Simplify to CSI" submissions! I decided to combine both level 1 & 2 students for this critique since I saw very similar mistakes at both levels.
Newest
Tony Chang
7d
After a few days of playing with portraits and pictures I found interesting I finally decided to sit down and do a CSI for its own sake without trying to get a good-looking drawing.
I’m pretty happy with this skeleton, actually. Moving on!
yecai
9d
Boots 5? Boots are lots of fun. CSI is lots of fun.

Igor Cornelis
9d
cool !
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bonnieblue
14d
Tapered line assignments 1st & 2nd tries. Hope these are dark enough. Lines were more tapered before had to go over them in order for them to show up on camera
The guy from BluishDot
15d
Two more attempts after watching the critique video. I'm happier with the line quality but not so much with the proportions...

renegaderumi
17d
Tried a snail again after watching the critique. Still finding myself rushing a lot. Will keep trying, and focus on slowing down. Any tips on how to have a slower work flow to take more care with lines are super welcome. I went in wanting to spend 20 minutes on it and raced through in 5!
Demetrio Cran
15d
Hi! try ghosting your lines, which means to make the move of your arm almost touching the paper with the tip of the pencil. Do 2 to 4 ghosting of each line as a rule (I do not like the word rule... maybe think of it as a tool :-). That will slow you down. It is better if you take the time to observe in each ghosting, but sometimes is enough to put attention on the biomechanics of drawing.
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Huda
19d
Another great video, thanks Stan! Absolutely love this course.
Looking at my CSI drawings again - I know I need to work on confident lines and practice making my straight lines...straight! My snail is sitting on a slanted wooden ledge :S Looking forward to the next lesson all about drawing confident lines :)
yecai
20d
As the comment below, I've learned a lot here. I like CSI course the most, which is really helpful.
Terry
20d
So much to learn here! For me the biggest take away is confident line quality, so I'm really excited to see that the next lesson demonstrates this! Thank you Stan!
yecai
21d
Some more attempts .I still confused on many details. It's tricky to find proper references ,some of them are too simple to simplify, or too complicated. And I still cant process the references in a right way. Hope more attempts helps.
yecai
20d
I lost the dog.
Daniel Reinbacher
22d
csi dinosaur
Daniel Reinbacher
22d
I want to take a moment to thank you @Stan Prokopenko. We are only at the beginning of this course and i have already learned a lot. In the csi critique you saw the messy shoes i drew. My lines were all over the place because i was pretty much just guessing and afterwards seeing if it looked good. The idea of actively DESIGNING the shapes and lines when drawing from observation instead of just trying to mimik whats in front of you helped me a lot.
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Shelly Ryder
22d
I was really pleased to see a combination of level 1 & level 2 in the same video. We all have things to learn and seeing all levels is beneficial. I believed when I started the course that I was quite good at drawing but wow, have I had a lot to learn. Thank you as always for your great content @Stan Prokopenko

Jon Passig
22d
I legitimately don’t know if I did the assignment right or not lmao. I drew strictly in relation to CSI and decided what mark I was going to make each time before making it :/
william2
22d
I know this is not directly related to the subject at hand, but I wanted to ask: when you are learning the fundamentals like gesture, construction, or perspective, is it better to try it on paper or on digital? I ask because I recently got a digital tablet for my birthday and I find that though comparing the references to my drawings is easier, actually making the lines and navigating clip studio paint is pretty difficult. So I was wondering if it would be better to focus practicing on paper for a while longer then coming back to digital, or to keep trying at digital right now even if the progress is much slower.
Shelly Ryder
22d
I have had the same dilemma as you. Usually, I would only draw on paper using lots of graphite or charcoal. Then a friend bought me a tablet which I loved but trying to navigate my way around the software took away my focus from what I was learning about drawing. What I tend to do now it use paper first, it is easier and nothing much to make decisions about other than whether you want to use a 2B or a 2A. After I have done it manually, I then attempt it digitally so that I have already done the learning part of the drawing but then I can get my head around the software and try it out digitally. I see it as experimenting like you would if you were trying several types of pens, markers or even paint. I don't think there is a right or wrong way, but personally this is how I approach it. Hope that helps
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Marek Krząszcz
23d
I watched critique video and I decided to paint a different pair of boots this time - one that has a lot of lines, and the difference is I did whole work using shoulder and elbow to draw, almost no wrist - to force me to pick lines. I must say - it is so hard to draw against ones instincts to zoom in and draw using wrist xD

Melodie Wynne
22d
Very nice line work, Marek!
Niklas Nilsson
22d
well done! Looks very nice. :)
scott ford
23d
Nice

vivace
23d
Did a couple of goes at this. First two images was before watching the demos and critique. Had a lot of trouble keeping to things and made a lot of feathery lines. Second two are after watching. Still some wobbles and feathery parts but way bigger strokes and I did a better lay in. The boots are night and day
Daniel Reinbacher
23d
shark

Theresa
23d
Sending an invitation to study with the other ‘master draftsmen’ at the Cleveland Museum of Art. Visit in person or online with video essays. See what 19th century French artists achieved when playing with their new tools!
“A variety of materials became available to artists—such as commercially fabricated chalks, pastels, and specialty papers—encouraging figures ranging from Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres to Paul Cezanne to reconsider the place of drawing within their artistic practices.”
How appropriate for our class! Drawings of the French artists in the current exhibition. Runs until June 11, 2023.
And for your library…”A richly illustrated catalogue—the first to document this collection—accompanies the exhibition, featuring new research on each of the included works and essays by leading scholars in the field.”
https://www.clevelandart.org/exhibitions/nineteenth-century-french-drawings-cleveland-museum-art
Samantha Maggard
24d
Thanks for another helpful video! I like the example of how the straights gave more weight to object and saw that clearly in the example you gave.

Mike See
24d
I may have misunderstood the assignment:
Johannes Stal
24d
nicely done, i noticed you tend to squash (width) and elongate (height) your drawing, just a tendency to be aware of.
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Yassin Mohii
24d
First thing came to my mind when I saw it in the video title 😅
Philippa
24d
🤡
Awwiana
24d
Thank you!!
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Founder of Proko, artist and teacher of drawing, painting, and anatomy. I try to make my lessons fun and ultra packed with information.