Project - Cross Contour on Organic Forms

Lesson by

Stan Prokopenko

inDrawing Basics

Course In Progress

Assignments 500

Downloads 10

Project - Cross Contour on Organic Forms

Lesson by

Stan Prokopenko

in Drawing Basics

Course In Progress

Assignments 500

Downloads 10

Level 1

Simple Blobs: Visualize how cross contours wrap around random blog shapes from different angles (add eyes and limbs if you want to make it more fun!)

Ginger Root from Photo: Start by drawing the ginger root from the photos provided in the downloads and then try to invent your own. These are essentially blobs that grow other blobs, like bloated tree branches.

Simple Creatures: Draw seals, sea lions, fish, worms, snakes, sharks.. any simple blobby creature from photo reference. Find your own photos on pexels.com or unsplash.com

Level 2

Complex Creatures: Draw more complex creatures like lobster, shrimp, beetles, etc.

First do the lobster photo I provided in the downloads. Then find your own reference on Pexels or Unsplash.
Start with simple dynamic shapes. Remember what we learned in the Shapes section!
Add the cross contour lines to show the forms. Simplify, but not too much so you don't lose the essence of the form.

Change the Pose: Change the pose a little from the photo to force yourself to imagine the forms instead of only copying.

Deadline: Submit by 05/31/2024 for a chance to be in the critique video!

Aura

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Finally finished these! Life with a toddler and a newborn is no joke. Completely forgot the part about changing the pose and imagining the form, but I imagined the blobs, does that count? Regardless. I tried to focus on line quality. I miss working on paper, but the iPad is just way more convenient to lug around the house. Onward!

@sosoph

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Hi :). I enjoyed that this project made us think about many concepts explored throughout the course (line quality, shape design, drawing form imagination, etc.) I liked how drawing cross-contours made me think in 3D. For me, one of the biggest challenges was using cross-contours to show foreshortening and how the forms are turning in space.

@deepanshu12

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@solobo

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I think I got the claws looking too flat, probably should have foreshortened more and then done curvier cross contour

Melanie Scearce

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I noticed the cross contour lines on the right claw were going the opposite direction. Very small fix. This is a great drawing, it has great rhythm throughout. Great work!

Arthur Nesbitt

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It was tough but very fun. I ain't particularly happy with how any of the random pieces on the first page turned out, but I think hippo turned out better. But that might be bc I cheated and did a little shading as well lol

@offworld

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Moses

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10d

this is so much fun!! i haven't done ginger root people yet but that's a perfect sketching exercise, i think i'll be doing those regularly. now i can't wait to move on to the next part of the course! i tried experimenting with varying line weight to suggest perspective. it definitely makes it look better! on the shark i kinda screwed it up but others look great i think. on the red sealion i overdid it and the line weight suggests much more depth than there is, but on the turtle and the blue sealion where there's a ton of foreshortening, it looks great to me

Rachel Dawn Owens

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These are super solid! Especially love the turtle 🐢

pinkfin

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10d

was really fun to draw a shark!

@harrow

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15d

Level 1 This is fun. I'll definitely try the more challenging versions as well

@harrow

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10d

I might've bit of a bit more than I can comfortably chew here but hey, it's good to challenge yourself

@harrow

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12d

Level 2 It's amazing just how much a few lines does to define a 3D shape. Next I'll try some using my own references

@harrow

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13d

Lvl 1.5 I think I did pretty well. I couldn't quite tell from the picture what was going on with the third one so I had to inprovise a bit. And I'm getting used to drawing with a more blunt tip.

Stephen Worthington

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16d

Going to do more of these, especially since my ginger and blob are copies of Stan's, but I'm pleased wiht my seals (though you can definitely see a lot of eraser marks where `I struggled!) The other big win here is comparing these to my previous seal drawings and seeing how much more confident my contour lines look now.

Mika Vermeulen

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17d

Fun exercise, did not only make me realize that I will need to practice contour lines, but also my gesture and shape design more.

@androida

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22d

While drawing the ginger roots I realized that cats are also blobs when seen sitting from behind or when they are loafing out, stretchier, limb-y cats less so, but fun to try anyway. 1st cat from imagination, additional photo refs from unsplash (left to right Amber Kipp,Mikhail Vasilyev, Timo Volz, Timothy Dykes for the snake)

@landsloth

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25d

This was fun! Starting to get the hang of it and how the lines should feel.

Richard W

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26d

Any comment is welcome!

@lauralana

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1mo

I enjoyed this. I found the ginger root and spheres to be easier and struggled when dealing with more complex shapes, especially the manatee.

Kyle

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1mo

This project was so fun. I love the way the cross contours give the forms volume.

Rachel Dawn Owens

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1mo

These are looking awesome! Looks like you’re getting it. Don’t be afraid to curve the cross contours even more. Keep it up!

@deadsm

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1mo

I think I'm realizing now that I draw way too darkly from the start. I need to find a way to stay lighter in my process without sacrificing the feeling of drawing with pencil. I'll try turning the opacity down for the next one.

You Ji An

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1mo

Coconut crab :)

Axel Gyllenstierna

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2mo

Level 2 forms. I find it hard to separate the foreground and the background with proper spacing of the CC-lines. Would appreciate feedback on how to do that better and, if possible, examples!

Moses

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10d

wow these look amazing!

Jacob Granillo

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2mo

Excellent Job Axel!

hobodios

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2mo

I had a hard time with this one because the details on the image are misleading and that caused me to not follow the shape of the ginger correctly xd.