Project - Simplify from Observation

Lesson by

34K

Assignments 6KLesson NotesDownloads 9

Project - Simplify from Observation

Lesson by

Stan Prokopenko

in Drawing Basics

34K

Assignments 6KLesson NotesDownloads 9

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.

Aaron Page

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Here we go. I did both assignments... or ATTEMPTED to. This is on my own without Stan's Demo. This is a good exercise for me because I don't know when to stop... I think I stopped my head early because I would start going into detail and start chiseling away my straights if I went any further.

Nate Ferguson

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Here's my level 2 attempt. This assignment was really difficult, but I had a lot of fun working on it. I may have also veered off the path from sharp edges and straight lines, but I couldn't help myself. It doesn't really look like the model either, as the eyes are too big in a cartoonish way and It feels like the face has an almost Smeagol like cheekbone structure to it, Hahaha. Either way, I really enjoyed doing the level 2 portion after my level one attempt and I'll definitely continue to do so as I progress through the course.

Melanie Scearce

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I love this portrait. It has a lot of character. Something that might help is to think about the shapes that make up the facial features instead of using ‘icons’ of what we recognize an eye as. I think it will help get away from the Smeagolness :) it will also help get you in the mindset of simplifying to shapes. It’s a fun challenge, and much more difficult than it seems!

Nate Ferguson

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Anoop JS

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Hi everyone. These were my first attempt before watching the demo.

Nate Ferguson

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I really like your use of white charcoal. It really makes it pop. I'm gonna start implementing that as well.

Mykyta Sichkar

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23h

Hello everyone! I'm will be happy to show my first try.

EscapeOnez

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Tried not to erase my strokes and focused on being true to intent rather than accuracy. Now i'm starting to wonder if i'll ever get an arm able to stroke with ease, those damn shoulder/elbow strokes are such a pain...

EscapeOnez

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Second attempt, Didn't try to dive into details, i attempted to stay as close as i could to proportions and position without diving too far into it and as a "final step" adjusted it to fit the drawing over the photo. Also this time i defined a clear color palette and stick to it, he still look kinda of in need of D vitamin but i think it's better. I like this one way more.

EscapeOnez

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so, this one turned to hell, i got lost into the values, tried to simplify on a way too small scale as a result i kept on stacking up bad form positions appreciation and adding values until it make no sense. Also the character turned green lol, don't ask. Still, gonna post it as an "how to not to", i'll probably produce a lot of these anyway.

Caden Young

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I started this course a while ago but took a pretty long break so I'm just going to restart. Any advice/critique is welcome :)

Nate Ferguson

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I'm in the same boat Caden! Awesome portrait!

@tomfoolery_py

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Complete beginner outside of doodling. I think I fell for the trap of capturing bruises on the pear when there really isn't any shadow formed from it. Pear also isn't tilted enough like in the reference image. Lastly, I didn't do straight lines. I might just do this again. Just glad I did it the first time though :)

@tomfoolery_py

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Second try. Updated while actually following the rules. Not sure what he meant by sharp edges in the video though.

Siddhesh

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my first assignments

Nate Ferguson

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This time I want to add depth to my learning by keeping track of all assignments in my sketchbook with accompanying notes, so I can go back through and review and practice. I also want to try and do both levels 1 and 2 for each assignment. I feel like this would give me the best advantage to develop my techniques and grow.

@amirston

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Level two✌️ assignment. first attemp

Antonio Cabrero

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good job!

Antonio Cabrero

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Here is a before and after watching the demo. I fixed some «mistakes» from the previous attempt, but I also found new ones. Like I get too caught up on the face detail that I get confused what is a much more important shape/plane to show. Also consistency in shading. I think I might bee pressing too softly. And major one is not just taking my time to fill in the shades. there probably is also proportions issues but all in all I’ve learned a lot. tips and tricks welcome!

Wesley

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Try to get the proportions right on the eyes most, if they are even slightly off the image looks a lot worse. You did good on the eyes. Just a note. Also the drawing you made still looks like a person and I think that is a good start.

Sandra Süsser

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Level 2 portrait. I separated proportion, plane / perspective and value study. For the main portrait I focused on separating the values instead of simplifying it to the max.

Aaron Page

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this is awesome...

Rachel Dawn Owens

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I love everything about this. Even how you laid out the page with your name at the bottom corner.

James Paris

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That's dedication ! So cool !

Zaga

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My first time as a beginner. I'm least happy with how the shadow on the ground looks and also how my pear is more slim than on a photo reference.

Nate Ferguson

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I think this is great. Your training your eye to see values and shapes. Awesome.

Daniel Cortes

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Enjoying the process!

Nate Ferguson

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Wow! This is amazing.

Rachel Dawn Owens

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I love your little shapes. I would normally tell students to use less shapes and keep them as big and simple as possible. But your shape design is so nice here, I wouldn’t change a thing. It all fits together like a puzzle. And the values are so clear to read. Great job!

Nancy Larson

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With the 1st sketch image, done before viewing the demo, I did not exactly follow directions, I used chicken scratch curved strokes. Also, I looked at the microcosms of the picture of the pear photo, recognizing I needed to 'step back'. I felt challenged by the shading as well. I did a 2nd sketch after viewing the demo, understanding the need to find the patterns once drawn with straight lines. Comments/feedback always welcome.

zach nason

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attempt on pear 2 gonna attempt others a bit later but feedback is welcomed

zach nason

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Attempt 2 with pear 3 happier with how this one turned out. feeling motivated

Ernesto Alvarado

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Any and all feed back is wanted. the first one is level 1 option 1 and also option 3 model.

Antonio Cabrero

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I attempted the Level 2. It went much better than expected. I made several mistakes one of the most prominent ones is the use of too many soft edges. I tried to avoid it but I think I went too dark and then couldn’t correct. Or maybe not dark enough? also the shapes in the nose aren’t clear because of that. But overall i can’t complain. I also struggled with the eye shapes but I guess that’s more a familiarity issue. (I’m not very versed in portraiture) tips and tricks welcome! 🤗

Rachel Dawn Owens

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There’s a nice range of values here. The shapes could be sharper for this, but it’s still readable. This is a fine study.

@bluemight

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Starting the course :-) Made a first version and a second one a few days later with different brushes. 2nd is maybe a bit better but not that much ? I kept the same base lines and shadows for both. I'm trying a lot of things on digital but I'm still new to it and it's hard to find what to use and when, especially for painting. But it's maybe a project a little too simple to make it really good.

@pancakequeue

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My first attempt was not the best with Level 1 Pear 1, over relied on a HB pen to get my 4 zones of shading. The second images is after watching the overview and taking more care to use a wider range of different graphite pencils. I did notice in the overview too late that the hatching is done at the angle of rotation of the Pear, which does a good job showing depth. If I did this again I'd try to do my hatching more like that.

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Stan Prokopenko

Founder of Proko, artist and teacher of drawing, painting, and anatomy. I try to make my lessons fun and ultra packed with information.