I tried the hand and the character a dozen times and I'm *really* not getting it. I'm struggling really hard to draw what I see. But here, for what it's worth, is a shot at the penguin. If you can tell me where I'm going wrong, please do!

Here we go, finished.

Both assignments were challenging but the boot assignment was particularly difficult. My sketchpad is quite small, so I may get a larger one and try again. I did not finish the second boot but will try again soon. Thank you in advance for any critiques!

Please find below my Simplify From Observation Level 1 Project assignment. This was a third attempt after trying a few different pencil and paper combinations until I found one that felt good.   Even after this experimentation with materials, unfortunately there is a slight indentation in the paper which curves through the centre of the pear itself. Maybe I need to upgrade and spend a bit more money :-( I am keen to get any suggestions for improvements. I have to be honest I really wasn’t sure which direction to shade each area in, so I’m pretty sure I could have made this a lot better as I am certain there is nicer way to do it I am not aware of yet.   This week is the first time I’ve put pencil to paper in 32 years. It’s been a really interesting week and already learning so much, thank you. Looking forward to the next Project now :-)

Did some polished thumbnails of all the pears!

Howdy everyone First attempt at this. Going to watch the demo and give the other 2 pears a try as well. Mind the smudging on the "floor" shadow I'm left handed and didn't think about it until after the fact I feel I didn't keep the edges as sharp as they should be and I definitely had more than 5 values but overall it's a starting point. Really excited to take my time going through this course and practising concepts a good handful of times. Teaching myself hasn't been working so nice to have some structure

Okay, so: I went a bit off-spec and simplified with curves rather than straight lines (I clean forgot about that until I was done) and I definitely bled the values together more I'd like, but here's my genuine first attempt! I'll give it another shot after I watch the demo.

Not gonna lie: you got me for a *second* with the Wacom stylus! 😅

This feels like a silly question, but here goes. I think it's been stated in this course and in the Draftsmen podcasts the importance of having a community and receiving feedback. I feel bad just taking critique and not paying that forward or reinvesting into the community, but at the same time, I don't feel very qualified to give feedback since I'm so new to drawing and art in general. Should I still attempt to do so, despite these feelings? I suppose I could always preface my posts with a statement that I'm a beginner.

Hi everyone, Here is a personal project I've worked on last week. I have tried to focus on gesture, shape design and line quality while leaving complex anatomy aside (difficult with such a big guy 😅) I chose to remove some details (hands for example). The pose still feel static to me even if I tried to push it as far as I could. I am however quite happy with the line quality (line weight variation, confident lines...) and the shape design. Please let me know what you think about it ! I post the final watercolor as well, if you have any experience in painting, feel free to let me know what you think about it as well. Thank you guys ! See you !