Project - Simplify from Observation
Project - Simplify from Observation
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Project - Simplify from Observation
courseDrawing BasicsFull course (185 lessons)
$159
assignments 8687 submissions
Vance Viggiano
When you can't decide on Level 1 or Level 2. I thought it might be fun to try it on gray paper. Everyone's work is inspiring! Happy to be learning with you all!
LESSON NOTES

Alright guys, let's jump into the deep end and see how you do! I feel like we've been talking a lot and not drawing enough. So, before we move on to learning about Lines, I want to give you an opportunity to spend some time doing a simplified drawing. Youโ€™re going to draw a pear or portrait if youโ€™re doing the level 2 project. I knowโ€ฆ A fruit isnโ€™t the most exciting thing to draw, but itโ€™s going to allow you to focus on the process Iโ€™m going to show you, instead of being distracted by a difficult subject matter.

This will let us see where you're at with your skills. Itโ€™s totally fine if you're at zero. Kind of expected actually. But, you'll identify right away what you struggle with. And youโ€™ll be introduced to a lot of the skills that youโ€™ll be working on improving in this course.

You can draw from the photos I provided in the downloads tab, or find your own fruit and draw from life. Pick a fruit that has an interesting shape you like. Put the fruit on your desk and shine a light on it. Move the light around until you like the balance of light and dark shapes. 

If you donโ€™t want to draw the photo I provided, or you want to do more than one, feel free to find your own photo. Just make sure you choose a photo with a strong single light source that creates a clear separation of lights and shadows. Many moons ago I wrote a blog post about good photo reference.

Make sure you take a photo of it from your point of view, so you can include it when posting your drawing in the community. If you want to be critiqued by me or others in the community, we'll need to see what you were drawing. 

Join us in the premium course to get access to this lesson, full lesson notes, assignments, demonstrations and critiques!

DOWNLOADS
jpeg
level-1-pear-1.jpg
2 MB
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level-1-pear-2.jpg
2 MB
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level-1-pear-3.jpg
2 MB
jpeg
level-2-portrait.jpg
1 MB
mp4
project-simplify-from-observation.mp4
183 MB
txt
project-simplify-from-observation-transcript-english.txt
5 kB
txt
project-simplify-from-observation-transcript-spanish.txt
6 kB
file
project-simplify-from-observation-captions-english.srt
9 kB
file
project-simplify-from-observation-captions-spanish.srt
8 kB
ASSIGNMENTS

Use the reference photos in the downloads tab or go find your own reference and start drawing! Remember, this project is all about simplifying to clarify.

Make sure to keep these 3 things in mind:

Shapes - Draw your shapes with straight lines
Values - Use only 5 values. 2 in the shadow and 3 in the lights
Edges - Make every single edge sharp!

I'll publish my drawing demos of both levels next Tuesday so you can watch me go through the problem solving process. For a chance to be included in the critique videos, you must submit your drawing to the community by January 26th, 2023, so I can begin filming and producing the critique video.

