A romanesco in spirals

A study of Romanesco with nested cone clusters, two outer leaves and a cut stalk on textured paper. Block the overall cone and the two outer leaves around the cut stalk.

A way into the drawing

1. Set the main volumes

   Block the overall cone and the two outer leaves around the cut stalk.

2. Map the spirals

   Arrange the largest cone clusters in curved rows before placing their smaller repeats.

3. Build the detail

   Follow each cone’s curved surface with smaller graphite forms, keeping the sequence readable.

4. Refine the values

   Darken the recesses between clusters while leaving the small cone tips lighter.

A small thing to tryEstablish the large spiral groups before attempting their smaller repeated details.