I used to do all kinds of “pointillism” (stippling) drawings, so I’m familiar with that one, but that takes a LOT of time and concentration, so I can’t see doing that in the field.  And for blending, I need a much softer lead in my pencil.  So, I ordered some 2B lead and some blending stumps.  I tried different techniques with simple shapes, like the apothecia on lichen.  I liked using the pencil more than the pen for most of the techniques.  I found that I tended to MIX the techniques depending on the density of the shadow and color and the texture of the lichen. I am feeling a bit more confident about laying down shapes and doing shading, but I know I'll need more work to get comfortable with it in the field.  I need more work with fur and feather's too as they seem daunting.  Drawing things likes eggs and lichen seem easy in comparison.

When I started was deiffilcult but then easy. I am feeling more cornmftable with my new marks. I wanna work in the chiaraoscuro.

This exercise was very helpful. Until I squinted my eyes, I had difficulty discerning the light and dark.

I still have some work figuring out what marks are best to depict shadow and light. I've been drawing my cat and while I don't quite get the proportions right, I think I have been able to capture the texture of her fur. Chiaroscuro is something I still need to work on especially the subtle gradient from light to dark and figuring out the shading to capture the shadows properly, but I am awfully happy with how much I've progressed so far, as a total beginner.  The posts by others are both intimidating and inspiring but I love the openness and willingness of everyone who posts for sharing. It's truly inspiring to see what others are sketching.

A small container and two odd rocks. The first rock had some odd dimples and depressions, the smaller rock had some fossil impressions which I found difficult to express on paper. Hmm, should have done the shadow on the container..

I wasn't sure, but a couple people were able to guess that it's a tomato. Then went back and did the bufflehead for practice. I'd like to try this one in pen. Someday.  

my chiaroscuro looks like a sad attempt at a baseball cap :)  Looking at the posts below I am too embarrassed to submit mine--I guess I have a long way to go.

(whoops, submitted twice)

As I started sketching outdoors, the light kept changing as the sun came and went behind clouds which changed the nature of both the light and highlight on the fruits and the shadows they cast, from strong to very diffuse. I am still exploring what marks give what kind of results, feeling far from accomplished, but getting a bit more comfortable.

  lots to learn!  It just feels so good to do this.  I think the garlic is more recognizable than the squash.  Actually, it amazes me when something is recognizable at all!

It's easier to see light on some object better than others. For example, highly textured items seem to absorb more light and takes a bit more observation to discern the light and shadow. I am getting more comfortable with marking the page. I haven't sketched in a few years, but it's starting to come back to me. This course has been a big help with refreshing my memory. I'm comfortable with hatching, cross-hatching, contour hatching, and blending. I need to work in stippling.

First attempt at chiaroscuro: red pepper in late afternoon sun.  Difficult to make it look like it was sitting on the desk vs. floating.  Any suggestions?  Second attempt was red apple with 2 different light sources. What is wrong with the late afternoon shadow?  Is it at the wrong angle?  The sun came from the upper right.   It was great to use the squint test for light values  and to look for highlights in the shadows, which I noticed on the apple as well as on the desk surface.  I need to work more on using different textures in my drawings.

The techniques are helpful. Surprisingly, squint test really clarifies values., helping to sort out value differences from color differences.  I never noticed the reflected light part of shadows. The shadowing will take a lot more practice to blend and catch subtleties, but the shading techniques help a lot. This is a start!

This partial paper wasp nest is one of the hardest things I have tried to draw and represents some of the problems I am still working on: how to make the central leg appear farther away, how to get a 3-D appearance while including the markings of the nest and how to make a bowl appearance where the top is off. Using cross hatching and dots along with hatching has been effective in other drawings. Contour hatching is something I want to work on more. Liz's videos are super helpful and these discussion groups are inspirational.

Interested in tips re pencil type to use and how to get softer look.   I'm using an HB that is not sharpened which works ok but thinking a softer pencil may be better.

I'm trying ;-)

I’m  comfortable enough, for now.  The shadows and highlights were a little difficult where the dark coloring of the object merged with shadow.  The shape of the object would get lost and I didn’t want to draw a hard line to show the shape.  This might become somewhat easier when we start to use paint and the boundary between colors can indicate shape.

I’m kinda used to shading but as you can see I’m not the best but I’m starting to get more comfortable with it.