This is my level 1 try for the level 2 exercise, I think I need to draw bigger to take care of the little details and change some of my pencils 😅

I did the first try digitally before watching the demo. I think my proportions are off in the digital version. Was more mindful to the proportions. However somehow messed up the values very badly on the traditional one. That 4B pencil lied to me. It made everything too dark. I might come back to this lesson and do another one later.

Here is my completed level 2 assignment. I’m not quite satisfied with the proportions but there’s definitely improvement before and after the demonstration (even though I felt myself getting lazier the longer I worked, haha). Initially I thought I could fit both drawings on one page, then abandoned that sketch to have more breathing room on a new page. Also, at one point I went too dark too quickly with my shadows, and much smudging ensued while trying to fix it lol. Thanks for viewing, feedback appreciated!

Here are my attempts at both level 1 and level 2. Really enjoyed this lesson, really helped to identify different shadows and Highlights!

Here's my attempt at Level 1 and level 2

My attempt at level 2. Feedback appreciated!

Coming from the level 1 project of the pear, before challenging the level 2 was more streamlined. I did find doing this was more easier, having a better of a understanding of how the assignment should've been handle from the pear exercise, with the help of watching the demo afterwards when I attempted the drawing by myself, example, the technique of making sure my lines are clean when blocking out the five tones (Note, I was using a A3 size canvas), and using the five shads properly without the light shadows getting muddy and mixing with the darkest shadows. That doesn't mean I did it under an hour, merely that it took around four hours to complete, with me needing to fix the errors in anatomy proportions, mainly the face area of the nose. Probably why I did much better with drawing the men was because I had a bit of an understanding of placing guidelines, and making sure to have a good foundation of a block out, being aware of making sure to measure out the distance with other parts of the image, for example, being the level of the ear to the eyes. Overall, I did enjoy doing this course and this assignment. If I had to critique myself, it would be accidentally blocking out the highlights in the image.

First photo is before watching the demo, second photo is after. I didn’t fully finish the second attempt, I just wanted to follow along with the demo to see what I could improve and do differently from my attempt. I struggled in both attempts to keep my tones clean and intentional once filling in the shapes. This will be something I will intentionally practice moving forward. I think being impatient and rushing the process had a bit to do with this, so in future projects I will allow myself to walk away and take breaks or split the session up if i feel myself starting to rush and be sloppy just to get it done. The demo really helped me understand where to simplify, (for example grouping in the reflected light on the bottom plane of the nose into the shadow shapes) was very helpful to me. It helped me understand just because a value looks light to me, the communicating the form of the object is the most important thing, and even with that reflected light the plane of the nose is still in shadow. Overall I took a lot from this project, and i think I could Definitely use more practice with these concepts in my own time to drive the idea home of simplification, recognizing planes and how they interact with light, drawing in an angular manner to simplify the form, and simplifying values to communicate the overall volume of an object while keeping the tones clean and intentional. Thank you Proko!

Before and after demo. They’re pretty similar but still working on cleaner lines and shading.

My first attempt on this lesson.

before n after demo

Spent quite a bit of time on this lesson as my first attempts left a lot of desire to improve. For the first I went in before watching the demo, and also before my other pencils arrived so it turned out rather light. The second was done after watching the demo, though admittedly I did copy a bit of what was demonstrated and after realizing that wasn't the most beneficial I felt inspired to do an original photo after seeing a comment using the reference below. I think it turned out a lot better but of course always appreciate if anyone sees areas for improvement!

Please feel free to critique!

Hello, all! Like many others, this is my second attempt at the portrait assignment. I defaulted to semi-realism since I have a tendency to hyper-focus, so perhaps it would benefit me to go back and simplify the values again and focus on just the five (three light, two dark) that Stan has been teaching. None of the values are blended, everything is shaded with a pencil. Any feedback is appreciated, Thanks!

Second attempt. After watching the demo, I realized I messed up the mouth and nose proportions. I’ll probably give it another try later to make it look better.

My first attempt at a portrait. It’s clear I don’t know what I’m doing. 2B, 4B, and 6B

I tried (before watching the demo)🫠