You got it done! What did you find most challenging about the exercise?

I think you did a great job simplifying, @Jhamb. Just two suggestions from me. I would increase the thickness of the darkest value shape so it looks less like a line on the surface and more like a plane shift of the form. When it's that thin it almost absorbs into the lighter value shape when you squint your eyes. Second, I would lighten up the darkest value just a bit so it's not true black. It might be a bit of personal preference but I think it looks more natural. There aren't too many instances of true black in reality so it feels a bit stark. Overall, very nice work!

You divided them up nicely! This is a solid pear drawing. Watch out separating the midtones too much. This one shape got a bit dark-

Really fabulous work @doweey. You did a great job organizing your value shapes to follow the form in your pear drawings. Your portrait looks awesome as well, but I feel that the values don't follow the hierarchy of light and dark areas as well as in your pear drawings. Squinting at your reference image and drawing can help simplify the shapes so you can get a bigger picture idea of the value structures. In your drawing, the value of the highlight on the nose is less than a full step away from the value shape on his cheek, which in the reference image is more than a step away from the light part of the nose. When you're beginning to lay in your values it's helpful to start by defining the light and dark sides. That creates the hierarchy and makes your decision-making a little simpler as you get more detailed.

Nice start! Excited to see more!