Project - Simplify from Observation
Project - Simplify from Observation
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Project - Simplify from Observation
courseDrawing BasicsFull course (185 lessons)
$159
assignments 9060 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.

Myat Aung
•
41m
Please critique my work!!
Mariya Lilith
I feel like I got the gradients better in the first image (1st reference) even though I tried to improve (after watching the demo) with the second image (2nd reference). I really need to get better at pushing my darker tones too. Also, I tried to simplify, but I'm wondering if the 2nd drawing is too simple. I know from past experiences that this is something I need to continue to work on but not to let that stop me from moving onto the next lesson.
@alexandriayang
Hello! I am very shy to share my practice drawings! I am artistic as a hobby baker who decorates cookies and cakes, but drawing is something entirely different and I want to learn and become good at it. The first try I drew an apple. I don't have the reference photo since I forgot to take one. For my second try, I used a picture of a pear I found online. I do think my pear looks much better than the initial apple. Everyone's practice drawings look amazing. I am inspired and would love constructive feedback. Thank you! Ally
@dabbo
•
4h
Simplifying is fun, but more complicated than I expected. Inbetween caught myself using more than 5 tones. Tried to correct wherever I could. Please critique me. Thanks!
@pedroalves13
I never shaded anything before XD, and i think my shapes are off
Alonso García Álvarez
This is my attempt for the lv 2
Alonso García Álvarez
I tried the level 1 and now im going to try the lv 2
Jarron O'Neal
Tried my hand at the intermediate assignment. Something feels off with it but I'm not sure what it is. I'm thinking the proportions are off.
Jeff Koon
I believe I have lost some of the sharpness in my edges as I shaded in the shadows and lights. I can see this proportioning is going to be a bit challenging for a bit. :)
Martha Muniz
Hey there! I think what would help with the sharpness of your edges is practicing a value scale (an example is attached, so you can try recreating it with pencil), so you can hone in on shading a consistent value for each step on the scale. Especially focus that it's an even tone for the entirety of the square from edge to edge, so that you can see a clear distinction between each value. It may seem subtle, but it's the small variations in tone as you reach the edges that can make the borders feel fuzzy or unclear, so refining this will help a lot when you go for a full drawing like the pear. I also think some of it be due to accidental smudging, so something that helps is using a napkin or sheet of paper under your hand as you draw. Otherwise, I think your value progression and placement is pretty good and on the right track, so just making the values more refined by practicing the scale will make it much more clear. Hope this helps! :)
Jarron O'Neal
Probably one of the best drawings I've done since I started drawing a year ago. Getting the right pressure on the pencil was difficult so I had to switch from a 2B to a 3H to get the lighter tones, I would absolutely love any and all criticism, please let me know if there's anything I can improve on.
Martha Muniz
Hey there! Great start :D I think you made a good choice making the most of your pencils, since the lighter tones are very well done. For some points of refinement to push it to the next level, I would recommend drawing in your guidelines for the value shapes lighter, so that they're not visible (specifically for the light section, where they're darker than the values themselves and can stick out as a harsh outline). We want the values themselves to be consistently rendered, so that the change from value group to value group is clear enough without needing an outline. What would also help in the darker section, to keep the values consistently rendered, is going back to fill in the gaps of white. It may seem like a small change, but just that detail can make it feel much more consistent, clear, and polished as a whole. I hope this helps, and I look forward to seeing your work as you go through your art journey! :)
Joe
•
2d
First time I’ve shaded digitally, but had hard time seeing all 3 light values i think i got it somewhat right but some criticism would be helpful. - Before Demo
Fiona Parker
This is my third attempt at this one, I struggled to keep it to just 5 values!! Finding perfect shape was tricky too any criticism is very welcome!
Camille Varner Kolafa
Values are looking great! My main critique would be that you used more curves than straight lines, so try to stick to straight on your next attempt! I also think your background is distracting from the values, it's too close to the light shadow. If you want to keep some of the background, I would suggest drawing it in a box (it won't look too "weird" since this assignment focuses on using shapes to build your values!) coming from behind the right side of the pear since that side is lighter.
B
•
3d
First post. I did this one digitally, and had the reference image under what I was drawing. Shaded in with solid fills.
Daw
•
3d
First time doing this...havent watched the demo yet, just tried to do it from the project vid. Had a hard time with controlling how much pressure I put on the page. And getting straight lines lol
Camille Varner Kolafa
Good start though! Doing straight lines on a round object can definitely be tough, sometimes it helps just to do short lines on the curves. It might help if you make a value box scale somewhere on your page with your 5 values as a key so that you can refer to it. You could definitely go darker on your darkest value and then adjust the next lightest accordingly, and I think you should also let some of the page show through in the lightest spots :)
Sérgio S. Filho
I didn't have any pears at home, so I drew a banana instead. I think it would have been easier to start with the pear. 😅
Camille Varner Kolafa
Hey at least you got practice drawing from life! It looks great. You did a good job using just shapes and straight lines! Definitely give the pear a shot too!
Benedikt Brinkmann
I've watched the demo and made some notes. Then I gave the pear another go. For the new approach I used the pear-2 image so that I can make sure I don't try to copy what Stan is showing in the video. My new approach is way better in terms of clear value separation. I'm particular proud of the stomp. Proportions and line length and placement where the hardest parts for me. The background (I used the light shadow) as Stan shows in the video definitely makes a big difference for the halftones and highlights. I would really appreciate some thoughts and critique on this. Especially in comparison to the first try.
Camille Varner Kolafa
Your 2nd attempt definitely shows a lot of improvement :) My biggest critique would be to try and get darker with the darkest value (and adjust the next lightest accordingly), because I feel like those 2 values are a bit too close and it can be hard to distinguish them in some spots. Otherwise, great work!
Zaki Al-Hanbali
I would sincerely love to hear the feedback on this trial of mine. It is the my first trial, and I can already say, I either need to take a better photo, or have a better variety of pencil shades at hand.
Camille Varner Kolafa
You've got a great start! I might even suggest drawing it straight from life since you have your own pear instead of taking a photo (unless you already ate it, lol!). I think your values have a good start, but I'm really only seeing 3 when you should have 5 for this assignment. You've got the darkest, the midtone, and the highlight. It helps to start by making a value box scale somewhere on your page so you can use it as a key to refer to. Also, make sure you're breaking down the values into shapes, and use straight lines for all your edges! The surface shadow doesn't have any straight lines/edges. Also, if you're having trouble seeing the values on your pear, try squinting at it! If you want to use the photo, Proko has a helpful tool for finding values :) https://www.proko.com/values
@marle_rose
First and second attempt
Алишер Тухтасинов
It was very difficult, I still don’t quite understand how shadows behave. I haven't watched the demo yet.
Camille Varner Kolafa
I think you've almost got it! Looks like you were focused on "shading" though, so I would suggest simplifying your values by drawing their shapes, making sure to keep the straight line edges in. I think you could also get darker on the darkest value! Especially in the eye sockets, right side of the face, and the hair.
mashid b
•
5d
hey! I tried to keep the feedback from my last attempt in mind and make a few improvement!
Camille Varner Kolafa
Awesome improvement, I love your mark-making and agree with Melanie that your values read very clearly. Good job utilizing the shapes and straight lines :) The bounce light within the darkest side of the pear looks so nice!
Melanie Scearce
Really nice! Your values read very clearly!
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