Shading Basics
Shade a Ball
Advanced Shading
Draw a Flower
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Drawing Tips
Flowers drawn with graphite pencil can make bold artistic statements, but you may need to adjust the contrast to compensate for the lack of color.
When looking for flowers to draw, choose light and medium colored flowers which have interesting shapes and petal patterns.
Here are some suggestions:
- Roses
- Day Lilies
- Dahlias
- Tulips
- Daffodils
- Orchids
- Hollyhocks
- Calla lily
- Hibiscus
You can successfully draw flowers with a heavily textured shading technique if the same texture is used over the entire flower creating a unified appearance.
Don't forget how beautiful simple line drawings can be. Small delicate flowers, like Honeysuckle and Violets, make great line drawing subjects.
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How to Draw and Shade a Flower - Part 1
How to draw a flower with graphite pencil.
Steps 1-4
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| You can draw this flower with a simple graphite pencil and a few other supplies. To learn how, please read Advanced Shading and then draw along with the steps of this lesson using the finished flower as your model. |
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Supplies:
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Step One - Find and Draw the Flower's Dimensions and Basic Shape
Use the 2H pencil for this step.
Measure the height and width of the flower blossom, mark those dimensions on the paper, and extend those marks into lines that form a loose rectangle.
Draw the largest and simplest shape of the flower within the rectangle. This flower's shape is angled oval.
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Step Two - Draw the Outline
Use the 2H pencil for this step.
Draw a more detailed outline using the oval and rectangle as guides.
Start with one prominent petal shape and then use either of the following techniques to finish the outline:
- Continue drawing the outer shape in one continuous line, one petal after the other.
- Pick out another prominent petal to draw, and then another and another until they are all placed.
Notice some of the petal edges extend beyond the oval and touch the rectangle.
To help get the proportions right, compare the sizes of the shapes to each other and to the oval as you draw.
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Hint: You don't have to draw the flower perfectly. You can even change the shape a little, if you want to. Making artistic decisions as you work is part of the drawing process and I encourage you to listen and respond to what your inner voice has to say.
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Step Three - Draw the Interior Petals and Stem
Use the 2H pencil for this step.
If you think of the petals in the interior of this flower as shapes, it looks a lot like a jigsaw puzzle. Your job is to place each of those shapes into the outline drawing of the flower you just made.
Start by drawing the shapes that complete the petals at the front of the flower.
Each line in the interior of the flower connects to another line, so, the shapes will build on each other as you draw them.
Work your way across and up through the interior of the flower, drawing one petal shape at a time.
When you're done with the flower, add the stem. Notice how wide it is and at what points it touches the flower on each side.
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Hint: The line drawing shouldn't be too dark. If it is, tap the lines lightly with a kneaded eraser until they lighten.
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Hint: Squint your eyes to help see the value of the flower and of the shading as you create it. Quickly move your eyes between the flower and the drawing to see if they "match".
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Step Four - Begin Shading the Petals
Use a 2B pencil for this step.
Using the "side of the pencil" style of shading explained here, fill a few of the petals with hatching.
Start with the darkest area of each petal. That's usually where the petal is in shadow near the body of the flower. Then lighten the shading as you work out toward the edge of the petal.
Tip the pencil up on its point to fill in the small areas.
Each petal has a different pattern of shadow and highlight, so look closely at the model as you shade each one.
It's always easier to add more graphite than it is to erase it, so consciously keep the shading a little light at first. After you've shaded a few petals and are more familiar with the texture graphite creates, go back over the shadows and darken them to their true values.
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