This project is meant to help you avoid chicken scratch; your lines on the snail look great, but I think on the boots they are a bit chaotic in some spots. I would say definitely keep working with expressive tapered strokes, but try to be more "intentional" or less hesitant with them. For example, that lace at the top of the left boot you went over a bunch of times, which comes across as a bit hesitant to me, like you weren't confident on the position of your lines. Like Stan says, think of the lines and the relationship of those lines to the other lines around it.

It looks like the size of your drawings may be unintentionally causing difficulty. I recommend drawing a boundary box for the ideal size you want your drawings, because it will help force you to keep everything proportional to the box. With the boots, they look a little squashed since you ran out of room at the bottom. You should also try breaking your lines up a little more with tapered strokes. Your lines look a little hesitant and stiff. Try to work in a bit of a quicker pace (but don't rush!) and don't be afraid to be more expressive with the CSI lines :)

It looks like you're focusing on making clean lines. I suggest break them up into segments using quicker (but not rushed), more expressive tapered strokes with the CSI lines. Notice how on Stan's turtle, not every part is exactly like the image (for example, a lot of the round "corners"/edges in the image come to more of a point in his drawing. This is because he is utilizing the CSI lines in segments when thinking about the shapes). Don't forget to draw using your shoulder, elbow, and wrist to get that energy in there!

Your lines come across as stiff and lacking in confidence to me. Try to loosen up and draw using the motion from your shoulder and elbow more to get some flow in there. It looks like you're using longer strokes, so try to bring in some energy with more expressive CSI lines. Remember to prioritize the individual segments of the contour, like Stan says!

I think you nailed it! Good job using CSI.

These are really good attempts.

Very nice! Each iteration of the boots adds a lot of clarity and simplification of the forms! The laces can definitely seem like a lot at first, but take your time to study them as individual lines, and eventually it'll get easier to simplify a noisy area like them. Keep up the good work!

It is not awful its practice! If your big take away is pencil to paper and let go that in and of its self is really good! the c curves are great. It is simple and I see the camel. Remember its a basic beginner course so dont be too hard on yourself as getting better takes time and its important to not get distraught as that can lead to not wanting to continue. Overall have fun and keep going!

This is a tough reference, really nice work! I think you did a great job simplifying, my only critique would be the left boot is much thicker at the ankle than the right one. Just be sure to check and double check the measurements of your initial lay-in for proportions before adding the details like laces and line weight. The time it takes to complete a drawing doesn't necessarily translate to its "simplification." Those laces are diabolical, so this one takes some time. The more you work with this CSI Method, this will start to become second nature and your overall speed will increase, but don't look at speed as the goal. The decision making process when simplifying is surprisingly involved, and anything but simple! Keep up the good work, don't forget to check out the demos, and critiques for this one.

Wow, nice detail on the snail! Although, keep in mind for this project we are focusing on simplifying using the CSI lines, so hopefully that's how your drawing started out! Your boots are looking great too, I can definitely see the use of CSI there :)

We're definitely keeping it simple for this one but still trying to keep all the parts in, so I would suggest trying to get the laces more accurate! I also suggest loosening up with your lines, as the focus for this project isn't to make them clean. Really utilize the CSI lines, drawing with more energetic and tapered strokes.