$159
Bundle discount Each additional course part in your cart adds 3% off all courses, up to 15% off.
Full course
You will be given unexpiring access to watch the videos online .
$159
Give a gift
Give a gift card for art students to use on anything in the Proko store.
Or gift this course:
About instructor
Founder of Proko, artist and teacher of drawing, painting, and anatomy. I try to make my lessons fun and ultra packed with information.
DOWNLOADS
project-lost-and-found-edges.mp4
262 MB
project-lost-and-found-edges-transcript-english.txt
7 kB
project-lost-and-found-edges-transcript-spanish.txt
7 kB
project-lost-and-found-edges-captions-english.srt
11 kB
project-lost-and-found-edges-captions-spanish.srt
12 kB
ASSIGNMENTS![]()
![Norm Lanting]()
![]()
![Josh Fiddler]()
![]()
![Tori Blade]()
![]()
![Norm Lanting]()
![]()
![@saschu]()
![]()
![samuel burgos celedon]()
![]()
![Tori Blade]()
![]()
![Chuck Ludwig Reina]()
![]()
![Hanna Looye]()
![]()
![Hanna Looye]()
![]()
![Ash]()
![]()
![Maria Bygrove]()
![]()
![Michael Longhurst]()
![]()
![Gloria Wickman]()
![]()
![Juice]()
![]()
![Juice]()
![]()
![John Daniels]()
![]()
![Randy P]()
![]()
![Tori Blade]()
![]()
![@gaben97]()
![]()
![Chuck Ludwig Reina]()
![]()
![@landsloth]()
![]()
![Pamela D]()
![]()
![Mon Barker]()
![]()
![Mon Barker]()
![]()
![Rafael Rangel]()
![]()
![Ash]()
![]()
![Scott]()
![]()
![Pamela D]()
![]()
![Pamela D]()
![]()
![Mon Barker]()
![]()
![Wibble Wobbles]()
![]()
![Chuck Ludwig Reina]()
As you decide where to place lost edges, consider these specific areas:
- Shadows merging into dark backgrounds: This is a natural place to lose an edge to create depth.
- Lights merging into light backgrounds: This can make highlights appear to glow.
- Core shadows: You can remove a core shadow if the dark stripe between light and shadow provides too much volume or information for a specific area.
- Distracting details: Remove information completely when small details, such as the sharp edges between teeth, distract from the main focal point.
For this project, you will be drawing a skull using the reference images provided.
Level 1
You will create a fully shaded drawing with a focus on deciding where to lose and find edges. Some reference photos have two light sources. This gives you opportunities to play with losing parts of the skull into a light background.
Don't be afraid to lose edges, find them again, and lose them again. This back-and-forth experimentation is how you discover what works.
Level 2
For a harder challenge, use the out-of-focus reference photos. Because the photos are blurry, you cannot simply copy the edges. You must interpret them to refocus attention on the center of the face. You are inventing the relationship between sharp, firm, and lost edges.
Recommended Materials
I recommend a pencil that allows you to utilize the side of the lead. You want to be able to quickly fill in areas and play with the edge freely. A sharp tip takes too long for this type of experimentation.
- Graphite Pencil: Sharpen it longer so more lead is exposed.
- Clutch Pencil: A 5mm lead works great.
- Charcoal Pencil: This is often the best option because it allows for easy smudging.
Deadline - submit by February 05, 2025 for a chance to be in the critique video!
Here is my submissions. As usual, as I pushed these to finish I had a hard time remembering to use the edge techniques. I don’t think I went far enough and guessing a lot especially the outer edges vs the backgrounds. I did them all in Procreate. The charcoal ones I used Lane Brown’s charcoal set. I did a kind of scratchy pen and ink on one. I did another more polished one because I need practice in inking.
Stan you must have put your heart and soul into this. The amount of content for the price is amazing. Thank you. This course has been life changing for me. Thank you so much!
Gorgeous work. Lane's brush sets are awesome. And I agree regarding the impact of this course on my drawing. Huge bang for the buck.
Here are my attempts at the Level 2 assignment. I feel like the design improved in my second sketch, since the first one felt pretty forced. I’m looking forward to the demo to get a better sense of how I can refine my process.
On another note… I can’t believe this is our last project! This course has been such a great experience, and we’re finally nearing the finish line. It definitely makes me start thinking about what comes next. after being in this course for so long, I’m not totally sure what the next step should be for my art 😅
What have you all been doing alongside this course, or do you have any future plans for another course you’re thinking of starting?
You asked what we are doing along with this course. I recently finished the digital painting course, I’m taking Marshal’s perspective course. I’m taking others as well, but these three three (basics, digital, perspective) reenforce each other and the teaching overlaps and integrates so it seems to me like they were designed to be taken with
each other even though I know they weren’t. They are all produced by the proko team which is the best method of instruction in the universe.
Level 1 drawing of the skull. I feel like I could continue working on it, but I've decided to stop. Otherwise, I'll never finish it. My print wasn't the best, so some things aren't quite right, especially the proportions of the back of the head. The project was a lot of fun, but I'm afraid the deadline is too short, so I won't have time for Level 2.
Level 1. The first five are done with graphite pencils. For the last three, I worked with charcoal. I still find it very difficult to control, and I don't feel that after sanding the charcoal, it flows smoothly on the surface of the paper. It feels like sometimes it doesn't leave a mark. I had the same problem when doing the Shadow Mapping project. I don't know if I lack experience with the material, or if I'm using poor quality charcoal. I would love your help.
the design of the values looks really good. I love the way you decided to do the backgrounds
•
19d
Hi Samuel. First off, nice drawings!
