Project - Simplify from Observation

Lesson by

35K

Course In Progress

Assignments 6.2KLesson NotesDownloads 9

Project - Simplify from Observation

Lesson by

Stan Prokopenko

in Drawing Basics

35K

Course In Progress

Assignments 6.2KLesson 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.

Lorcan Chinnock

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First attempt at something, will try again after watching the demo

Zaidanamo

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23h

Looking for critique and feedback. I completed the first exercise, simplify pear from observation. My first attempt before watching the demo was of the organic pear, the 2 attachments on the left. The second attempt was of the stone pear sculpture was made after watching the demo. I faced some challenges drawing the stone pear, second attempt, because the day light coming from the window kept changing in intensity and focus/diffusion quickly and frequently which made the shadows, shades and light spots change as I was drawing and shading.

@tatiana_mystery

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Hi! Was doubting if to show this, but won't be shy of my beginner level. In the end, I'm just learning Good luck everyone in the course!

Marisa Del Campo

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I gave pear #2 a try

Ir Wan

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Marisa Del Campo

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Before and after watching the demo. It was really challenging!

@landsloth

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Did this before I watch the Demo. I pushed myself to attempt the level 2 assignment but somehow made him cross-eyed and accidentally used 6 values (forgot about the white) but I enjoyed the challenge. I'm not all that confident with portraits just yet but I'm happy how it turned out for a beginner's first attempt. Definitely struggled the most with the eye positions and the clothing shading and also the ear.

Marisa Del Campo

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Hi community! Can someone please tell me how to attach my image? I see the options "album" and "cancel". When i click on album it's empty. I don't know how to get any images in the album.

Flo

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There should be the option "my device" too 🤔

@agiese

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Two attempts, any advice is appreciated.

@syeaple

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Looking at others' work, I can see how I could simplify so much more! Also finding it challenging to increase the value range. Fun project!

Melanie Scearce

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Simplification is way more difficult than it seems. This looks really cool, glad you had fun!

Moka

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Hello Stan! Drew these without watching the demo yet. The pears went relatively easy (I've had some pears/apples/eggs/teapot/... training done before) but surprisingly, the portrait was harder than I expected value wise. I tried to stay within the range of 5 values but might have been a bit overboard sometimes haha (counted 6 actually) All in all I think it was a great thing lvl 2 was included for the challenge because this gave me a goal, with a good insight on what I already know and what I still need to train. Looking forward to the rest of the course! Thank you! Ps: I took my time for these but not sure how much time should have been spend on each drawing? Could other students maybe share their average time per drawing ? It would be helpful because I felt like I was a bit on the slow side

Melanie Scearce

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I wouldn't worry too much about time on these early assignments, but anywhere around half an hour for the pear and an hour for the portrait would be making good time. These look amazing 👍

Gray Harris

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Hello! I am fairly new to art and drawing, my primary interest is in ornate penmanship/calligraphy from the late 1800s. I am diving into drawing to help train my sense of proportion and perspective, in order to write more accurately. I've found drawing and art to be quite fun and am looking forward to engaging with a new hobby. As a relative beginner, I welcome any and all feedback for this submission. Thanks!

@zjyoung22

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simplify level 2! proportions definitely need work

Melanie Scearce

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You did a great job keeping your shading even! Keep up the good work 👍

Flo

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I haven't watched the demo yet, but I feel this turned out okay-ish. However, now that I’m seeing it, I feel the darkest value in the apple is wrong. I also found it hard to draw the cast shadows for some reason. Criticism is welcome

Melanie Scearce

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This is a bit technical, but since you said you struggled with the cast shadows hopefully it helps. The cast shadow is made up of two basic parts, the umbra and the penumbra. The umbra is the darkest part of the shadow. The penumbra is outside of the umbra and receives a bit of light creating a falloff effect. When the light source is very close, the penumbra shrinks, making the cast shadow very crisp. It becomes just a tiny crescent around the umbra. When the light source is far away, the penumbra grows and makes a soft edge that is lighter in value. The closer the light source is to the object, the more blown out the values will be (less midtones and more lightest and darkest values).

Carmen Ciumber

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Melanie Scearce

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Big improvement between the first and second portrait! Your shading is looking smoother as well. Nice work!

Shane Cruise

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Criticism is welcome.

Martha Muniz

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Hi! Nice work, definitely has a volumetric feel to it already. Try starting even lighter with your light greys so there's more of an even shift from step to step as the values get darker, rather than starting darker from the jump and not having as much difference left in between the greys. It helps to lessen the pressure with your pencil and also to use more of the side of the pencil, taking advantage of that softness rather than the harshness of the sharp tip. Hope this helps, keep up the good work! :)

Shane Cruise

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Any criticism is welcome. Probably need to do this a few more times.

@amcgavisk

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Pear… both before and after watching demo. Then gave the portrait try.

Martha Muniz

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Awesome! I see a huge improvement from your first to second attempt, especially in value control and shape simplification. A small detail to note in the portrait is that sometimes knowing the literal color/value of an object we're familiar with (like the knowing the eye sclera is white) can lead us to portray it that way in our art even when it's different in reality, like the eye sclera actually being a light grey due to the shadow. One trick I like to use is to squint at (or blur) the image, to assess the general abstract masses of value/shape without being distracted by more complex details/ideas. It's a good habit to carry forward as it also helps with assessing pictures from a larger overview perspective. Hope this helps, keep up the good work :)

@selmo

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So decided to spend a week on this and make attempts daily before moving on here are both before watching the demo. I completely neglected the shadow on the pear and found the face to be significantly challenging.

Martha Muniz

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Great dedication and progress! I think your hard work definitely shows in your results, especially as you attempt more challenging subjects to draw from. I think something that can help you is focusing on the separation of light vs dark. Really any image can be simplified all the way down to just white vs black, where we see the areas hit by light separated from the areas in shadow. This is the most important distinction to still keep in our minds even as we progress to adding more values and more complexity to our image. Once you add more values, like 5 for example, those 5 values will still fit in either the light or dark category (usually, like in these pear and portrait references, the 3 lightest values are in the light section and the 2 darkest are in the shadow section). When you approach your image, look for the separation of light vs shadow to help guide you as you place your values, making sure it's clear that your designated light values are only on the side of the light, and the same for the dark values on the side of shadow. You're already on the right track with great shape simplification and rendering control, so I think just controlling your lights vs darks will really make it pop. Let me know if you have any questions!

@selmo

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Here are the first attempts after watching the demo. I think the pear I understood a bit better but I think especially with the face I was struggling with getting consistent shading I think sometimes my lighter shadows would end up merging with the dark and same would happen with the lights.

@wburdick

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My attempts before and after watching the demo and feedback sections. Done using Procreate on iPad. On my first attempt, I didn't realize we were supposed to shade with only the tip of the pencil, which I corrected in the second attempt. Still trying to get a feel for pen pressure to maintain consistent values.

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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.