Taking a good photo was pretty hard! But I got way better on the second (lower) attempt! I used an HB to 8B, and lightened square one with an eraser, which I think was a great exercise for me! How do people ensure they don't go to dark too fast? I really felt that I had to press on the last squares.

First line study had to be Hokusai! I have always loved his work, his inking's tend have nuanced differences in line weight so I tried to capture that, but what I love most is his sense of texture and motion. Capturing that detail was so hard though.

I did a lil moth! the first two pages were me figuring it out and the last one was from imagination!

The first two sketch pages are with reference and the last sketch is from imagination, please let me know how you feel about it!

So the bird turned out better, but I really tried to stay light and sketchy on the arm and the VR girl. I tend to dive into the detail too early so it was a fun challenge!

First attempt versus second! way more patience on the second attempt AND an understanding of layering pencils made a world of difference!