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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![]()
![Rain Kipper]()
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![Cesar Espinoza]()
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![Umbre on]()
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![@ljgrimm]()
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![Noah Denney]()
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![Cesar Espinoza]()
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![Ash]()
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![@tilbury]()
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![Ben Kraske]()
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![Gregory M]()
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![Ben Kraske]()
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![Gregory M]()
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![John Oz]()
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![Ben Kraske]()
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![@hundredd]()
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![Melanie Scearce]()
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![Keith]()
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![William B]()
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![Melanie Scearce]()
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![Kathryn]()
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![Rachel Witenhafer]()
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![Dante]()
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.
First look at the shoelaces caused fear, but the joy was greater after finishing drawing! I liked doing this exercise ...
Snail finished! ✍️I almost ran out of room on the page. Honestly, I was too lazy to re-center it and start over. 😂
The snail was fun to do! The boots were a nightmare, but I'm happy about some part of it anyway
I tried to stick with the very loose feel. Of the four, the shoes felt the hardest because of the laces and I felt like I was getting better just over the course of the four drawings: shoes, snail, camel, skull.
Forgot to take a pic of the snail before I started the boots so apologies for the bleed through. I felt ok about the snail, but the boots took me like 90 minutes just staring at the shoelaces. Muscled through it, now it's time to watch the project!
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1d
The laces are tricky but I think you did a nice job!
done prior to demo and critique videos. snail was okay. boots made me cry, hate line drawing, and the results speak for themselves. don't worry stan, no shading here - i'm having trouble admitting i drew these, much less fool myself into thinking that these could be portfolio pieces.
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2d
Your boots look great to me! Especially the line weight and quality on the right boot, nicely done! I would just recommend the envelope method that Stan goes over in the demo for the snail- I think it'll help with the proportions of the shell! But overall for both subjects, your lines look good!
Not every drawing will be a portfolio piece, and these are meant for practice! Nothing's perfect on the first go, especially with art. Continue on, and if you revisit this exercise later on, I'm sure you'll see a noticeable difference in your skills! Keep going!
I couldn't get clean lines in the head. The 3D was lost on the head, and I put lines everywhere to try and fix it. How do we get the head to look right? My head needs something, but what? The rest of my camel is pretty good. I'll keep working on the lines. The second I do this the animal will look better and lines cleaner; at least that is my goal.
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2d
Utilize those searching lines! Start as light as possible as you're finding the right one, then darken just that one so it doesn't get lost! Take your time observing and breaking things down into simple lines, it can definitely seem complicated, but you're on the right track already! Nice work :)
I didn't want to do level 2, but I include it so anyone watching can help me. What can we work on to simplify better? Obviously, keep finding thing to simplify, but is there a sequence of progression that would make it easier to simplify? There has got to be certain things (objects) that are just easier to draw in simplified form. Of course, that probably depends on the drawer: "everyone is on their own journey philosophy."
The bottom snail is more the idea, but I was watching Stan simplify. "Simplify isn't simple."
Thanks
Well chief, it was fun, but the camel kicked my teeth. The ribcage I had to redraw eight times and it still was too big, probably should have drew a rough oval to keep it contained to the area. Outside of that would love to hear some recommendations
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2d
Great simplified lines on your camels head! Along with what you said, try out the envelope lay-in method that's used in Stan's demo. It'll help with keeping everything proportional and in the right area. Nice work!
That was a pretty fun exercise.
I think I tried too hard to reproduce the original images. I probably could've simplified more.
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2d
These all look pretty well simplified! I think if any, the skull maybe could have been simplified more. Great work on these!
I made the snail around a month ago and the boots today. The boots were super hard for me to get my head around the laces. Excited to watch the critique and see how I can get my mind around the laces and simplify them! Feel free to critique.
I was trying some of the suggestions in the videos with red pencil. It didn’t come out well at all. Red, HB. I got to admit, my skills are extremely weak and they’re not getting better.
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4d
It takes time to see improvement! With each drawing you improve an indistinguishable amount, but after like 100 drawings, compare the first and the last and you'll notice the difference. Stick with it, William! With this drawing, maybe a few S curves could help. Where the snail's body is emerging from the shell, down to its head, has a great rhythm that could be represented by an S curve.
I enjoyed this exercise but found my skills lacking so I’m looking forward to the demo. I think my proportions are off. Posting so I can keep learning
I’m very used to painting and being able to use values. I felt like I could not breakdown the lines in the boots without getting lost.
Did these before watching the demo. I got lots to improve starting with PLANNING OUT WHERE TO DRAW ON THE PAGE SO I DONT END UP COVERING SOMETHING ELSE!! I also need to spend time looking at my references and understanding what shapes I want to use.
