Pear 2 I need to work on consistency in my shading, values seem too close. Maybe getting the right pencils will help, right now I only have a 2H. Also I want to work on "neatness" of shading the planes, first attempt is better I was more patient with it. And wondering if direction matters for improving the render? Seems to my eye that it does, particularly the shadow looks messy.

I was inspired to try your photo while watching the critiques, thought I would share it in case it is helpful. That orange is so round! and I found a sphere is really difficult to do in this lesson. So I really tried to simplify it as much as a could, and focused on shading along the "planes". I think the biggest thing that stood out to me on yours is the edges you darkened along the shaded values, they should be the same value of the shadow for that region so that they don't look like a "border" or intentional outline. And the 5 values should tend to transition like 'darkest > dark > mid > light > lightest' as you move from the deepest shadowed part toward the light source. Just a beginner here and new to the site, sorry if I overstep but I liked your photo and just wanted to give it a try and send some friendly and hopefully helpful feedback :) Good luck!