Project - Cross Contour on Organic Forms

Lesson by

Stan Prokopenko

inDrawing Basics

1.6K

Assignments 419

Downloads 10

Project - Cross Contour on Organic Forms

Lesson by

Stan Prokopenko

in Drawing Basics

1.6K

Assignments 419

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!

Evan Wray

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Took me a while to get back onto this project. Ginger and my dogs head, and then some non-organic cross contouring to feel out the differences. Realizing halfway through a lot of these recently that I'm losing track of line quality/weight/perspective and trying to refocus on those things and incorporate them.

Melanie Scearce

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It is a lot to think about all at once, but these are looking really good! Are these wavy lines I marked in red an indication of the contour of the ginger root or the wrinkles of the growth pattern?

Yevhen Syrchin

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11d

Spyridon Panagiotopoulos

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11d

I have been trying to do snakes, but I have had issues doing their coiling. Is there a technique to go about doing all this slithering/coiling dynamically? I have falled back on doing the contour and then trying to make it look 3D, but the results are poor. I would love to start with the gesture or flow, it is so appealing, and then construct the snake on that flow. But I just can't. Any tips?

@dollydigital

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12d

experimenting

@dollydigital

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12d

@dollydigital

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12d

Yevhen Syrchin

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12d

some more cross contour practice. feedback is very welcome!

Yevhen Syrchin

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13d

they looks wrong, but I can't figure out why. Can you point out the mistakes please? in general it was fun, but I want figure out how make it better 😅

Yevhen Syrchin

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13d

references

J. Menriv

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25d

Project - Cross Contour on Organic Forms

J. Menriv

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25d

Project - Cross Contour on Organic Forms

DrawYer

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29d

One last crack at a "more difficult" project after watching the critiques. It was hard to find a balance between over simplification and still have something more complex and accurate. I shall return to it later and maybe do a cleaner version. I do not like the end product but I had fun and it's time to move on.

@ray777

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1mo

This assignment I had to try multiple times to get something satisfactory, I think this one was the best one so far. I Did a picture of a lizard, any feedback will be appreciated!

@aakerhus

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1mo

Trying another one were I try to think about it as "I'm about to slice through the subject" ( Poor froggy :( ) I think it looks good, but I don't feel confident about it.. Don't really know if what I do counts as cross-countour or if I am just enhancing the forms you allready are seeing in the reference, I guess it is a little bit of both?

Ron Kempke

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1mo

Copying is easy. Draw it from another point of view to see if you really understand it.

@aakerhus

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1mo

First go on simple creatures level 1 entry before watching the demo. Tried to find a sweet spot right between not going to detailed, but also not too simply in the forms. Kind of feeling like I have a grasp of how the cross contours goes, but some of those which goes "along" (with the lack of better words) some of the forms doesn't always make sense to me. I don't think the "ant trail"-analogy is working for me (yet). I have marked the cross contours I am most unsure about in red. Feedback is greatly appreciated! Overall I am quite happy witht the end result as the shark really has that 3D-vibe going. Also, I didn't focus too hard on design and interesting shapes, and stuck mostly to the reference as you might see.

Melanie Scearce

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1mo

Nice work here. I think you got the hang of it. The perspective of this reference image threw me for a loop, and there is also plane shift around where the gills are (highlighted in green in my draw-over). I simplified the form and rotated it to try to make sense of it myself. Think of a cross contour like a cross section of the 3D form. If you were to cut it in half, what shape would it make?

@aakerhus

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1mo

The two first are blobs without a reference, and the last one all the gingers gathered on one page. Just going with my gut, but I allready see that I need to draw my contour lines rounder around the edges, especially the ones which goes "along" the blobs, if that makes sense. Feedback is greatly appreciated!

Rachel Dawn Owens

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1mo

These are looking great! A lot of them are perfect. They look 3d and I dig the texture of the background. There are a few that look a bit flat. Consider the back of the form and feel your way around it. This will help your drawings really jump off the page.

DrawYer

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2mo

These are my attempts before watching the demo, I worked from level 1 to level 2. I started with blobs inspired from torso and pelvis poses (similar to an exercise in the figure drawing course), then moved to seals and “simple” sea creatures, then to insects (and a snake). My first attempts at seals were a bit stiff and felt flat. I feel that sometimes I failed to find a balance in terms of “line density”. I tried to change the poses from the reference, but only did it marginally for the sea creatures. It feels easier to change organic shape that are more curved as I feel less bound by anatomy restrictions. For example when I tried to change some of the insects I was blocked my lack of knowledge on them. Once again, I love the exercise and I like the freedom that organic forms give. I will watch the critiques and try a few more animals. I also saw someone that did a beautiful work cross contouring a head, this is definitely something I want to try. I keep trying various medium, fine liners can be very punitive but also rewarding. Any comments or feedback welcome :)