Hello, JustCuteGirlzArt, thank you for replying with your additional animal constructions.

I think it is best if we go back over the 4 main points I called out in the initial critique, to see if they have been addressed.

1- Altering the silhouette of forms you have already drawn.

As discussed on discord there was a moment where you cut back inside the silhouette of the rib cage form of this squirrel when you drew the torso sausage, albeit accidentally. The same issue is occurring on the pelvis of the raccoon, to a lesser extent. While on the subject of the torso sausage, remember as discussed here on the lesson intro page, the torso sausage should sag, you're arching it upwards in the last 2 constructions, which may be exacerbating the tendency to accidentally cut back inside the silhouette of your major masses. There are a couple of spots where you had extended the construction with a partial shape, and I've highlighted a couple of examples of this here. This looks like you were attempting to draw additional masses. As I pointed out on your squirrel over Discord, (just a couple of days before you drew this raccoon, so it should have been fresh in your mind) additional masses need to have their own, complete fully enclosed silhouette. While this is occurring less frequently than in your initial submission the fact that it is occurring at all after I've called it out 3 times and shown you how to draw complete forms instead suggests you're not doing whatever is necessary at your end to remember to apply the information you have been provided with.

2- Leg construction.

Alright, you're using the sausage method consistently, keeping your sausage forms simple, and applying a contour curve at the joints, nicely done.

As explained in previous rounds of feedback, the contour curve at the joint represents the intersection where the two forms connect together. So keep in mind that this curve can only exist where both forms are present, I've highlighted this region in green on one of your joints here and corrected the contour curve in red. On the same image is something of a bonus point. Animals are (usually) symmetrical in design, so if there is a joint in the left leg, there should be a joint in the right leg too. Take another look at this section of the lesson intro page where Uncomfortable explains that the number of joints in limbs is quite consistent, even among species that appear wildly different.

The size and placement of your legs is less chaotic than your first submission. Do make sure that you make use of the advice given previously about analysing negative shapes or using a horizontal line to help analyse your reference and plan your leg constructions to keep them organised.

3- Additional masses.

You've done a good job of addressing the point I made about drawing rounded blobs with no relationship to the underlying structure and then trying to make them feel 3D by adding contour lines to them, well done. I can see that you're thinking about how to wrap your additional masses around the underlying structures.

At this point I feel like a broken record, but it is of utmost importance that each additional mass you draw has a complete fully enclosed silhouette. I re-drew one of your partial shapes on this squirrel as an example. And you've repeated the same error on the very next construction. Here I've redrawn the partial shapes I highlighted on your raccoon earlier in this critique as complete forms.

On the far side leg I've split the additional mass into two pieces so each one can stay as a simple outward curve where it is exposed to fresh air, as shown in this diagram.

On the near side leg I've broken the addition into two separate masses, rather than fully enveloping an existing form. This allows each additional mass to have a specific relationship with the underlying form, as shown in this diagram.

4- Head construction.

Pay more attention to the shape of the eye sockets shown in the informal head demo. This was one of the key points for applying this method that I explained in your first lesson 5 critique

The specific shape of the eye sockets - the specific pentagonal (5 sided) shape allows for a nice wedge in which the muzzle can fit in between the sockets, as well as a flat edge across which we can lay the forehead area.

I also demonstrated this in this draw-over of your work. Right now your eye sockets are either rounded, or hexagonal (6 sides).

Given that I have pointed you to this demo twice before and the first step isn't being applied here does suggest that there is more you could be doing to make use of the information provided.

Next steps

You're moving in the right direction, but there is a lot of room for growth and improvement here, and a lot of information from previous rounds of feedback (and the many, many draw overs, diagrams and demos shared with you) that you're not applying as you should be. While I can't say specifically why you haven't been able to apply past feedback very effectively (I don't know your specific circumstances, and It isn't any of my business) this usually happens if a student isn't investing as much time as needed. This applies not only to the construction the student is working on, but to reviewing the instructions and feedback given. I am going to go ahead and mark this lesson as complete. I've consulted with Uncomfortable and we agree that the best course of action for you is to take a break from animal constructions and move forward with the course.

What we recommend is that you move forward with the course for now, the 250 Cylinder Challenge is the next step, then come back and review lesson 5 in a month. What we'd like you to do is take some time to review all of the feedback you have received and practice applying this information to your constructions independently. There is no need for you to submit any more lesson 5 homework for official critique, as I believe that the information you require is already at your disposal within the various rounds of feedback you have received. You can choose topost on discord to request community feedback if you would like additional support, although as community feedback runs on goodwill it is not guaranteed.

As the course itself undergoes a gradual overhaul, many of the points that I've called out and explained as part of the critique will be more seamlessly integrated into the lesson material, and that may make it considerably easier to understand, with many more specific demonstrations being available for each major concept. Once that overhaul of the lesson is complete (which unfortunately won't be for some time), you may have a more straightforward, easier time understanding how to approach this material.

Best of luck with the cylinder challenge, and thank you for all your hard work in this lesson.