I decided to try Mike's template first.
The greatest difficulty I found was that I could keep bright areas clean, which I didn't quite succeed. It was a lot of fun to deal with the different shapes of the leaves. I started with the dark places to reach the depth.
Now I have put together two templates of my own on the PC. The darker one appeals to me more what do you think.
Butterflies 2
Butterflies 2
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Re: Butterflies
Excellent, You did a great job of reflecting that template. Your values from dark to light are right on. Thanks for posting
Re: Butterflies
Kurt, the darker one for sure. Looks like fun
Re: Butterflies
Thank you rideum 51 i also opted for the dark one. Will post it when the drawing is done. ..
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Mike Sibley
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Re: Butterflies
This is super, Kurt. It's drawn with a lot of imagination and an understanding of what you were drawing - rather than copying mine without a great deal of thought.
I've (hopefully) corrected the lighting of your photo, because I like to be able to view a drawing the way it was intended. And... it's nicely balanced, too. And I appreciate that what I see might not be an exact match for your original.
The different layers are clearly understandable; shadows appear where shadows are expected; and, at the base in particular, not everything can be understood, which adds a lot to the realism.
My only suggestion is that, in my opinion, you overlooked an opportunity or two for creating yet more depth. There are dark holes that are sufficiently large for me to want to see something in there. Not something recognisable, but bits of stem or leaf - some pushed so far back that I can barely see them. Then, my eye could keep travelling right back into the deepest shade.
But I find everything forward of those patches to hold a lot of depth and interest. And your White Peacock butterfly is definitely the focus of the drawing
As to which to draw... the darker one appeals to me. But I think the lighter Peacock one is a more interesting challenge. You'd really have to work hard to get the balance right, so the Peacock dominated... but it might be worth a try. If not, I agree with you - the darker one.
That said, in this case, I just used a square of paper as a guard under my hand. But I did make sure it couldn't slide about and smudge any work beneath it.
I'm looking forward to seeing your drawing - whichever one you choose.
I've (hopefully) corrected the lighting of your photo, because I like to be able to view a drawing the way it was intended. And... it's nicely balanced, too. And I appreciate that what I see might not be an exact match for your original.
The different layers are clearly understandable; shadows appear where shadows are expected; and, at the base in particular, not everything can be understood, which adds a lot to the realism.
My only suggestion is that, in my opinion, you overlooked an opportunity or two for creating yet more depth. There are dark holes that are sufficiently large for me to want to see something in there. Not something recognisable, but bits of stem or leaf - some pushed so far back that I can barely see them. Then, my eye could keep travelling right back into the deepest shade.
But I find everything forward of those patches to hold a lot of depth and interest. And your White Peacock butterfly is definitely the focus of the drawing
As to which to draw... the darker one appeals to me. But I think the lighter Peacock one is a more interesting challenge. You'd really have to work hard to get the balance right, so the Peacock dominated... but it might be worth a try. If not, I agree with you - the darker one.
Personally, because I'm right-handed, I cover my drawing with a wide strip of drawing paper (Conqueror Diamond White in my case) as a hand-guard, and gradually reposition it to uncover the next part I'll work on. As long as the hand-guard is firmly fixed at the base, so it can't move, it usually does a good job. And "fixed at the base" so I can fold it back to see the undrawn part of the drawing if I need to.The greatest difficulty I found was that I could keep bright areas clean, which I didn't quite succeed.
That said, in this case, I just used a square of paper as a guard under my hand. But I did make sure it couldn't slide about and smudge any work beneath it.
I'm looking forward to seeing your drawing - whichever one you choose.
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Re: Butterflies
Thank you Mike for the detailed analysis of my picture. By the depth they mean that the black areas are a little interrupted. This can be easily loosened up with blu tack. .I understood correctly that you fix the masking paper to the drawing with a paper clip. I always have a piece of paper under my hands, but unfortunately it always slips. .I'm at the dark picture and I almost can't stop it makes me forget the time. I'll post it as soon as I'm done. Kind regards Kurt .
