Note that I'm not referring to the shiny / chrome look, just the actual shapes themselves.
It's hard to even find the words to describe them — I'd say tangled-looking / tribal-esque shapes.
I can't quite tell if they were made in 3D software, but I feel that is irrelevant.
Do I just need to bite the bullet and sketch them out before then drawing them manually with the pen tool (say in Illustrator)... or is there an easier way?
I did try to experiment with the image trace function in Illustrator, using stock photos of plant roots... but the results were a bit sloppy.