, uses "bracelet shading" to suggest how branches come forward or go back in the z-dimension.
She writes: "You can add contours to stems and roots by drawing smaller stacked cylinders like bracelets....Imagine your lines join up around the back of each stem, as they would if you were drawing the rim of a cylinder."
Botany for the Artist: An Inspirational Guide to Drawing Plants
This is a very helpful tip--I can't draw plants as well as I would like, maybe I should check out that book.
ReplyDeletethis reminded me of davinci's studies on trees, and about this book, downloadable for free by a botanic/mathematic man i bumped into a few years ago, when i was graduating computer science: "the algoritmic beauty of plants" .http://algorithmicbotany.org/papers/#abop
ReplyDeleteI bought your book, Color and light . I found it in the largest bookstore here!! after reading it (as well as your blog), i feel i have to thank you for your generosity. The price of the book doesn't even barely match the value of the information contained in it.
This book is high on my list of recommendations to anyone who desires to draw organic material. It is a fascinating read both for the structural aspect of botanical subjects, technical insight, as well as history of scientific illustration. Great book!
ReplyDeleteOh WOW what a great technique!
ReplyDeleteI can't wait to apply it in my creature/character designs! Mm, tentacles!
I always liked the way Bill Waterson did this in Calvin and Hobbes
ReplyDeleteThis technique is also handy to the medical illustrator. We are constantly drawing tubes heading in all sorts of directions (arteries, veins, intestines, etc). I like to use bracelet highlights, actually.
ReplyDeleteSarah Simblet is also the author of a very good anatomy for artist book.
ReplyDeleteA little pricey but worth it.
Her own figure drawings are quite amazing.