Okay… next time I’ll be less heavyhanded and draw the same thing as the guy because I kind of went off doing my own thing there. It’s recognisably a mug but not a good one (perspective of the top doesn’t quite match the rest of it) and the unevenly sharpened tip made it difficult to stroke down thin even layers. So it turned out harsher and was hard to gradually shade things to the right shape as I went. Note to self.

But one thing I found to be a problem was not my fault. I bought a cheap portable easel intended to help my posture using a limited space but the bottom ledge thing that the sketchbook rests on actually projects out enough to be in the way of my hand and my pencil.

It’s actually inhibiting my ability to draw on the bottom half of the page if I’m not using the ‘writing’ position (which in this exercise I am not meant to). When holding the charcoal overhand and vertically while gliding my fingernails over the paper the end of my charcoal pencil is actually hitting the damn ledge. I have to turn my hand sideways to get the bottom half of the page.

The bummer? I had already seen this could be restrictive and flipped that piece so the lip on the edge was downwards, trying to make it less annoying. I wonder if I could get a piece of thinner flatter balsawood or something to make a new rest but I don’t own a drill for the bolt holes.

Similar issue with anything that has that rest really. I wonder if I’m doing something very obvious wrong or the art guy just has a much larger easel and canvas space to work with so he doesn’t have to use all of it/the awkward half