I didn't have many ideas going in, but I found that once you put down the first two or three lines the isometric view makes it pretty easy to just keep going and see where instinct takes you. The shape I decided on was actually one of the first sketches that I put down on the page, and then I tried to add more and more ideas onto it. But I found that I enjoyed looking at the simple version more than the more complex ones. And it's a good thing too because it was already enough to confuse me in a couple of places. At one point I noticed that something was off. It took me longer than I'd like to admit to realize that I was drawing the red line instead of the green one, and I was only able to see it when I drew the same thing on a computer. I find that being able to experiment both quickly and precisely without worrying about having to erase lines and leave marks on the page is a huge help. The satisfaction of having the finished piece on paper is undeniable, though. I did not dare shade, because I feared ruining it.

I chose Glen Keane, Frank Frazetta and Karl Kopinski. I don't think I got too close to the originals, but it was fun trying and it's really interesting how much I subconsciously changed my approach based on whom I was studying.

My attempt before watching the demo. I used a 2mm mechanical pencil, which in hindsight feels like a mistake, as filling in the lines became very tedious and slowed down the decision process. I also should have used a darker lead, I think.

After watching the level 1 demo, I decided to have a go at the level 2 assignments.

I didn't have too much trouble with the snail. The boot however had me procrastinate for around a month. I started with a light sketch to get the general shapes. I then began refining the lines from the laces. When I got to the "loopy" ones I got kind of overwhelmed; I took a break, and it ended up being way longer than I was expecting lol. I think the problem is that I was focusing too much on the proportions. I wanted to get them all exactly right at first, but at least the month-long break helped me break out of this tendency, and when I got back I was able to be a little looser. Another thing I struggled with, again mostly with the boot, is drawing from the shoulder. There were many instances where I tried to draw some small detail from the shoulder, but it came out too imprecise and I switched back to the wrist. For these reasons I decided to watch the demo before drawing the other boot.

This is my first real attempt at shading. I had a hard time leaving clear edges between adjacent planes. It was also difficult to judge how dark the shadows needed to be, and I had to go over them multiple times after putting in the midtones and highlights.