Drawing Basics
Getting Started
Lines
Shapes
How Perspective Works
Intuitive Perspective
Values
Bonus Content
It’s time for level 2 critiques…portraits!
I’ll be looking through your portrait submissions and giving advice and tips on how to improve on common mistakes.
Newest
Hobo Dios
24d
Any tips for the portrait? I had some trouble organizing the values ;(
Andrea Sambrano
1mo
As a level 1 beginner, this portrait was a real challenge. I think one of the problems was my attempt to create a resemblance rather than focusing
essentially on the light and shadows. I will reattempt to capture this portrait while concentrating on blocking out the five values.
@someonefung
2mo
Again I draw this long time ago and back to this course today.
Is not my first time to draw portrait and also after the pear exercise. I am glad that the result is beautiful.
Is still a very challenging to use only 5 tones to draw, maybe it’s not simplified enough.
@mathtry2draw
2mo
Here are my homework
•
2mo
Looks great! The only thing I could say is avoid outlining the highlight shape with a darker value, but it doesn't seem to be an issue in any other drawing beside the pear. Keep up the food work!
@zugg55
2mo
No idea if this is where I’m supposed to send my pics. But if it is please critique.
Thx, Zig
•
2mo
@zugg55 Nice work! I really like the pear, you wrapped the form with really even values, looks great! When you're ready to post your work look for the Project video for that assignment, you can post directly in the Project video comments section. https://www.proko.com/course-lesson/project-simplify-from-observation/assignments
Tom Goul
2mo
Excellent drawings. I think you have a real handle on plane changes to fill out the form.
@gavinotheelf
2mo
Final attempt. Dunno if I improved upon the last one but Im gonna move on from this
@gavinotheelf
2mo
Third attempt. Better than the others but the proportions of the eyes are off
Tom Goul
2mo
Well done. I think you nailed the concept of the lesson.
@gavinotheelf
2mo
Did 2 attempts plus one in pen. I honestly can't tell if I did better on the second attempt. The proportions are worse but the shading looks better
Maria Gaitan
2mo
After completing the official assignment, I decided to tackle another portrait because I really wanted to understand this concept of shape simplification way more. I did not do this in 1 sitting. It took me a couple of days because I tried to do it digitally first, but I wasn’t happy with the progress. I decided to do it traditionally because the feeling of pencil on paper is just unbeatable. There a lot of things I would change and I still wanted to do to this, but I’m training myself to stop working on a drawing endlessly. I feel I could’ve pushed the values even more. There is a ton I still need to learn, and this assignment is really challenging! But I kinda feel I can move on to the next lesson…. (?) I doubt myself a lot so I’m working on that as well…. So, jumping to the next lesson isn’t easy 😮💨
Juice
2mo
It looks so good! It looks like something from a comic.
Maria Gaitan
2mo
I found a picture from when I was separating the shadow from the light, and I kinda went back to the drawing to darken some areas.
@feolin
2mo
I think this is amazing work! Looking forward to seeing more of your art!
JK
3mo
well, in the very end sketch becomes something totally different xD
second try after the critique
@spach
3mo
Feelin good about this not perfect but I think I stayed true to what you were asking for in terms of simplicity and tone
Aru B
4mo
Hi, After watching the 2 critiques, this is my first attempt. Please give me some feedback on this.
Isaiah
4mo
1st attempt was the woman.
2nd attempt was the man after watching critique and refining approach.
🙂, This was a fun lesson. Onward to warm-ups and lines.
Kendi Fujii
4mo
•
4mo
It seems like your value scale has its steps very similar to one another. Try utilizing pure black as the very darkest step, with every value in between evenly spaced out. For example, the middle value would be at 50% between white and black. That way, you can work with a full range to break down the tones of the original image. Even though his skin tone is lighter, the shadows will bring certain sections almost to a pure black, so every value step will count. But you already have great simplification, you're on the right track. Keep it up, and hope this helps! :)
Alex
4mo
Here is my first attempt, how can I improve?
@paperpumpkin
4mo
You've got pretty solid proportions and line quailty. Your ear looks amazing.
Try pushing the differences in your values. Your neck looks like one entire color and I can only see a faint outline of a triangle where it might be a value change. The bright side of the face also looks like just one value. Be bold! Be dramatic!
I did a quick overlay of your drawing. It's extremely rough but hopefully you can see the different values clearly. Side note: you also add a middle value under the nose to indicate a plane change. I hoped this helped some. Overall really good drawing, especially for a first attempt.
•
4mo
Just keep drawing!
This is a great drawing for this assignment!!
Michael Mana
4mo
This is my first attempt before critique video or demo, then the second one is the one I made after (its a lot better)
@josephl
4mo
First time posting. Wanted to go through all the videos and study them each attempt before sharing.
Agnieszka
4mo
Your practice is just amazing! If you keep up this quality, I think you will achieve so much. Great job!
@huitoto
5mo
I picked a different photo to not be influenced by stan´s demo, my first attempt was not satisfactory so I did it again after saw the critiques and I think its much better.
Any feedback is appreciated
Stefan Sharkov
4mo
Great second attempt. You managed to keep the drawings within 5 values and add some interesting shape design. Good work.
Natalie K
5mo
Before demo and after demo. The biggest struggle is again to avoid getting into the details.
Stefan Sharkov
4mo
These look good. Just remember to keep your brain thinking simple and your struggle with details will diminish quickly.
•
5mo
Getting into details to soon is a problem that just about every artist struggles with.
These drawing are looking great!
@thewayofallflesh
5mo
Third try on portraits after the critique video. Proportions are off although I thought they were fine. I think I've made the forhead and hair bigger than they appear in the reference photo. I think I should use a softer pencil because I'm using 5B and 3B for shadows and they don't seem different at first. Then, I darken the darker shadow and later realise it's too dark. I went over it with an eraser and it left some spots. The lighter halftone and the value of the paper almost look the same. Also I haven't thought in planes and shadow shapes enough, around 50% of total drawing time although I've tried. I will work on proporions more and will go over shadows more lightly and will try to make the halftones darker.
Stefan Sharkov
4mo
Nice attempt. I can see that the light on the left side is too bright. I suggest decrease the value by one level just so you wouldn't have such a stark contrast. Good job.
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About instructor
Founder of Proko, artist and teacher of drawing, painting, and anatomy. I try to make my lessons fun and ultra packed with information.
