Shading Basics
Shade a Ball
Advanced Shading
Draw a Flower
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Drawing Tool Tip
A small, flat brush makes a good shading tool if you trim the bristles to about 1/4" long.
To create a smooth texture that works well for shading very delicate or white flowers, fill the petals with a little powdered graphite on a brush.
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Digital Photos
Since many subjects move or wilt quickly, make it a habit to take along a digital camera on drawing trips. Take a photo first and then sketch as long as you want. You'll have a digital photo to refer later, if you need it.
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How to Draw and Shade a Flower - Part 2
How to draw a flower with graphite pencil.
Steps 5-7 |
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Step Five - Add Shading to the Entire Flower and Stem
Use a 2B pencil for this step.
Fill in the rest of the petals with "side of the pencil" shading. So that the lines of the interior petals don't get lost in the hatching, stop it a little short of their edges. (You won't be able to fill in the smallest petals very precisely yet.)
Shade in the stem, too. To make the stem look realistic, pay careful attention to where the shadows are darkest and lightest. On this stem, the shadows were darkest on the left edge.
After the petals are filled with "side of the pencil" shading, switch to "tip of the pencil" shading. (It's described here.)
Use the tip of the pencil to shade in the smallest petals in a more precise way. This is best done by leaving their edges free of shading and darkening the petal behind each one instead.
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| (I made the stem longer at this point in my drawing. After the rose was shaded, it looked "heavier" and I felt that a longer stem would be more in balance with it. You can make your own decision about that.) |
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Step Six - Define Petal Edges and Add Subtle Shading
Use a 2B pencil for this step.
Now use a dull pencil tip to darken and reshape the shadows over the entire flower and stem where they need adjusting.
Keep squinting your eyes and comparing the drawing to the model as you work.
If the pencil tip becomes to flat to work with in the small areas, you can make the tip round again by stroking it back and forth across scrap paper while turning the pencil.
Hint: A lot of drawing is about adjusting your work until it matches reality. It's nearly impossible to get shapes and values right the first time you draw them, so constantly compare your drawing to the model and take the time to bring your drawing closer to what you see.
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Step Seven - Increase Contrast and Add Final Details
Use a 4B pencil, a kneaded eraser and a vinyl eraser for this step.
Sometimes graphite pencil drawings of flowers need a little help to look as bright and beautiful as the real thing. A great way to do that is to create more contrast.
First, with the dull tip of a 4B pencil, begin to darken the very darkest shadows even more. Pay special attention to the shadows in the creases between petals.
Next, use the kneaded eraser to lighten the lightest highlights even more. To do that, pinch the eraser into a wedge shape and stroke the thin edge along the petal edges to lighten them. Then, lay the edge of the eraser along the petal edge and gently pull it down into the petal to blend the highlight in a natural looking way.
Darken the shadow edge of the stem, too, so that it matches the contrast of the flower.
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To add even more interest, add the three downward angled bud casings at the bottom of the flower. (Practice on a scrap piece of paper first.) Draw them "loosely", with the side of the pencil, in just a few quick movements. If you lay down the marks so that one side or the other is a little darker, the casings will look shadowed and realistic. To make the middle one look bent, tap a highlight across its middle with the pinched tip of a kneaded eraser.
Finally, erase any left over lines and smudges and sign it!
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