My suggestion is to avoid the shading and highlighting when starting out. It can be a "cheat code" into suggesting form that doesn't really stretch you as an artist and (truthfully) can turn into very bland and "generic" look in today's digital world. My two-cents.

Good notes!

Nice job :) one thing I am noticing is you could show on the first one how the squash/compression on the right are affecting the abs. Also show the stretch on the left side. On the second one I would recommend exaggerating the gesture of the pose more, tilting the pelvis more, the centerline also feels too straight near the abs. In the picture is angled more to the right so it would be good to exaggerate that a bit. On the last one you have the placement correct but the abs are too symmetrical and the same. I would vary the design a bit, but not too much that they look wrong. Keep going! you are doing good

Hi @Lucijan Prpić, really nice studies! You're showing a good sense of form and knowledge of anatomy. - This might be a style thing, so take it with a grain of salt, but I think the sense of structure in the abs could be even stronger. They already read as having form, but they feel a little soft at times. It might help to think more sculpturaly, as if the abs are a block of rock attaching to the ribcage and pelvis, somehow magically able to bend and conform to the torso's movement. Then you can think of each row of abs (or even each rectangle) as a brick. This analogy encourages blocky massconceptions with clear plane shifts. Hope this helps :) Keep up the good work!

Nice studies! - In some of these you make the rectus abdominis narrow again at the insertion at the ribcage, but I think it should have its widest point at the top. - You might want to bring some more variety into the edges of the shading. It feels a bit too soft at the moment. Look carefully at the reference and see if its possible to capture a rich variety from soft to sharp edges(cast shadow edges for example). Hope this helps :)

Nice! Good sense of structure and form and you seem to be well aware of origins and insertions. I also find the shading to reveal the forms well. - In #2, it would have been nice if the abs conformed more the ribcage on her left side (our right). You captured the tonal shift at the thoracic arch, so the shading is good, but the underlying structure and placement of the shapes is what causes the flatness. - In #3, I really like how you captured the twist (ribcage pointing more to the right.) Though, I think the drawing could have been even stronger if you kept simpler forms in mind; the forms in your drawing feel a bit soft as if they were lacking some underlying structure. - In #4 and #7 I think there is room to show more compression. Shading tip: Before filling in tone I think I would recommend you to first outline shade and shadow with line. This allows you to first focus on strong design and a clear seperation of light and shadow. The line can vary in softness; soft for core shadows (the slower the transition (rounder and larger forms) the softer the line) and sharp lines for cast shadow edges and end of forms. With this alone you'll already get a feeling of form. I learned this from Joseph Todorovitch's course From Painting To Canvas on New Master's Academy ( https://www.nma.art/courses/from-paper-to-canvas ). Hope this helps :) Keep up the good work!

Nice studies! The abs read as three dimenasional, have gesture and look anatomicly correct for the most part. Great job! - In some of these it feels like the form of the ribcage could be more present, especially in drawing 2 and 4. Try to use the abs to clarify the form of the ribcage. - In drawing 1, 3 & 4 I feel like it's unclear where the abs insert at the pubic crest; it looks like the abs continue past it. Hope this helps :) Keep up the good work!

And the rest of the assignement ! Must say that I don't think I did a good job with the 3rd one , the shading don't really help the form

Second attempt after watching assignment examples and critique (I'll post these at the same time next time)

I like your combination of construction lines and values. Maybe D and E are not so strong.

It's a good start! I would sometimes just focus less on the entire figure though when practicing abs. Otherwise your mind gets distracted by everything else to draw. Just only for the exercises though.