Sarah, I think you undersell your ability. “Just tracing the important stuff” is extremely non-trivial; minimalism requires a good eye, knowing what to keep and discard. In your meeting sketch, you drew in the female figure’s pockets but ignored the male’s. Result: female looks more serious (this isn’t some frilly silk blouse, this thing has POCKETS, dammit!), male looks less cluttered.

One of my favorite examples of minimalist sketching is the original Mac logo. Just 16 “quick swipes,” and yet we have the body, monitor screen, keyboard, mouse, and nod to the company logo. Classic. Could someone do that by just tracing? Sure… with an artistic eye.

Not saying this isn’t a technique well worth copying (and I plan to), but I won’t be upset when I look at my crappy results while thinking, “Sarah made this look so easy!”