Hi Olivia! 😄
Your drawings are great! I'm noticing alot of sharp lines, which I think is just a matter of beginning somewhere. You've taken the steps to start, so don't be too hard on yourself. If you look at one of your drawings, you have lovely flowing lines directing us where to look. Those are the types of lines you want to use when doing gestures. Be loose and have fun. Don't worry about your proportions initially. That comes in time, the more you practice the more your brain will "see". This advice might not be very helpful right now haha but it just takes time and practice. Get used to the movements and the rest will follow.
If you're having trouble doing 30 seconds, give yourself more time! Give yourself a minute or two and take that extra 30 seconds to just look at the pose and feel it out through observation.
Shading is so difficult! But my advice would be to curve your shading with the shape that you are trying to express and not just lay down a flat layer. Also, try to vary the tones within your shadow shape. Does this make sense? 🤣 Proko have really good course on shading that give you some nice fundamentals to play with. The language can be a bit confusing initially, but just observe and try to put it into practice in a way that makes sense to you.
https://www.proko.com/course/secrets-of-shading/lessons