I started off hating charcoal because I could never get it to do what I wanted. Now it is probably my favorite medium, and a large part of that is finding the right paper / charcoal combinations.
The first question I'd ask is, What kind of paper are you using?
Everyone's style and technique will lend themselves to a different paper / charcoal combo. I have kind of two main process:
1) Smooth newsprint and a combination of willow charcoal, generals peel and sketch charcoal pencils, compressed charcoal, and conte 1710B pencils. Sometimes I also use the creatacolor 5.6mm stick on this paper if im working fast like at a life drawing.
2) For more finished / archival works I use strathmore 400 series smooth drawing paper. This is a very smooth paper but it can be difficult to learn. On this paper I use Cretacolor 5.6 soft charcoal sticks, willow charcoal, and conte compressed charcoal.
This of course is my personal taste. Try experimenting. Luckily charcoal is usually one of the cheaper mediums to experiment with.
Hope that helps!
Cheers.
This is my level 2. I finally had time, so I went for it. I played with proportions. Added buckteeth on nr. 6, because Skully kinda has big teeth. I could have gone more for the caricature, but I am ok with this.
I think the watercolors are the best, because there I really went for losing edges.
Sad that the course is almost over. Loved the assignments and how other people takelt them.
according to my classroom I am only at 59% of this course, but Stan hinted that we are almost done. Where are we? At 90%? My anxiety loves to know.
Level 1. Played with ink, lines, pencil (B8 and B2) and finished with a homage to Skully. Looked which value pools I could combine into one big pool and in which pools I had to go for nuance. I prefer going for creating shapes with only one or two dark values. But I have to say, combining that with details where you go full nuance and shade in 3 or 5 values gives the subject more depth and makes it more interesting?
•
18d
haha that last sketch is awesome. Skelly!
Those ink hatched drawings are brilliant! It always amazes me how much can be said with just shapes and a couple of values. Looks like you worked on a pretty small scale which, I'm guessing, helped with simplifying too?
Started the course about two years ago and finally caught up for the last assignment! Great course, I’ve really enjoyed it. This one was a really fun one. I did struggle with deciding how much detail to give the teeth. Also not sure if the texture of the paper shows too much? On the level two one I was on the fence about leaving the white separation between the back of the skull and the background. I thought maybe it gave a sense of backlight, but I also didn’t want the whole back of the skull to disappear into the background. Let me know what you think.
My level 1 attempt using skull 3. I used lost edges on some of the teeth and I simplified a lot in the shadow side of the skull. This assignment really felt like it brought together everything we've learned through the whole course so it was a lot of fun.
Here is my first level 1 assignment. It took me way too long. I will try to speed up when doing level 2.
I did some adjustments that hopefully are improvements. Changed the angle of cheek bone and made shadow value a bit darker on the cheek.
Its a pity I actually LOVE the concept and application of lost edges and yet like the rest of the edge and values projects I could not get the medium to produce smooth transitions. Always felt like I was fighting the medium (was worse and messier with Charcoal in practice so I stuck with Graphite).
Kind of a bitter sweet end to the course work, but I finish what I start.
My level one attempts before the demo videos using procreate. Reproducing the look of charcoal rendering is hard! But feel like I’m starting to get closer.
These look awesome! You are putting in the practice and it is definitely paying off. Keep it up :)
My submission for this assignment. Skull overall took quite a bit of getting used to drawing for me, so feel like I wasn’t able to focus as much as I would have liked on the edges, but I did my best.
•
21d
Great looking skull!
level 1. This was quite challenging! I drew the two little ones to get me into the feel of things and then attempted the bigger one. I think I prefer how the smaller ones turned out but overall I'm happy with my work.
Really nice set, almost looks like an animated sequence with the last one is coming right at me. Hope it's Skelly!
Level 2, first attempt, tried to be minimalist - or maximal lost edges, minimal found edges, cherry picked the major internal found edges and reduced everything else to indications as much as possible. My gradations are messy and poorly defined l, and the left eye proportions are way too small so gonna try this again before the deadline.
2nd and 3rd attempts….may be having some difficulty coming to terms with this being the final drawing basics assignment 😭
Tried to make both of these a bit less polished but fix the proportion errors. Third attempt is charcoal on rough paper.
•
22d
Hey, this is awesome! As for the fingertips on the right side of the paper, it looks like you finished smudging on the left side, and used the same charcoal-coated finger on the right side?
In the spirit of chunking down (Steve Huston) I traced the major shapes. This is Level 1
I submit this assignment with a profound sense of sadness that the party is over. Who thought it would last three years. Cheers Stan.
I agree it does feel like the end of the party. Hopefully there will be more drop ins from Stan!
I choose skull number 1 from level 1. 1 that preferred this skull as it has plenty of shapes in the shadows, giving me more of a challenge with a variety edges.
i loved this course and hope to do some more of Stan’s classes, along with redoing some of my assignments.
Great job - I like the big shapes that your different tones make as they wrap around the skull. Nice warm tone to it too, was that the paper tone or light source for the photo?
Here are my first two attempts. They are in graphite. I will do one or more in charcoal and add them here. This has been a fun project, and a nice way to introduce myself to the anatomy of the skull. Uh oh, could this be a gateway drug into Stan's anatomy course?
•
23d
That's how they get you! haha. Also, great work!
