How to Draw a Flower

Flowers are very complex in form and can be a challenging subject for the most seasoned artists. Like any drawing, it only takes an understanding of drawing fundamentals to begin to draw flowers beautifully. Follow the tips below for drawing realistic flowers.

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Paper
• Pen or pencil

1. Have a subject to look at. It is important to have a point of reference, whether it is an actual flower or only a picture. Pay close attention to the characteristics that distinguish one type of flower from another, such as density and curve of the petals, amount of petals and depth.

2. Sketch freely and loosely. This technique works well for flowers along with many nature subjects. Make fast, sketchy and gestural lines to indicate overlapping petals, depth and layers. Take advantage of different line weights, thick and thin.

3. Begin drawing the outside of the flower first. Most make the mistake of starting from the inside. Sketch the overall shape and proportion of the flower before adding center and petals.

4. Work toward the center of the flower. Not paying to much attention to detail at this point, try to achieve the shape and sizes of the layers. Pay particular attention to where deep creases and definite lines are, compared to softer edges.

5. Use shading to achieve detail. Instead of drawing an outline of each petal or bit of texture in the center of the flower, form the shapes and add depth with shading underneath the petals.