From Budding Artist to Drawing Flower Petals Like the Pros
Spend a relaxing afternoon bringing your favorite blooms to life with this guide to drawing simple, yet realistic flower petals.
In 1883 one of the most famous impressionists, Claude Monet, met his greatest muse: his home and gardens in Giverny, France. As a passionate artist and gardener, he perfected his signature approach to the art of painting petals. His garden, filled with tangled vines and rows of fragrant blooms, might be one of the best places in the world to learn how to draw flower petals.
We can’t all jump on a plane to Normandy to admire the garden and lily pads that inspired his famous Nymphéas paintings. Today’s drawing of flower petals can take place either right here in front of your screen or in a garden close to you. No matter where you choose, you’ll still be able to experience how doodling can benefit your mind and body and unblock your creativity.
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The Art of Drawing Flower Petals
Drawing a flower requires parts like a stem and leaves; focusing first on the petals is a great place to start a drawing practice. Fully inspirational on their own, practicing petal shapes can be relaxing and a fun way to fill an afternoon. But, just how every rose has its thorn, all drawing projects have their difficult moments. Be patient with yourself. Remember that learning how to draw flower petals step by step means taking each challenge as it comes.
Step 1: Collect Your Supplies
To begin, you’ll need something to write on and your chosen drawing utensils.
A drawing pad or notebook will provide some extra cushion when drawing, along with extra pieces of paper for multiple drafts. Washi tape is also helpful for keeping your paper in place. A drawing board can provide a mobile, stable surface. But, there’s no need to spend money on professional supplies. You can start with any paper or notebook you have on hand.
Now for the fun part: choosing what to draw with. You might opt for translucent dabs of watercolor when drawing wildflowers or a silvery sliver of a #2 pencil when sketching hibiscus flowers. There’s a whole world filled with luminescent colored pencils, waxy oil pastels, and smooth ballpoint pens just out there waiting for you. While a simple pencil will do for this activity, you can get as creative as you like with your drawing materials.
Step 2: Turn to Nature For Inspiration
Soon enough, drawing flower petals will feel like a walk in the park. Until then, spending time in your backyard or a public garden near you can provide some wonderful real-life inspiration for your flower petal drawing. At home, an afternoon spent flipping through nature magazines or creating a Pinterest board filled with your favorite flowers will really get those creative juices flowing.
Do you have a favorite flower? If you love the soft-petaled rose, you might consider drawing roses or another full-petaled bloom. Perhaps you can’t resist the nodding, golden heads of daffodils in the spring. If so, drawing a daffodil might make this activity even more enjoyable.
Once you’ve decided which flower petal you want to draw, head out to your garden and pick the flower itself or find one that speaks to you online. Your flower will be your point of reference and help create a strong foundation for your botanical illustration.
Step 3: Get to Know Your Flower Petal
Take a little time to observe the flower you chose for this project. Notice where each petal starts, where it curves, and any creases or lines within the petal. Is your petal smooth or does it crinkle like crushed tissue paper? Do its edges dip and rise continuously or jut out haphazardly?
Even though you’re not drawing leaves or your flower’s stem right now, you might even spot differences in texture and color between the base of your flower and its bloom. Or, try comparing it to different flowers and see how its features make it unique.
Step 4: Draw the Outer Edge of the Petal
Now that you’ve visually pinpointed the lines and creases present in your flower petal, it’s time to copy those lines onto your paper. You may start by tracing a photo of your flower to get comfortable with the shapes of its petals. Or you can dive right into a blank page.
Once you’re ready, start your line at the bottom edge of the petal. Then, slowly move your pencil upwards toward the tip as you create a line along the outer edge.
As you follow the edge of the petal with your eye, try to move your pencil at that same speed. Having your hand and your eye work together as a team will help you only draw exactly what your eye sees. Drawing one petal at a time will help you fine tune each petal’s shape as you go. Before you know it, even drawing a rose, which can have up to 40 petals, will feel like second nature.
Step 5: Add Inner Details
Now that you’ve mastered the art of the outer edge of the petal, it’s time to work on its inner features. Here’s where you might add in the paper-like texture of your flower’s inner petals. Or mimic the fold and bends of your petals with a smooth stroke of your ballpoint pen.
Peony petals extend over one another in one big embrace, while sunflower petals stand tall around the center only slightly overlapping each other. Notice not only how your petal looks, but how it interacts with its neighbors. See if it overlaps or bumps into other petals and how it curves or crinkles when it does.
Drawing Multiple Flower Petals Together
Way to go! You finished your flower petal. Just like when you drew a petal on its own, the first step to drawing an entire bloom is taking time to observe your subject. Flower petals are in one big conversation with one another. They overshadow, pucker, crimp, and fold. And each of them work together to form saucer, star, and bell-shaped blooms.
Join their conversation by spending time with each of the petals and seeing what they have to say. You might notice the velvety, blue tip of a petal peeking over the top of your pansy. A teardrop-shaped petal on your sunflower could stick out to you right away. Here, time and the power of observation will be your best friend.
With so many petals, it might feel overwhelming to go at them all at once. Try starting with the petals closest to you and then slowly moving toward the back of the flower. You already have everything you need to draw one petal. Now, you only need to repeat the skills you’ve already refined until you finish an entire bloom.
If you’re feeling stuck, focus on the outer shape of your petals before adding those inner details. You can even treat each petal like it is its own drawing instead of the flower as a whole. For a daisy, with its dense ring of pointed petals, you can move in a circular motion from left to right before adding additional rows of petals.
You Rose to the Occasion; Time to Celebrate!
You now have a new skill that brought you a moment of relaxation and boosted creativity. If you’re looking to refine your flower drawing skills, try your hand at some other flowers. You might even try drawing a new flower each day this week until you have an entire bouquet!
As you expand your botanical palette, try drawing plants or trees. Last bud not least, continue to use this guide as you create more botanical beauties. You’ll be a petal-drawing pro in no time.
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