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Mike Sibley
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Re: Butterflies
I'm referring to anywhere that you see a reasonably large black patch. In real life, I'd expect to see something in there. If you leave them as black patches, they look as though there is a black painted wall behind the foliage. That's possibly OK, but if you fill those areas with very dark sharp-edged shapes, you'll suggest for more depth. I just think you passed over the opportunity to do that.
And you're correct - you can cut shapes into those areas at any time with Blu-Tack. And sometimes I find the Blu-Tack suggests shapes I might not have thought about using.
Re: Butterflies zum 2.
Hi Mike here my own group work project. I tried to immerse myself completely in the picture and neglected the template. I enjoyed taking part in the group work, it was a very good motivation.
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Mike Sibley
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Re: Butterflies 2
First, apologies for being very late with this reply! 
After two months, I finally got rid of the Cluster Headaches and have had a week recovering... so I can THINK AGAIN! 
I've adjusted your photo to what I hope is closer to your original - because I really want to appreciate the work you put into it.
Basically, it works! The flower and butterfly share equal importance, but that's OK, as one will have attracted the other.
You've created a lot of depth, too. Although I think you could have created even more. Also, I feel it could withstand even more bottom weight. Those two can be combined, by pushing the lower detail back into the shade. That in turn prevents my eye from being distracted by the lower light values.
There are values near the base that appear to be unnaturally light - they share values found in the butterfly and flower, yet those elements are at least three or more layers deep, and in the shade of those above.
Rather than ramble on... I mean, like this:
I understand this is my vision and not yours - and it's your drawing, so it says what you wanted to say. But, for me, it now throws the emphasis up to the top. My eye can travel down to explore, if I want it to, but the base no longer drags my attention to it. I also darkened a couple places halfway down on the right, to balance the changes I made on the left.
It's only my opinion. Don't let any of this detract from what is a good drawing, and one I can see you enjoyed.
After two months, I finally got rid of the Cluster Headaches and have had a week recovering... so I can THINK AGAIN! I've adjusted your photo to what I hope is closer to your original - because I really want to appreciate the work you put into it.
Basically, it works! The flower and butterfly share equal importance, but that's OK, as one will have attracted the other.
You've created a lot of depth, too. Although I think you could have created even more. Also, I feel it could withstand even more bottom weight. Those two can be combined, by pushing the lower detail back into the shade. That in turn prevents my eye from being distracted by the lower light values.
There are values near the base that appear to be unnaturally light - they share values found in the butterfly and flower, yet those elements are at least three or more layers deep, and in the shade of those above.
Rather than ramble on... I mean, like this:
I understand this is my vision and not yours - and it's your drawing, so it says what you wanted to say. But, for me, it now throws the emphasis up to the top. My eye can travel down to explore, if I want it to, but the base no longer drags my attention to it. I also darkened a couple places halfway down on the right, to balance the changes I made on the left.
It's only my opinion. Don't let any of this detract from what is a good drawing, and one I can see you enjoyed.
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Re: Butterflies 2
good morning mike
I hope you are doing better, I must also apologize for not responding for so long. Yesterday I had lunch with Renate Mosimann and she told me that you reacted to my 2nd butterfly project. Unfortunately, I haven't looked at the forum for so long. Thank you very much for your, as always, detailed analysis of the picture. It's nice to be able to exchange different views. The flower and the butterfly have almost the same way of color division, which fascinated me a lot. What, however, leads to it becoming the only focal point in the picture. I really enjoyed the whole project and it's nice to see how others interpret it. Thanks Mike I hope there will be more projects like this and more people will participate.
Greetings from Switzerland
Kurt
I hope you are doing better, I must also apologize for not responding for so long. Yesterday I had lunch with Renate Mosimann and she told me that you reacted to my 2nd butterfly project. Unfortunately, I haven't looked at the forum for so long. Thank you very much for your, as always, detailed analysis of the picture. It's nice to be able to exchange different views. The flower and the butterfly have almost the same way of color division, which fascinated me a lot. What, however, leads to it becoming the only focal point in the picture. I really enjoyed the whole project and it's nice to see how others interpret it. Thanks Mike I hope there will be more projects like this and more people will participate.
Greetings from Switzerland
Kurt