Cross Contour Drawing

Why practice Cross-Contour Drawing?

To create an illusion of depth in a landscape, it is necessary emphasise atmospheric perspective - to distinguish the far-, middle- and near-ground.

But that wont be enough always.

Often, the ground plane is very dynamic. It curves and tilts across the landscape. Not capturing the essence of this curving and tilting will often make the painting appear dull and flat.

When you understand this, you will quickly see that the placement of the light source determines which surfaces will appear lighter (those that incline toward the light) and which will be darker (those that are turned away from it).

When the ground has sharp angles, light and shadow are clear, like on a rocky cliff. Think of a sheet of paper with crisp folds.

However, if the folds are irregular, details can become confusing. Start by identifying the biggest surface that faces the light. Then, add finer details later.

For gentle curves, the transition from light to dark is smooth and soft.

Doing a cross-contour drawing like the one shown above can help you see how the ground slopes and tilts.

How is it different from Contour-drawing?

This is different from a simple ‘contour drawing,’ which focuses only on the outer edges of the main masses. In cross-contour drawing, we pay more attention to the curvature and shape of the ground plane. We look for areas that are steep as well as those that are gentle.

Think of ants marching up and down along the slope of a hill.

It becomes equally important to consider linear perspective as well - the cross-contour lines that are closer to us will stay wide apart, while the ones going into the distance will be closer to each other. Here is a thumbnail of the same setting drawn in pencil.

Once you have a grasp of this, transfer it to your canvas using a block-in drawing. Thin or dotted lines can represent the slope, showing how steep or gentle the ground is.

As you progress through the underpainting and color layering, emphasise the ground’s various slopes and curves to bring the landscape to life.

See the final work of this composition in the gallery.