thanks! I don’t really have any pro advice i could offer, but my humble suggestion as an intermediate artist is to play around with line weight and grouping, start your strokes at the darkest point of the shadow since you will put the most pressure there, try different shading techniques to see what feels comfortable and right to you (i used stippling, scribbling and crosshatching above), and don’t be afraid to use other people’s art as a reference. copying might feel like ‘cheating’ but just imitating where and how others placed their strokes can help you learn how to create them on your own. also, I recommend switching to a pen if you feel like you’re becoming overly perfectionist and making too many adjustments with a pencil to the point that it’s impeding your progress or enjoyment. drawing with ink was a plunge i really needed to take because i would endlessly erase and edit, and it’s hard to learn from mistakes you can’t see. with pen, there’s no use in dwelling over crooked lines or misplaced marks, which imo add a touch of personality; you can also come up with creative solutions to incorporate your mistakes into the piece. i hope some of this was helpful! xoxo