Hi Aaron_1, Yes, I agree with hoda. And I would like to suggest that you also look into perspective drawing, construction, and 3D. In as much as we draw things in 2D space, they should have some sense of form and direction. Your drawing looks flat. It lacks volume. Stan Prokopenko has various free awesome videos on drawing hands on his YouTube channel (look for How to Draw Hands in his Human Anatomy for Artists playlist) that tackle all that I'm writing about and more. If you haven't seen the videos already, I think they are a great resource. If you have them, kindly, be patient with yourself and practice, practice, practice. You are on your way there. And hold on to this drawing and the subsequent ones. And compare your progress after a year. Provided you keep learning and practicing - with more practicing - you will notice significant progress. Good luck.

Hey John, The drawing looks pretty good and it looks like you learned your anatomy enough to make it convincing. So, I'm going to focus on your rendering which gives the anatomy nice form, but doesn't do the same for the overall figure. The problem I am seeing is that you are not comparing values to other areas in the figure. Also, you have to think about how the light is affecting the larger shapes of the body, like the torso shape, arm shape, leg shape, etc. One way you can do this better is to squint at the reference. When you do that everything becomes either shadow or light. Once you establish this division, then you can start modeling the smaller forms. Example: The light spot on the inside of the right triceps, you have it as the same value as the background. Is it? No, not even close. This is what I mean about comparing values to other values in the reference. I did a quick and sloppy sketch to show you what I mean, I hope it helps :)

Hello Prokoverse... Kindly, I would like a critique of this figure drawing Paper size A3 (it's what I can afford at the moment) Medium Graphite HB <-> 4B Please forgive the quality of the photo because I don't have access to a nicer camera. I just finished working on this figure drawing. It is the first anatomical figure drawing I have ever done. For what it is worth, by anatomical I mean drawing a figure while paying attention to anatomy and such. I finished going through Stan Prokopenko's Anatomy course around March 2023 (the free YouTube version), and this figure is the first one I have done to apply the knowledge I acquired from the course. I want to become a good illustrator. My focus with this figure was on anatomy, rendering, and composition. I would appreciate any critiques on those areas (anatomy, rendering, composition). If you feel you have something to say, kindly, pick any topic among those three that you feel most comfortable with, or even critique all three areas if you are willing. Any feedback focusing on any or all of those three areas is highly appreciated. Thank you in advance for sparing me some of your valuable time

Hi Pasqualed...I'm not yet one of the best artists in the world, but based on the little I know, I think the medium (pen, pencil, charcoal, paint, etc.) you use doesn't matter much. The medium is secondary, and the lesson comes first. If it is gesture drawing, I think you should focus on that; gesture drawing. Once you can confidently and successfully do gesture drawing, then no one will care much whether you used ink, charcoal, or sand. I think it is best to focus on gesture drawing using the medium you feel the most comfortable with. I think progress can be achieved quicker that way. Once mastery of gesture drawing is attained, then challenging oneself with other mediums can be introduced. My reasoning is that it is best to tackle one thing at a time. I think it is easier to only focus on gesture drawing instead of struggling with gesture drawing and a foreign medium at the same time. I'm not yet very good at gesture drawing myself. So my critique is limited to whether to use pen or pencil. But if you feel you are good with gesture drawing using pencil...I don't think it is an issue using pen. The most important thing is that you master the lesson. The medium used is not that essential.

Hi Stan, Marshall, the rest of Proko, and the Proko community. Just finished watching Draftsmen S4 E01. Loved it. Fascinating subject this AI business. Is it possible to invite either Kirsten Zirngibl or Karla Ortiz or both of them in a future episode about AI? Their personal input would be invaluable. When the conversation brought up AI and detectives, it reminded me of Psycho-Pass, an Anime that's based on a future Japan that's being governed by AI, literally. Very interesting. In case you check it out, kindly, leave kids out of it as it has gore in it. But generally, it has interesting concepts regarding AI, laws, and the society. And when Stan said he preferred to talk to a human rather than a machine...it reminded me of a NY Times article I read a while back. It took me some time to find it but I managed. For the curious ones, here is the link: https://www.nytimes.com/2022/04/24/business/akihiko-kondo-fictional-character-relationships.html Thank You Stan for all the love you are showing to the art community in the world. STAY STRONG AND CLEAR!

