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You’ll learn the most important foundational concepts for drawing anything and soon you’ll be drawing pictures out of your imagination or from reference.
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Founder of Proko, artist and teacher of drawing, painting, and anatomy. I try to make my lessons fun and ultra packed with information.
LESSON NOTES
This exercise will help you avoid chicken scratch. Instead of uncertain pecking at the paper. We're going to draw each line with a focused and intentional path. Remember to draw from your shoulder, elbow and wrist. Avoid the fingers. When I tell you guys to simplify your lines, I'm usually referring to three types of lines, two curves and one straight.
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ASSIGNMENTS![]()
![@muddysoul]()
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![@sketchenstein]()
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![Siby]()
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![Inkhaurt]()
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![@christiantuudah]()
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![@sketchenstein]()
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![Ty Keating]()
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![Michael Bonifacio]()
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![@muddysoul]()
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![@kurodore]()
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![@onsugarhigh228]()
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![@sketchenstein]()
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![@kurodore]()
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![Jon B]()
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![Jon B]()
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![Alessio Rossi]()
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![@kurodore]()
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![@sketchenstein]()
Download the photo reference images and try to simplify them using CSI lines. Draw each line with a focused and intentional path.
Your pace should be quick, but not rushed.
For this exercise, we will just consider the individual segments of the contour of a shape.
Same instructions for level one and two. Just a difference in difficulty of reference. The level two photos have more fun little tidbits to tempt you to get into the details, but fight the urge and simplify.
Also, no shading in these please. This is not meant to be a portfolio piece.
CSI
C = C Curves
S = S Curves
I = Straights
If you'd like to have a chance to be included in the upcoming critique videos, you must submit your drawings below by February 16th.
I couldn't finish it because there were too many details and it just annoyed me. I feel like I could have done it but the brain that's used to watching easy youtube reels all day just couldn't take the effort it needed.
These boots weren't realy Level 1 IMO. I thought the L2 Camel was easier! Maybe try that instead? No maddening laces. Let a day pass and relight the flame. You can do this.
In did a few basic courses on udemy. I am starting with proko and I hope I get a clear direction where to go.
Keep going even it doesnt turn out well in the first time.
Yes I feel it too that you need to concentrate. I did the left shoe and i did a break with the right show. I am doing it now.
So everyone has an own pace.
Get back to this expercise and you will see that you made a progress.
Keep going. Believe me when I say I was “in your shoes “ 8 years ago. The drawing on the left was 2017 and the one on the right is 2018. Notice the improvement from crap to decent/good, and even then I didn’t give it my all. I can’t imagine where I’d be now If I didn’t quit learning how to draw then.
I gave up drawing for 8 years. I bought this course a year ago, drew the 1st project, geometric pear, and I gave up at the beginning of 2025 which I thought was my year to shine lol.
Now I’m back and it feels like something clicked in me. I can’t promise I’m giving it everything I got this time, but now I feel like I’m attentive to both the lessons I’m watching and the drawing mistakes I made and still make. Every time I post and feel the love from you and everyone that commented on my posts, I feel the more inspired!
Now I think of it, I feel like all those drawing basics lessons I watched on YouTube I rinsed and repeated from tens of art/design channels…all the pages I filled with lines, circles, squares, triangles, ellipses, wavy lines…all have prepared me for this point in my life as a 34 year old looking to jumpstart his lifelong dream of becoming an artist/designer.
keep it upupupup 👍
Attention shoelaces everywhere: if I see you I will strip you out and burn you.
2nd try. Moving on!
Did you start with the "Envelope" method? That might help you out with the overall shell shape?
Again just chasing perfect lines right outta the gate. Lots of indents and eraser marks. Keep having to remind myself of the basics and just relax into the process instead of chasing perfection even in the simplest of things. Thanks for the lesson!
Level 1 simplify: I kept the boot drawing to 20 minutes or risked getting caught up in too much detail. These were done before watching the demo. After watching the Level 1 demo I'll try Level 2.
I didn't do a very good job of how I was supposed to do this exercise I feel like. I tried to copy the contours but I don't think I did deliberate decision making on each line and thinking which one of the CSI I am making etc. And I guess I also did chicken scratching which I needed to avoid. Not very happy with my result for that reason.
Here's a snail redraw for the 4th time and some original drawings applying what I learned from the demo and critiques. Have I improved and understood the concept or do I still need to keep practicing this?
the snail went fine, but I got lost in the laces on the boots. particularly where they get lost in the dark spaces.
Takes a lot of patience to deliberately decide, for every line, C S or I and then "ghost" the line a few times before you draw it.
That's what I've been doing too, but I have no way of fully knowing if I've understood the concept or not.
Definitely! Yeah I can't do it 'confidently' yet as I get it wrong the first 50 times ha. Good job! You kept to the simplification rule much better than I managed - kept spiralling off on small details.
I mean... At least you can tell what its meant to be which is an improvement!
Learnings for next time - REALLY have to be disciplined to stick to exclusively CSI and simplification. It's so easy to get sucked into details without thinking that arguably aren't that important at all.
It also took me ages! I'm so slow still
Paper this time rather than digital. Will try the boot next
Tried all the levels in different days before starting the 2 week challenge. these are my results (yea i gave up on the spine part of the skull lol and realized only when i finished that i totally forgot about a huge part of the shoe.....
Same, Just did 3rd try on snail though, trying to do the "ghosting" and be very deliberate. Kinda worked but feels unnatural as I have no confidence in my lines.
