Contour Line Plant Drawings

Contour is the French word for outline. This is a drawing exercise where your goal will be to draw the outline of a natural object not for its detail, but for its size and shape (mass and volume). There are two ways you can do this exercise: simple outline where you lift your pen or pencil to create each line OR a continuous outline where you do not lift your pencil or pen. Continuous contour drawings are more challenging but sometimes lead to a better drawing experience because it’s supposed to be messy- there’s less stress to be perfect!

We would start this class with a short nature walk around our campus to pick up small leaves, twigs, flowers, etc. In a larger group you can always share your findings with other artists. On your own, choose natural items that make you excited to draw.

MATERIALS:
+ pencil/pen
+ paper
+ something from nature: flower, plant, leaf, etc.

I don’t have any flowers or flowering plants at my house right now so I chose a faux plant I had sitting around. The idea and execution are exactly the same. I laid my plant down next to me so I could clearly see the edges, shapes, leaves, etc. If you look closely, you can see that I worked mainly with a continuous line drawing. This means that sometimes I had to back-track my line to be able to draw the next leaf. It is a bit messy and very imperfect but is starting to look like a twig with leaves.

My finished drawing is simple and full of small lines but not a lot of detail. I had to rely on observation to draw my object- looking at the number of leaves, how long the branch was, the shape of the leaves, and so on. I chose to leave my drawing black and white but you could certainly add color to it.

If you drew in pencil the first time, try drawing with a pen or marker next time. I find it a little more exciting when I know I can’t erase my mistakes. Good luck and happy making!