Hello Proko-people, I'm one of the new comers to the Proko Challenge. My entry for this month's challenge involves some sketches from the imagination. I started exercising my creativity and imagination skills sometime last year. After noticing the theme for this month's challenge, I figured I could add some color to some of the sketches I've done. I used Photoshop for the coloring/painting. La vie est belle

Hi Natali, I'll do my best to help. Your rendering is impressive and according to me, you are on the right track. My Answers: 1) I understand that the theory behind occlusion shadows is that they are areas where light is almost completely (if not completely) prevented from reaching. If you are referring to the area with the blue rectangle, I wouldn't consider it an occlusion shadow. Occlusion shadows normally exist close to areas where two surfaces meet. For example, the area where the apple meets the table (OS), or where the white tallest box meets the table (the areas pointed by my pink/red lines - OS). If you check them out, you'll notice that they are nearly (if not completely) black. 2) I think you generally got the direction of the light source correct. I bet most would agree that if you hadn't brought it up, few (if any) would complain about that aspect of your artwork. According to the shadows, there does seem to be various light sources but from essentially the same direction - perhaps windows. You did the right thing the way you resolved it. You don't have to copy your reference exactly. Allowing yourself some artistic license to only capture the big picture is acceptable. 3) To identify the horizon line, I look for top planes and bottom planes (purple/ magenta boxes). If you can see the top plane of an object (even a bit), the horizon is above it. If you can see the bottom plane of an object (even a little), the horizon is below it. If you can't see either the top or bottom plane of an object, the horizon is somewhere between the top plane and the bottom plane. Since we can see the top plane of the tallest box it means the horizon is above it. But we can't see the top plane of the cup; therefore, the horizon is either at the same level as its top plane or below it. Conclusion - the horizon is somewhere between the top of the tallest box and the top of the cup (green box zone). 4) Reflective surfaces tend to get more reflective the further away they get from us. This is true for surfaces that are reflective but not mirrors or chrome (these tend to reflect everything as is). To understand reflectivity, you'll have to investigate further about the angle of incidence. The best I can give for now is that the area closest to the viewer is less reflective compared to the area further, like where the "cup" is. I recommend Scott Robertson's book "How To Render - the fundamentals of light, shadow, and reflectivity". You'll find all your answers and more in great detail and examples. 5) The value transition on the board in the background is the result of various elements - all available in its immediate surrounding. The source of light is a factor. The surface the objects are on is a factor. The objects themselves are a factor. Any other object in the environment that can reflect light is a factor. The interaction of light and all the elements in the environment impact their ultimate value. Also, the angle of incidence comes into play here. 6) You already brought this up earlier, and I think it is possible that there are various sources of light but generally from the same direction-ish. 7) As I indicated in the beginning, I believe you are on the right track. I'm not yet the expert I intend to be, but I can't say much against your artwork. One area I feel you may want to be more careful about is proportion. I don't know whether you did it intentionally but if you compare your work to the reference image, you'll notice that the relationship between the shorter box (the one with the cup on top) and the container in front (next to the apple) is not the same. In the reference, the shorter box seems taller than the container in front. In your work, this relationship is reversed - your container is depicted taller than the shorter box. Unless you did it intentionally, you may want to watch out for that. The last area according to me that I think you may improve on is reflected light. Your artwork has captured light and shadow areas quite well, but apart from the container in front (next to the apple), I don't notice much depiction of reflected light. I have noticed that most of your questions are about light, shadows, and reflectivity. Here are a few resources I believe will help: > How to Render - the fundamentals of light, shadow and reflectivity by Scott Robertson and Thomas Bertling (Book) > Ambient Occlusion - and Ambient Light for Painters (free YouTube video by Marco Bucci) > Mind-Blowing Realistic Shading Tricks (free YouTube video by Dorian Iten) > Fix Your Shading Mistakes - Egg Challenge Critiques (free YouTube video by Dorian Iten) I hope that helps and I wish you only the best