I feel like I kinda understand, but also not. I’m having a difficult time separating things in my mind, like shapes vs contour. I think I’m focusing too much on contour, but I tried to think about the shapes while I was drawing.

I definitely spent way too much time trying to get mine accurate. And in the end they weren’t very accurate anyway. I’ll try again focusing on more confident lines and less about the accuracy. I am looking forward to those exercises, I struggle with drawing what I actually see.

Here's my level 1 snail. I think I'm taking too long and calculating too much. I spent some time just ghosting and redrawing the lines to build more confidence.

At first I did the assignment with a pencil, but then I got a bit carried away and redid all the pencil marks with ink and added a bit of watercolor on top. The hardest part was the twisting of the laces. They feel more like ribbons instead of laces with thickness. Following a similar line, very close to it, but slightly different was definitely tough.

These were a challenge because there is some foreshortening going on in the picture. I wanted to go bigger and started bigger but I went wrong somewhere on my proportion. Luckily I went light and could erase. Curious to see how Stan simplifies these boots.

Here's my line drawing submission, I think I might have added to much detail. I found it difficult to choose what to simplify when the subject is this detailed. All critiques are welcome.

I started with the boots because they really scared me. I honestly don't know if I did these right, they seem simple enough and I tried to think about what kind of line I was putting down before drawing it. The proportions are pretty off, but overall I'm pretty happy with how both drawings came out. I hope I did the assignment correctly with simplifying the lines.

Starting when I got pregnant with my daughter, since October of 2021, I’ve dealt with pretty heavy depression. After I had her in July, my depression got a bit worse. That entire time I had no desire to draw or create any art. A few months ago the spark started to come back, and at the beginning of the year I challenged myself to spend a few minutes each day drawing. So since January I have drawn a little mini picture and taped it to my calendar (I’m following a prompt list from BardotBrush). Some days I draw more, some days that’s all I have the time for. The point is I do it and now it’s a habit. I love looking at my calendar and seeing my progress and it pushes me to keep the streak going! I just wanted to share what I’ve been doing and how it’s helped me some with my mental health journey. (I have spoken to my doctor about this btw. I work on making progress every day.)

First and second attempt, plus reference used. I had issues with my pencils not being what I thought they were, plus I had my son elbowing me while playing on his switch lol. The second attempt I did after really studying the reference image. Plus I was able to have some time relatively distraction free (I have a 6 month old as well.) I also switched to pencils from one set, as opposed to a HB from one set and a 2B from another. I was able to get more distinct (and predictable) values that way.

I love paper and sketchbooks! I feel I need to fill out what I have before I start buying more, but I may have to get that toned tan paper. That Donkey Kong drawing was so beautiful!!!! ❤️