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Lesson 3: Applying Construction to Plants
Mushroom Demo
Demo Video
While this lesson primarily focuses on leafy plants, there are a number of plants and fungi that serve as an excellent introduction to working with basic organic forms, and mushrooms are a great example of this.
The demo video includes full audio and discussion of the concepts demonstrated in the drawing.
Step by step
To start with, I lay down some ellipses to establish cross-sections along the length of our mushroom's stalk. Being that this is very much like a cylinder, the same principles do apply. For example, we certainly would benefit from aligning these ellipses to a single minor axis line - and if you struggle at all with keeping them aligned to each other, I would definitely recommend this.
A less optional point to follow is the fact that the degree of these ellipses shifts visibly as you move from top to bottom. The topmost ellipse is more in line with the viewer's eye level, so we see less of its surface. As the cross-sections move further down, the angle at which we see it becomes greater, resulting in more of that surface being visible to us.
Next, using a similar technique to the branch construction exercise, we build the outlines of the mushroom stalk's silhouette. Because these curves are rather complex, I've built them in segments, doing my best to keep them overlapping and flowing directly into one another so as to avoid any visible ends peeking out in between.
Now we start to move into the territory of detail. To start with, there's a lot going on directly underneath the cap, along the top of the stalk.
Before we get into anything too complicated, I did notice several strong, dominant valleys coming down along the length, so I decided to block these in first with a few simple lines, establishing how they flow downwards.
The rest is simply a matter of applying the principles covered in lesson 2. Observe your reference, identify specific elements present and transfer them one or two marks at a time before looking back at your reference to refresh your memory. Don't rely on your brain's ability to remember large amounts of information, because it will disappoint you. Instead, build a rhythm of looking at your reference, drawing briefly, then looking back again to study it once more.
PureRef
This is another one of those things that aren't sold through Amazon, so I don't get a commission on it - but it's just too good to leave out. PureRef is a fantastic piece of software that is both Windows and Mac compatible. It's used for collecting reference and compiling them into a moodboard. You can move them around freely, have them automatically arranged, zoom in/out and even scale/flip/rotate images as you please. If needed, you can also add little text notes.
When starting on a project, I'll often open it up and start dragging reference images off the internet onto the board. When I'm done, I'll save out a '.pur' file, which embeds all the images. They can get pretty big, but are way more convenient than hauling around folders full of separate images.
Did I mention you can get it for free? The developer allows you to pay whatever amount you want for it. They recommend $5, but they'll allow you to take it for nothing. Really though, with software this versatile and polished, you really should throw them a few bucks if you pick it up. It's more than worth it.