Hey, good job! Something I'd recommend as you progress into your studies is to not only think about the gesture and the shapes you observe on the page, but think about the subject as it takes up space. The shadow below the model indicates the plane she is up against, and this (the floor) visibly pushes against her feet and her bottom. This causes a visible compression that you could exaggerate to make her feel even more believable as a 3D form with weight affected by gravity. It also helps to compare features to one another, such as her hands or feet. Right now, her right hand and left foot appear larger in the drawing than the left hand and right foot respectively--so think about how perspective plays a role in what we observe. There is some foreshortening for the left hand and right foot in the original photo, so assess the direction they are facing and how much of each side we get to see. Hope this helps!

Excellent. I love toned paper sketches! Charcoal or graphite?

( 😊😊😊 "Special thanks" 😊😊😊 ) Hi @Sita Rabeling, I think this is a really nice drawing! I like how you managed to capture nuances in the contour while maintaining gesture, and I think the core shadow shows the form well (especially in the thigh of the supporting leg). To get some quick tips on shading, I think you would appreciate watching Top 5 Shading Mistakes or Mind-Blowing Realistic Shading Tricks The main thing I would focus on to improve your shading is values. Dorian Iten have some excellent videos on values in his shading course, but he also did a free livestream that you could watch How to Organize Values with Dorian Iten (LIVESTREAM) Simply by darkening the value of the figure in shadow, the form reads more clearly. Hope this helps :) Keep up the good work!

Had a "WOW" Moment while scrolling through my timeline. Awesome! I only feel like the upper body has really balanced light and the legs get really dark all of a sudden. But this could be only me :-)

Not a critique, just came to say that i love it ! I Didn't spent much time in shading, but i'm jealous now :D

Hi, in this photo we have a direct light coming from above, at an angle of about 45° and slightly behind the girl. As it is a direct light the shadows are quite defined, especially in the folds of the dress, although on the body they are softened (probably with photographic diffusers, fashion photos use a lot of artifice). However, first you have to identify the parts that are mainly in shadow and those that are mainly in light: squint your eyes while looking at the photo, in this way the half tones will blend in with the main shadow masses and you will be able to make a clearer division. Don't focus on each individual shadow in the first place but simplify the body shapes into geometric objects so that you can apply shadows more easily. When you are satisfied with the shapes you can concentrate on minor shapes and details. I recommend that you use a softer pencil than the one you are using now because otherwise you will find yourself practically having to do a Doré-style etching job (beautiful, by all means, but not suitable for sketches) and perhaps try some simpler figures first, i panneggi sono una delle cose più complicate! ^^;

Hi Nael! Good job! You should be especially proud of the butt XD. It feels solid and three dimensional! Let's see what we can do to improve the drawing :)   Value control: Make sure you're certain what's in shadow and what's in light. Controlling values is important. When an object is in shadow it will have a lower value, in light, a higher. In your drawing some parts that are in shadow have a light value, and some that are in light have a shadow value. This creates confusion. Parts turned away from the light look as if they´re turned towards it and vice versa. Our brains can´t tell how the part´s orient in space.   To practice getting this right I would recommend doing studies with only two values. One light value and one dark value. I think you'll enjoy the exercise. I do :) Because the studies end up looking really cool due to the high contrast. If it feels tedious having to do the underlying drawing, feel free to trace an image, since your focus is shading in this exercise and not figure drawing. When you feel comfortable with two values, you can start adding more values, until you eventually reach 5. You'll never need more than five   To get the values right try squinting. When you squint, the dark parts appear darker; the separation of light values and dark values becomes more obvious.    But sometimes, deciding what parts belong to the light and what parts belong dark values can be tricky. Like the back of his left thigh. There is a cast shadow on it so we know it´s in the light, yet when you squint the whole thigh groups with the dark values. In this case you could choose to either:   1. Think of it´s form. We know that the back of the thigh is facing the light since there is a cast shadow on it, therefore, give it the light value. 2.Think only of values. When we squint It looks like it belongs to the darks. Give it the dark value     Hope this helps!  

@Alexander Very good drawing and pretty cool technique! If I were doing this, I don't think I would spend more time with light tones. Honestly, I really like this value range you worked with, I guess a lower contrast gives the drawing sort of a "lightness" and "sketchness" quality that I personally enjoy. And I wouldn't correct the things you mentioned about the anatomy, it looks fine to me. However I think I'd soften those little dark dots on the background, I think they've become kind of a distracting texture... but I'm not familiar with the technique you used, so I'm not sure you might have had any control with that. Anyway, looks like a good job overall!

Good job. I love the background and the way you thought outside the box🥇🧨🥇