Project - Simplify from Observation
Project - Simplify from Observation
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Project - Simplify from Observation
courseDrawing BasicsFull course (185 lessons)
$159
assignments 3813 submissions
Vance Viggiano
When you can't decide on Level 1 or Level 2. I thought it might be fun to try it on gray paper. Everyone's work is inspiring! Happy to be learning with you all!
LESSON NOTES

Alright guys, let's jump into the deep end and see how you do! I feel like we've been talking a lot and not drawing enough. So, before we move on to learning about Lines, I want to give you an opportunity to spend some time doing a simplified drawing. You’re going to draw a pear or portrait if you’re doing the level 2 project. I know… A fruit isn’t the most exciting thing to draw, but it’s going to allow you to focus on the process I’m going to show you, instead of being distracted by a difficult subject matter.

This will let us see where you're at with your skills. It’s totally fine if you're at zero. Kind of expected actually. But, you'll identify right away what you struggle with. And you’ll be introduced to a lot of the skills that you’ll be working on improving in this course.

You can draw from the photos I provided in the downloads tab, or find your own fruit and draw from life. Pick a fruit that has an interesting shape you like. Put the fruit on your desk and shine a light on it. Move the light around until you like the balance of light and dark shapes. 

If you don’t want to draw the photo I provided, or you want to do more than one, feel free to find your own photo. Just make sure you choose a photo with a strong single light source that creates a clear separation of lights and shadows. Many moons ago I wrote a blog post about good photo reference.

Make sure you take a photo of it from your point of view, so you can include it when posting your drawing in the community. If you want to be critiqued by me or others in the community, we'll need to see what you were drawing. 

Join us in the premium course to get access to this lesson, full lesson notes, assignments, demonstrations and critiques!

DOWNLOADS
jpeg
level-1-pear-1.jpg
2 MB
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level-1-pear-2.jpg
2 MB
jpeg
level-1-pear-3.jpg
2 MB
jpeg
level-2-portrait.jpg
1 MB
mp4
project-simplify-from-observation.mp4
183 MB
txt
project-simplify-from-observation-transcript-english.txt
5 kB
txt
project-simplify-from-observation-transcript-spanish.txt
6 kB
file
project-simplify-from-observation-captions-english.srt
9 kB
file
project-simplify-from-observation-captions-spanish.srt
8 kB
ASSIGNMENTS

Use the reference photos in the downloads tab or go find your own reference and start drawing! Remember, this project is all about simplifying to clarify.

Make sure to keep these 3 things in mind:

Shapes - Draw your shapes with straight lines
Values - Use only 5 values. 2 in the shadow and 3 in the lights
Edges - Make every single edge sharp!

I'll publish my drawing demos of both levels next Tuesday so you can watch me go through the problem solving process. For a chance to be included in the critique videos, you must submit your drawing to the community by January 26th, 2023, so I can begin filming and producing the critique video.

@raedaera
Here is my level one submission. I know the first critique is going to be the lack of sharp edges. It had been over a week since I saw the original video (got sick) and totally forgot that part of the assignment and just started drawing the pear photo I downloaded. Hopefully this still works.
Aenea W
4h
I tried the exercise a couple times but something still looks slightly off. I think it’s because my darkest values are too dark but I don’t really know.
Aenea W
2h
Really stupid of me in retrospect, i just didn’t have enough contrast between light and dark
Nick Vandrepol
I just tried to make "level-1-pear-2" and "level-1-pear-3". What could I do to make it better?
Sebastian V
Draw big, observe the pear before doing anything and try to follow the silhouette, and use your whole arm. You can also watch the demo to have a better view of how you can do it.
Deborah Miller
Hi, I have just started the coarse, I’m away at the moment and most of my pencils are at home, I only have a 2B & 4B pencil with me. I’m really enjoying the coarse and love seeing everyone’s work:)
Thomas Oates
Nick Vandrepol
Not bad!
@ordukwu
2d
Just began the course my first assignment.What could improve?
@lalove
2d
Hello i just started the course, I only have HB pencil i just wanted to try with only one pencil, i struggled a bit to make faint lines so i almost skipped them up in the lighter areas i was not able to get easily 4 colors, ill try again when i have a pencil kit.
Nick Vandrepol
Looks nice!
Kelly
2d
Here are my first attempts. First attachment is my first attempt at pear 1, while the second pear is my second attempt at pear 1. The third attachment are my attempts at pears 2 and 3. I think I'm having issues with clearly defining a difference between my value levels, and keeping my edges sharp enough.
@lalove
2d
hmm i had difficulty too for the medium light part, yours are pretty good though
Kelly
2d
I watched the demo, and tried pears 2 and 3 again, and I think they came out better this time!
Yevgeniy
3d
Pear and an attempt at the portrait
Xzaneious
Got frustrated halfway through and this is the result. Will try again when i am not frustrated.
Deryck Singh
Tried lvl 2 for fun. Any critique appreciated.
Libbi Art
Here's my attempt. The 1st one was a fail because I didn't know which values to choose. The 2nd and 3rd one are better but i feel like something is missing. Is it because they are too blended? I can't seem to figure it out.
Melanie Scearce
There's already improvement here! Nice work. I would agree with you, your edges are more firm bordering on soft, instead of sharp. That makes it difficult to identify how many values you're using and the design of your shapes as they're concealed by the gradient of halftones. Try to stick with only sharp edges, and be very intentional about how each shape is designed, using CSI lines.
Bryan
4d
Going through again
Mohamed Hammoud
Please let me know what you think. It was hard to keep it sharp.
Melanie Scearce
Nice work, Mohamed. You got the right idea! I have a suggestion to help you keep your edges sharp and increase the clarity of your shapes: lightly sketch your value shapes as one of your first steps to approaching this project. After you draw the contour, make a plan for how your value shapes will fit together. Think of it kind of like putting puzzle pieces together. Small adjustments can be made as you work, so keep your lines light until the very end. I included a sequence of how I would tackle this project. I hope that helps!
@phosphate
Would love some critique and feedback! The order of the images is the order I did them in. If for some reason things get messed up the order is pear 1, portrait, pear 2, pear 3 (the pears' numbers following how their files are numbered, so pear 1 = level 1 pear 1)
@ruoyi105
this is hard but I will keep practicing
@pkosea20
Well, I drew a thing.... I am going to try and be positive in that I am a beginner and things will get better :/
Linn
5d
Greetings everyone! I misunderstood the assignment on the first attempt, so her are both of my drawings 🍐
@sakproko
Here is my second attempt of pear1. Please let me know your feedback. Thanks
Daniel Cho
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