Giving form to an organic shape: Lesson 3 on Form element of art

In the last two posts on Form, we learned to create dimensions on simple and geometric shapes. In this lesson, we will try adding a form to a more organic shape.

The first step to drawing anything is to identify the shape of the object and try to replicate it on paper either using contour drawing or by combining simple shapes together. Once we have the outline, the next step would be to create a form so that the object doesn’t look flat. Think of yourself as a sculptor creating an object and how his hands would be moving to create the shape. Your pencil will move in that direction and do the same thing for you on your drawing surface.

In this exercise, we will draw a snail and then we will give it a 3- dimensional form. We will use contour and cross-contour lines, we will add shades and highlight, and add texture to do so.

Please look at the photograph below of a snail and observe how the lines move. Observation is the key to create a sucessful form. You can also follow step-step video linked below.

When we start drawing we will do a basic contour drawing first. Then we begin by adding cross- contour lines, add a horizon line, then add shadows and highlights using hatched and cross-hatched lines and start seeing the transformation from a flat object to an organic form. Observe the difference between figure 1 and 2 below