The Art and Science of Drawing

Contour Drawings

Here is a collection of drawings that show how line quality and contours can work together to describe an object. The subjects include an heirloom tomato, a head of garlic, a bell pepper, and a sweet potato. Fruits and vegetables are excellent subjects for line quality studies because they provide a wide range of shapes and textures. For each subject, I have included a bare-bones cross-contour drawing as well as a contour drawing with descriptive line work. Doing a cross-contour study of your subject before you draw it will help you understand its topography and how line quality can be used to communicate volume.

It is important to note that the following drawings do not contain any shading. The volume, form, and texture are ...