just eyeballing was "easier" just because putting down shapes was faster. Still off - I think it's fine tho? I can't expect to be as good as this I want to be given that I just started doing this type of drawing. I will probably fill this sketch book with this type of portrait drawings since this project was fun.

As far as accuracy in proportion - I'd say there is a slight improvement from my first attempt - maybe I am just coping. Regardless - I am pretty happy how this one turned out compare to the first one from the project. I feel as this one captures more of the "feel" of the portrait. Anyhow, I shouldn't expect to get it 100% in what is literally my second attempt at this. Onwards!

This was so hard. My attempt took about two hours. I did take short breaks. I had to write next to some of my markings what the mark was for otherwise I'd forget haha. This is a skill that I need to incorporate into my regular practice. It's mentally taxing though! Does anyone else think so too or is it just me?

as stressful as it was - this was a pretty fun project I highly recommend getting a new sketch book if you don't have the recommended size (14x17). I thought going out of my way to purchase a new one was an overkill but as I was drawing, I was glad I got it. The small shapes were a massive pain - can't imagine trying to do it on a smaller space. Not sure how I did - everything seems a bit off to very off. Seems like I stretched out proportions horizontally. If I edit the dimension of my drawing by stretching it vertically, that gives me a better fit. Anyhow - I will have to watch the critic to understand how well/bad I did.

That was a blast to watch. I am know it is expected for me to struggle with shapes and rhythm since I just picked up a pencil but it is still somewhat demoralizing seeing a master put lines like that while struggling to produce something similar to it. This course has giving me a new found appreciation for the quick gesture drawings. Before, it look like something "easy" since it was so quick and it was all basic shapes. But the more I practiced and study - the more I realize those drawings are the product of years and years of experience. So - if you're like me and still struggling with confidence, just keep at it. At least that's what I keep telling myself :)

Before watching the level 2 demo, I wanted to try it out. It turned out better than expected. I am still lacking in terms of design - I don't think any of these drawings have a specific design that really stands out. I tried out the "psychology" of shapes by drawing the wasp with a lot of straights and triangles while the bumblebee was all about round shapes. I really encourage anyone who is at level 1 to try out level 2. It was a lot of fun, I will probably do a couple more of these later.

These are all after watching the demo One major difference between these and my initial attempt was to try to make the shape look "fun" while keeping the essence of the reference subjects Someone in the previous discussion suggested drawing thumbnails - that really helped. Funny enough, the drawing that I like the most is the rooster thumbnail. I don't know why - it just looks more...."fun" /"crisp" (?) - no idea what the right word might be

These are my initial drawings. I struggle a lot not only with the shape design but also as to what constitutes as a "shape" If the "shape" is not fully enclosed - is it still a shape? For example, if you draw something similar to a U - is it a line or a "shape" that looks like an U? it is hard to explain but I'd love to hear everyone's opinion This was the main struggle I had when drawing all of these since I wanted to make sure to keep it to 10 shapes or less

Here's my assignment, it really enjoyed this one. I dont really like the way the hyena looks (looks a bit on the clownish side) and i kinda of messed up the ellipse for the elephant's trunk (and it doesnt help that the tusk was in the way of the silhouette of the ellipse either), but working with shapes really helped me breakdown what im seeing and also make it look more 3d!

Here are all my simplifications, found it kinda hard to just simplify. My shapes ended up looking bad I feel like.