@johannahwilhelmina
My first real drawing, any feedback is most appreciated!
Daniel Aubuchon
โ€ข
19h
Well I think this assignment definitely pushed me as a beginner. I was definitely scared to start because I knew it would be bad. But any constructive feedback or encouragement would be great!
Melanie Scearce
โ€ข
8h
You designed a nice shape to divide the shadow and the light sides of the pear! I think that's really half the battle of this project. This pear is a really great start. To keep pushing, try exploring ways to add more values. I count 3 values, maybe 4 if the intention was to make the cast shadow darker than the shadow shape on the pear. Adding a core shadow and a mid tone to transition to the core shadow could be some ideas to explore to get to that 5 value drawing. Use the squint test as you work to make sure your value shapes are holding up. You did great! Being challenged by a project is a good sign that you're learning and applying the concepts. Keep up the good work ๐Ÿ‘
Byron Chikukwa
โ€ข
1d
did the pears had fun with them but I couldnโ€™t properly seperate the values
Veronica Scaglia
โ€ข
1d
Hi everyone! Iโ€™ve just started. Iโ€™m not entirely happy with the result, but it was fun trying out the different pencils. I tried drawing other subjects in my sketchbook that Iโ€™m more pleased with. I had some trouble finishing the project; the further I got, the more errors I noticed, and I started to feel overwhelmed.
@lzrmr
โ€ข
2d
Before and after the demo.
Patrick Bosworth
โ€ข
19h
Nice work! Really solid before attempt, and you addressed the values in the second. Keep it up!
@ltzkoko
โ€ข
2d
First two images are my first attempt at this the last two are attempts after the demos Iโ€™ve been drawing on and off for years but I decided to follow this course fully digitally to gain experience in this format
Paul Buteau
โ€ข
2d
First shot. Seventh attempt of the pear along with the corresponding photo taken from the lessons. My second submission is a peach along with the photo that I took of its model. Paul
Cameron R
โ€ข
2d
I think the highlights aren't very visible, hope digital is okay. Would love feedback. :)
Kolton White
โ€ข
3d
Hereโ€™s my first attempt: im waiting for my pencils and sketchpad to come in, so I attempted digitally in Procreate for now. I know we were supposed to keep things sharp, but it was difficult with the procreate brush to get a width in between the super fine detail line or a full on side pencil width that was super soft. One thing to note about the limitations of digital. Iโ€™m sure thereโ€™s slightly better brushes but didnโ€™t spend a lot of time trying them out.
Melanie Scearce
โ€ข
3d
Yeah, that's a pretty tricky aspect of digital. I recommend students use the round or flat brush, or whatever brush they're comfortable with that's fully opaque. Example below in a demo that I made. That way you can really focus on the value shapes rather than fighting with the brush. It removes the pencil dexterity aspect of this assignment that you would be able to explore with traditional, but focusing on the shape design without worrying about smooth shading is a plus of working digitally.
@gavinotheelf
โ€ข
3d
Trying the Drawing Basics course without premium
Melanie Scearce
โ€ข
3d
Awesome work! These pears feel very three-dimensional.
@ducaboy
โ€ข
3d
First assignment.
Martha Muniz
โ€ข
2d
You're off to a great start! I would suggest thinking about your values in two categories: light and shadow. The light range will have the lightest 3 values, while the shadows will have the darker two. The proportions and shapes you have down are great, but to really emphasize and make clear the area of light and the area of shadow, try shading in the shadow side on the pear using both of the darker two values, and save that middle value for the light side instead.
@smmathew
โ€ข
4d
First assignment before I've watched the demo. I appreciate your feedback!
Matt W
โ€ข
4d
I just watched the demo and it looks like you and I made similar errors regarding the outer edges being too dark. Good job, though! You might want to consider letting your straight lines go a little longer in some places, particularly in the top half, where it looks a little curvy because your straight lines are so short.
Matt W
โ€ข
4d
First assignment, I did pear #3. Would love feedback. I used 4H, HB, 2B and 4B mechanicals, a clutch with 4B for some of the shading, an eraser, and a Canson XL 9x12 sketchpad.
Sebastian Rivera
โ€ข
4d
First assignment done, I really liked the approach where you use straight lines when deconstructing the figure I feel like I got the form somewhat accurate shading could use some work though looking forward to seeing the breakdown video to learn more.
@costa
โ€ข
4d
This is my 2nd attempt of the pear with revisions following the demo and critique video. The portrait is the 1st attempt, after the pear but prior to watching the related demo/critique. Any thoughts on what works or doesnโ€™t work? Thanks!
Hong Jiang
โ€ข
5d
Abraham Barrera Torres
Hello ! Yes, it seems your values are organized, but maybe you can improve the design of the shapes for example in the strands of hair. Also, you can improve your use of the pencil, there are some areas that don't seem uniform. Good job !
Melanie Scearce
โ€ข
4d
Your values are organized so well! Great work ๐Ÿ‘
Hong Jiang
โ€ข
5d
This was done before watching the demo. I used 3 values in the shadow, so there are only two for the light :-(
Wumi Ojo
โ€ข
5d
My submission for this lesson before watching the demo video is the pear sketched with a 2b pencil. The practice sketches were done with coloured pencils. Feedback is very welcome. Thank you.
@samuels
โ€ข
5d
I think the pears might be passable but don't think I'm ready for Level 2!
Ayu_33
โ€ข
5d
Before watching and after watching Please critique my drawing.
88Re
โ€ข
5d
wow that jump is insane keep it up!
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