How to Draw Insect Wings
Whether an insect is a dragonfly or a shield bug, its wings can serve many purposes: a form of transportation, a sign of status during mating, a warning to predators or a form of general communication. Drawing insect wings depends entirely on your ability to draw basic rudimentary shapes and to observe and draw details.
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Things You'll Need
- Insect books
- Insect images from the Internet
- Pencil and paper
- Eraser
- Compass (optional)
Instructions
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1
Choose a set of insect wings to draw. With over a million classified insect species and millions more unclassified, wide varieties of insect wings obviously exist. Select a basic set for your first attempt.
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2
Observe your insect, if possible, in nature. Even if you cannot observe the wings up close, look at how they attach to the insect's body, move while in flight and rest when not in flight. An insect's movements, flight patterns and even its birth to death cycle can provide you with the necessary details to understand how its wings serve it during its lifetime and how to draw its wings to create a specific image. If you cannot observe your insect in nature, read books or select Internet images that show these details.
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3
Use your compass, if you have difficulty drawing circles or oblong shapes freehand, to draw a basic outline of the wings. Do not worry about the size of the wings in relation to the paper--bigger wings for the first attempt will help you to create a more detailed image of the wings. Use your books and/or Internet images to reference the shape of the wings.
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4
Sketch in any details. Like leaves or human skin, insect wings possess veins, lines, circles and other details. Consider the differences in details. Some details, such as veins or certain colorations, naturally appear like veins, hair and eye color in a human. Other details, such as torn areas or dirt, have resulted from wear over time.
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5
Erase or redraw the outline of the insect's wings as you add details. For example, a tear may appear on the outer edge of a wing or as a ripped section inside of the wing. In addition, keep in mind that one wing may be longer the other and you must redraw accordingly as your goal is to create a copy of the original wings.
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6
Color the wings or draw and color to scale once you have mastered the basic techniques.
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