I'm obsessed. I admit it. There's nothing I want more right now than to execute a quick sketch session and not feel like a complete amateur when I'm done. It's... a process. And I feel like only one out of maybe forty drawings comes out with any semblance of decency. The rest of the time I'm beating my head against the wall. It's driving me crazy, haha. But I'm trying. I think there's improvement in my ability to spot proportions and angles better. Five minutes still feels impossible, but my gesture continues to improve with those shorter times at least. I think. Below I've attached a couple tens that aren't complete garbage. Seems to be my sweet spot at the moment. I'm trying to push to make full figures, but damn, is it difficult. Those of you out there who are getting good but feeling stagnant should give the Watts method of quick sketch figure drawing an earnest try. If you haven't really studied it before, it'll knock you out. If you're a beginner... I'd say give it a go, but get ready to get frustrated, haha.

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 ;)

Hello! I recently completed this portrait of Davy Jones from Pirates of the Caribbean. I took a different approach on rendering then what I’d typically do. Please let me know what you guys think, and where it could improve. Thanks!

Do you guys think the perspective is right?

Hi all! Started learning to draw about 2 months back now, at 42! I'd always thought artistic talent was an innate thing. Many of my family actually have it, but not something I ever seemed to be able to do (even stick men were hard!) Hearing that anyone could learn given time, and it's actually quite a logical process appealed to my programmer brain and... Here I am, although still sceptical I'll get there! I'm enjoying the beginner course at the moment - ultimately id love to be able to draw fantasy and sci Fi creatures/characters but that's.. a LONG way off. Reaching out as I think I feel pretty isolated at the minute. it's hard to get critiques/advice working online, which is a missed opportunity given the wealth of amazing artists on here. I think that'd help me improve, and keep on track. Currently on the perspective section of the beginner course, about to start heads eek. Really would appreciate any advice/words of wisdom/reassurance etc. current pictures should be in profile if anyone wants to look/poke. Quality is so up and down on different days! Absolute novice. At least drawing accurate tapered lines is getting much easier in *warm ups* but never seems to translate to my drawings. Hoping that's a time/mileage thing and if I just keep practicing techniques it'll come, but it's a source of sadness seeing all these loose sketchy drawings! Ha. Anyway just wanted to see if I can integrate into the community more! Thanks in advance for reading.

I recently completed this figure drawing in charcoal. I was hoping I could get some feedback and opinions/suggestions on where I could improve please. Thanks!

Here are some of my portrait studies. I was hoping to get suggestions on what I should be working on? Like should I go over nose construction or do more line practice? I still do some fundamental exercises but I want to know if someone can point me at the right direction or have some video/ YouTuber recommendations.

These are some digital drawings I have made recently. I have been doing something new with my line work where I am trying to keep the inner lines thinner and lighter in value, and keeping the lines around the focal point dark and thick (along with the outline). I've started doing this because I am trying to structure my line hierarchy in such a way to where things that are not the focal point do not get as much attention or detail, and to give the figure a feeling of depth as well through the contrasting line weight. I have just started doing this and quite like it and I am interested in what any of y'all think and if there's any refinements I should make.

My submission for the project. Let me know what y'all think, and what could be improved. Also, I for whatever reason couldn't find the picture for the rabbit.

Hi all! This was my second try after watching critique videos from course as I realized I completely messed this exercise.

A little work in progress incorporating all I have learnt in proko courses so far. It's results like these that make the frustration worth it! It includes some of the digital paintings fundamentals, too. This is my Dungeons and Dragons character I have been developing for the past 4 years. I am happy that my own vision can come to life, rather than frustrating AI slop. I cannot wait to see where this journey to hone my skills will take me. Feedback and criticism is welcome - this is not complete yet and I am mostly using it to practice what I have learnt.

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.

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?

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.