Loved doing the snail, but as a level 1, I was terrified of the boots! So many curves and lines and the foreshortening! Didn't want to do it but was encouraged by other artists my level on this community who've tackled the problem and achieved great results. I did the boots in short sessions over a week. So glad I didn't give up. Though I admit I still did a lot of 'chicken scratching'.

Critique please - Simplify portrait from observation I consider myself a level 1 & did the pear recently, but couldn't pass up the chance at this amazing face. I should say this is my second attempt. The first one ended up in the trash because I totally failed to simplify. I then watched Stan Pork's demonstration, but still also found shading incredibly difficult, which is weird, because listening to the instructions, I thought conceptually it sounded so easy. But the execution of the task was a different and very humbling story. One problem I have is not owning a set of H-range to range pencils from the same manufacturer. So my H & HB are Derwent's and the softer B's (I used 4B and 8B) were Staedtler Mars Lumigraph. I really like the Derwents & probably need to invest in a set of those. Any feedback will be much appreciated.

For me, Syd Mead is the pinnacle. If only I would dare to be great like him. I want to be able to place characters in their environments realistically like Garin Baker, Robert Mccginnis, and Syd Mead. I would like to use perspective as a stage to bend or break reality like Jeremy Geddis. I would like to use perspective as a frame work that allows me to project mood and emotion in a piece of artwork like Carl Bretzke.

First art submission since I was about 8 😬 Admittedly, the simplification process was much harder than I thought. Please let me know how I can improve.