Peter's Sketchbook

[Peter]

I just wanted to say that I agree entirely with Joseph. Watts produces cookie cutter artists in the figurative sense with drawing because of exactly the way the terminator line is always overemphasised. It tends to make even great renderings less naturalistic and often feeling a little strange. It can be very useful for learning, especially in learning to observe, but I think becomes detrimental if adhered to religiously. Ofc it is your choice as it is a stylistic choice and preference.
I would add also, don't be scared to use background tones to blend the figure into. This can be a great aesthetic choice and also you get to practice those juicy lost edges on a larger scale. 
I think at some point you need to do a hands intensive. You seem to be focusing on the contour for details but often simplify the fingers with unnatural shapes and I think you lose the sense of the overall rhythms which make up fingers. Some even have "sausage finger syndrome" to be mean. The skeletal structure of the hand dictate the complex curves of the fingers quite a lot. Each finger segment tapers from thick at base to thinner, with a concave taper in between. However the fat pads can sometimes mean the finger can get wider mid joint. It really depends on the pose and the person, but understanding these factors and studying them specifically will likely help you simplify better. Studying the arcs of the knuckles and of the finger joints across the hand as a gesture are also very useful for proportion.

Wrt to the swatches. I commend you! This is exactly the kind of work that most people would avoid and discount and produces an absolute wealth of knowledge and learning in one of the hardest subjects to master which is colour mixing. And just look at Richard Schmid's work. If he recommends it highly it is not to be taken lightly. I often reread Alla Prima for the deceptively huge amount of relevant insight held within and always come out from each reading with some newly understood nugget to work with. Good on you man!
Both you and Joseph are on a good path and I love the patient considered Intelligent approach you are both following which is nice to see here. I'm sure both of you are going to go on from strength to strength. Keep it up!

Thanks for the feedback aswell Who :) always appeciated. I think at this point the Watts method must be ingrained into me since I didn't really second guess including the terminator line. It was just second nature to me. One one hand it's nice to know that I am memorizing what I am studying, but on the other not so good since it is holding me and my work back.

I think you are the first person to call me out on my hands and feet, I've been expecting this day haha. No I agree completely with your remarks. Hands and feet are one of those things that I keep telling myself that I need to study but I keep pushing back since I think there is something more important that I need to work on. I said to myself actually that I want/need to work on hands/feet which I'm planning on doing in my sketchbook. I was going to follow the Proko videos unless you can suggest something better?

Hahaha thanks :) you are too kind. I've been saying to myself for ages to actually do some of the exercises that he suggests, I'd always find myself when either taking a painting class or doing a paiting I'd alwys get stuck on how to mix the colour that I am seeing, and this exercise seemed like the perfect answer to my question. I ned to go back and read more of his book actually........ Cheers for the kind words :) I'm always hesitant on if my appraoch to studying is working or not, especially when I see other artists improving at incredible rates so it's good to know that what I am doing is effective.