy hand and dark pencil, but I think I can also consider that a win. Below is my progression. Original, my block-in side-by-side for reference, a more nuanced block-in/shadow map (I actually started over with this on a second page), and the final render. Let me know what you think, Proko dot com people! How could I have done better, except be less obstinate and use proper tools haha?

I struggled mightily with this one, and I’m not sure I followed the spirit of the assignment. I tried to be rough and not do details but I definitely did more than I should, which made for kind of messy drawings.

I forgot to post my pear before I watched the demo and made some adjustments to it, but here it is. Then I watched the demo for the portrait and decided to try that as well. I managed to age this poor lady by at least 20 years. 😆 Interesting exercise!

How do you guys simplify a tiger head? I tried with boxes and sphere but neither seems working for me...

So I am trying this class again after a false start a few years ago. Did the first assignment with Pear #3. First I didn’t quite get the 5 shade range idea, but after the demo I understood and tried again. Below, you’ll see the source image, attempt 1, and attempt 2. Did I do better? Where can I improve?

I drew the snail. This is pre-watching the demo. I’ll give that a try tomorrow.

In my recent dive into the "basics" of figure drawing, I've discovered two things so far that I'd like to share. One, the "basics" can sometimes be the most esoteric, abstract, and introspective portion of the whole drawing process. Something I was not expecting, but in hindsight makes sense. So to you beginners out there in this stage: don't despair! The rule of simplicity not necessarily meaning something is easy is completely true in this case. You starting with the "basics" are actually starting with some of the hardest concepts in all of art. Stick with it, and you can do anything! The "real" stuff will be easy compared to this. If learning to draw can be compared to learning a language, then basic lines are the words we might find in our translation dictionary. Lines by themselves are easy because they can be equaled to one another. They lend themselves to comparison, to logic. Lines are practical. This line is accurate or not, or it's misplaced, or too light, too dark, compared to our reference or teacher's demo... Whatever. But it's the arrangement of these words of art via things like gesture and value and line weight and shapes; all those "basic" concepts are like learning the grammar/sentence structure. It's the abstract part of it that is required to actually converse. Nothing practical to be found! You just have to learn how to make sentences that make sense. And it requires reframing your mind. A word may more or less equal another word in two different languages in isolation, but in the context of a sentence, that word may totally change its meaning. This is the nuance of drawing fundamentals. Our comprehension of these topics relies on our ability to accept thinking that isn't logical, but is much deeper. Anyone who has learned a second language knows that you can't really speak fluently until you can start thinking in it. And that's what this stuff is. Anyone can look up one word in the dictionary and find the equivalent in another language. They can communicate, sure. But you cannot truly understand, cannot express yourself, until you can put those words into a greater context of speaking (sentences). This is the value of learning these pesky "basics!" You must understand them if you are to fully express your art. The other thing I've learned is that spending at least a couple weeks really hammering a single field of study (especially one you consider yourself weak in) can do wonders. I've done nothing but quicksketch/gesture/timed figure drawings for a good while now and it's been super informative. I've left an example of a rather successful recent 5 min. quicksketch figure I did as proof of my improvement. Still plenty of rough stuff, but the good ones seem to be getting better and coming out more frequently. Thanks for all the tips there, everyone! So, I'm continuing my study by moving past the gesture/quicksketch phase and more into the block-in phase. This is something I'm more comfortable with, so I probably won't spend so much time here. A few drawings should suffice. My focus will be accuracy, in particular with as broad/simple shapes as possible. If my first few lines don't look like what I'm referencing already, without anything else, then I've done it wrong. This is called "the envelope" for those who have studied sight-size, Bargue, etc. I plan on doing a fully rendered study of this Edgar Degas drawing soon, but for now I've tried to get my block-in as accurate as possible as a dedicated exercise. There are a few mistakes I see that need fixing, but I can do that as I go. Thank you for reading my ramblings. Maybe they can be helpful to someone else out there. Find peace with "the basics" dun dun duuunnnnnnnn and you can find peace in any aspect of art.

Hello everyone I have a question is that i to draw in tintin herge style, anime style,flintstone style,ben 10 style and semi-realistic style and since my goal is to draw in that particular style and not to draw in realistic anatomy style then why should I spend time in learning real human anatomy and I am confused in it please shed light on it and end my confusion pleaseeeee!!!!! *Is it necessary to learn real human anatomy to be able to draw in the tintin herge style, anime style, flintstone style,ben10 style and semi-realistic style!!!!!!!