Project - Simple Animal Portraits

Lesson by

Stan Prokopenko

inDrawing Basics

10K

Course In Progress

Assignments 1.4K

Downloads 8

Project - Simple Animal Portraits

Lesson by

Stan Prokopenko

in Drawing Basics

10K

Course In Progress

Assignments 1.4K

Downloads 8

Deadline: Submit your assignments by 06/15/2023 for a chance to be featured in the next critique video!

Level 1:
Create animal portraits using basic shapes. Try to simplify the animal using 10 shapes or less. Keep your shapes organic and simple. Simple shapes could be stretched, bloated, indented, or curved to capture personality. Don't worry about perfect proportions. Instead, focus on creating cool, simple designs. No details or shading! Use the three reference photos I provided and find 5 to 10 more.

Level 2:
Take Level 1 assignment and push them further. Play with your basic shapes and size relationships to give the animals different personalities. Don't hesitate to experiment and look for additional references to understand your subject better. Now, go have fun!

Paul

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This was very very very difficult. I still struggle a lot to figure out how to do it and still have difficulty to get a grasp of it. But I guess thats whats learning is all about. Have not watched Proko's explanation video how he tackles these three animals. I guess it will give me a lot of "aha" and " ok" moments. A challenge for me is not to do outlines and approach the subject different.

folk

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god idk why its complicated, it doesnt read like what i was initially thinking, good practice

Rachel Dawn Owens

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You’re on the right track. My favorite is the little fox guy. He’s got some personality. All he needs is a few more straight lines I think. Heres a breakdown of how I might try simplifying that guy. Hope it helps. Keep it up!

Daniel

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It was very challenging since I haven't done a lot of modification of shapes. It was fun overall and could definitely feel the difference by the end on how "adventurous" I was feeling when modifying the size and form of the shapes. Feedback is appreciated.

@sark

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Did a few. Hid the uglies at the bottom of the page. :D Fun exercise!

Rachel Dawn Owens

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He’s beautiful

Gustavo Duarte

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10-shape project. I tried to simplify and prioritize the most important shapes.

Mimir

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10d

Hello lads and gurls, here are mine animal simplifications :)

Rachel Dawn Owens

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10d

These are great! The crocodile page is my favorite.

Brad Hewitt

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11d

Very quick action on this assignment. After spending (some good) hours on the last assignment , I'm eager to move into Shapes!

Brad Hewitt

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11d

Grant

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12d

Here are my submissions. I’m excited to finally learn about shapes! On this I feel like I became too attached to the shapes in the sense that I took them too literally but by the fifth animal I think I loosened up. I feel with mileage and study that the shapes I “see” in things will become more interesting and creative over time. Does anyone have any tips on “seeing” shapes in even mundane things?(Everyday objects, furniture,etc)

Lib

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12d

Paul

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I really like the dog ! Looks great.

Terry D

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14d

I had a hard time with this assignment before I had to fight the urge to render more instead of keeping it simple.

Terry D

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14d

Christle Panickar

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16d

Here's my attempt. I got stuck at the hippo but eventually managed to do it :) Had a lot of fun doing this one.

Paul

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Its fun to see the variations you made and how completely it changes how I view the subject while still clearly being the same animal.

Rachel Dawn Owens

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16d

So much variety in style!

Styrbjörn Andersson

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20d

Here is my attempt at the animal portraits. In retrospect and thanks to a really nice explanation from one of the moderators (thank you Patrick!) I think I will revisit this after work today and look more into shape design. I was a bit too focused here on keeping the shapes geometrical (perhaps with the exception of the buffalo horns, which were frankly really hard to simplify).

Paul

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Like the lines (use and quality) and how you changed the picture in the drawing. I like the Hippo.

Patrick Bosworth

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20d

I think you nailed this! These are really beautiful simplified design explorations! Nice work!!

@shadesea

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20d

This is my assignment

Nancy Larson

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21d

As a beginner who tended to draw lines, I found this exercise a bit of an awakening. Still seeking confidence in drawing lines, I now seek to develop confidence in seeing and designing shapes. I did my set of animals twice, the second time after viewing all the videos. I sought to simplify the second time. And maybe I did some. I was challenged with designing shapes to create a new look to my creatures. The challenge was akin to drawing from the imagination exercise earlier in the course. In any case, it was fun and even though I could hang back to continue to develop confident lines and shapes, I post this and will move on in the course and seek to develop confidence as I go. I am motivated to get better. Comments welcome.

Pat Lou

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22d

I noticed that it's easier to get the proportions right by simplifying shapes. I started with basic forms using light strokes, then sketched over them to add more detail. Feedback is very much appreciated!

Jin Park

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24d

I try to follow some of the shapes, very good practice work! I'll keeping more do that!

Tori Tempo

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27d

I like a lot of the shapes I ended up with. If I were to do this project again, I would try to explore more personality and character instead of only focusing on shape.

Melanie Scearce

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26d

You were getting to that idea with the raccoon and dog drawings. Shapes have a language that can help support the character, so don’t think of them as separate. Regardless, these look awesome and super clean. Nice work!

Abitha J

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28d

Here is my attempt, what do you think?

Ruben Rado

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29d

Monster Rooster and some others

Amel

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1mo

Here is m’y assignement… I found it quite challenging. The proportions were difficult to get…

Martha Muniz

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29d

Good start! I think you can continue to further simplify some of the more complex areas into simple shapes -- think basic ovals, rectangles, triangles, etc... Starting with these as the 'building blocks' helps make proportions more manageable later on as it sets the foundation to launch off of.

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Stan Prokopenko

Founder of Proko, artist and teacher of drawing, painting, and anatomy. I try to make my lessons fun and ultra packed with information.