7:06 AM, Monday January 13th 2025
Hi there, I'll be the one giving your critique for this post. Sorry if it took that long, mine was only recently checked as well!
2 Organic Form With Contour
I would say that you have done well in communicating the eclipses and the way it turns away / into the viewer. I could see that the contour expanded when when the sausage was facing the viewer and that the contour shrinks when the sausage faced away from the viewer. I appreciate the dot where the line would enter the sausage, which made it easy for me to understand the shape better. I think the only thing that needs improving is the confidence to which contour was drawn, it's a bit wobbly so it doesn't look that smooth. Don't be afraid to do correction after the mistake (like how some of the contour had another one on image 6), I think it communicated to me that you just found a better way to draw the contour. Just draw it with as much confidence as you can (use ghosting before hand).
Insect / Arachnid Drawing
Overall I think the construction of the insects are just amazing. Seeing it does give me a feeling that you were actually an explorer who don't have a camera and trying to sketch things as best as possible. From what I see, you use simple basic shapes that we have learned so far and slowly build the shape bit by bit. I also appreciates the multiple angle of drawing which shows to me that you understand the way the insect sits in a 3D spaces. The cast shadows are a nice touch and it seemed you understand how the light reflects on the insect's surface.
On the second image I saw that you seem confused as to how one of the insects body looked, as you just left it slightly unfinished. I think looking at a reference images of the insect from multiple angle might help in solving that issues. There was also another semi unfinished looking construction on the crab one (next to the one with the shell) where the left side of the crab looked unfinished compared to the right side. Leaving the crab with just a line of leg. Just remember to take a small 1-2 minute break and to try to finish the image. Not too long so you don't let go of the "flow". Don't worry about how good it looks, we are here to learn!
Another thing in general, from what I see is that a lot of the lines felt scratchy or wobbly. Like the sausage had a some bump or cragged look to it. The only thing I could think off as to why you are doing this is to mimic the imperfect texture of an insects legs / parts, but it does feel like it fight against what the course is trying to teach which was to make confident line. I myself still have that problem from time to time and I just want you to keep in mind. I think two of the insects where the monkey hopper were the one I have issues with. The spider, while looked and feel 3D, feels a bit wonky due to the shaky lines. However, I appreciate that careful consideration has been made for each line drawn, making it still looks professional.
I appreciate the color on some of the insects! Make them look beautiful even though they are some creepy crawlies haha.
Overall, I think the only thing you need to improve is the confidence of the line. While it may make things looks too smooth, seeing a smooth lines would make the image pop even more. Both the insects and the contour suffered from this issue. Learning is a not something one and done, so just keep this in mind for the future homework. But other than that, you did a stellar job.
Next Steps:
Just remember to draw confidently! Other than that, you can proceed with the next step lesson! Cheers and good luck