This is fun  I need to try some hash marks and convince myself they belong.  I always feel like they are inappropriate for my subjects but then I see others use them for nature subjects and they look great .

It might be easier if I drew an apple and then went to the store to find one that looks like my drawing! This is a great course, I'm learning and having fun.

This will take some practice, but the clear instructions provided give me a starting point for adding dimension to my drawings.

That shell was more difficult than I had expected. But I don't have any fruit to practice on. This is so much fun!

My first attempt. 

This course is great!  I needed something to get me back at it again and I need to do much more!  Preparing for a trip next year that I hope to illustrate during the journey.

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It was very hard to get the three dimensions of the apple at first. I felt stuck. Then I watched a video that gave some hints. That helped me get started. Now I am excited to try another drawing. Bring on the fruit!

Harder than it looks. I keep running into texture along with dark and light. I suppose I need to find things with uniform textures to practice shadows, and things with uniform lighting to practice textures. Things with both make it really hard to decide how to proceed... I also wish I had a good way to upload. Scanning is slow and takes about 5 separate steps to get the picture loaded. Maybe I should join the 21st century and get a phone with a camera? I did do a couple of small sketches that weren't too bad. I'll try to upload them later.

Some lovely drawings have been posted. Here is something more natural than the bowl I posted earlier. Getting used to shading a bit more.  

It was hard for me to find where the light and the dark spots were on the object, I found that it was easier to first take a photo of it, and that brought out some of the more obvious chiaroscuro. I am feeling more comfortable on putting the marks on pages, I am finding that I am more capable of doing these things than I think.

Definitely getting a feel for which shading techniques work for me on which subjects.  Stippling on lemon worked well, I think.  I'm not so sure about cross-hatching on pomegranate, but maybe it works.

This was also hard for me. But I did do a few drawings. I couldn't pull myself to try to add color to it. Then my grandson wanted me to draw his backpack, so I thought I'd try it. Next, my granddaughter wanted a drawing of a shell. I'm enjoying really looking at the object.

Gettin' down & dirty (ie, too much pencil, shading, color, etc!) Enjoyed the explanation of shadow (and learning that new, cool word "chiaroscuro") and I can see that this parameter--shading--will take a lot of practice yet will lead to drawings that I will come to enjoy more (the process and the end project).

I really like the style in which Liz is instructing us. It’s early in this course, yet I feel like I’m learning so much! I’m sure everyone else agrees. I am ready to move on, but no doubt I’ll go back to the prior units for a refresher as needed. I’m s happy I took this course.

I have not done any drawing or sketching in many years.  The lesson on drawing basics is helping me to remember just how much I have forgotten and how to look at the object.

I wanted to try doing some shading last night while watching a movie. I was too lazy to get up to find an object and get a light, so I did this little bowl that sits on the end table next to my side of the sofa. Usually it has paper clips, some note cards, scissors, and other odds and ends in it, but my cat prefers it empty, so she had tossed everything out of it. The light source was the table lamp above it and I was looking down into the bowl. The highlights were mainly on the rim of the bowl which I didn't even come close to getting right and some on the right top side. It was fun though and after I finished I went looking for something more natural and found a seashell that I'm working on. The actual drawing is lighter, but I had to darken the copy up to scan it. Some of the image from the opposite page is showing through around the bowl making it look a bit messy.        

Having time for some sketching of the last of the fall flowers.  The gentians are some of my favorite in the prairie and are one of the last to bloom before the prairie goes dormant for the winter.  I love to draw and can't wait until I retire to do this full time.  I care more about capturing the essence of the flower and less about the exactness.   More the 'art' and less of the scientific illustration.

Light from  above spreads over the many surfaces of the apple causes multiple highlights and shadows. An apple is an imperfect sphere. Challenging. This apple is a yellow and pinkish red gala.

I gathered some autumn detritus—acorns, maple seeds, black walnuts. Such bounty! I also raided the fridge for a carrot and found an onion. Shadows are tricky! I feel like this will take a lot of practice. 

I did this exercise several times, trying various shading techniques.  I’ve always like stippling but it does some time and patience. Putting on some music helped and was actually relaxing. I found that put putting the objects on a white surface rather than a dark table made it easier to see the reflected light.