Botanical Line Work : How To Draw Gerberas

1. Intro and supplies: Hi, my name is Aska, and I make drawing tutorial videos. In this lesson, we're going to learn how to draw gerberas at two different angles so you can create this illustration. All you need to follow this lesson is any pencil and a pen, a piece of paper or notebook, and an eraser. So grab a pencil and a drink of your choice and enjoy the lesson. 2. The guide: First, we're going to create a guide. This will help you get the right balance. Glad something circular from around your house, And draw around it to create a circle. If you don't have one, you can freehand it like this. It doesn't have to be perfect as it gets erased at the end. Anyway, when you have the circle, mark the center and draw a line across. Now split the line in three. Again, it doesn't have to be perfect, Just mark what seems about right. Then draw a circle in the middle section. We will then draw another circle inside here. Now draw a vertical line straight through the middle and split each section in half. These lines will help you to draw the petals at the right angle. And that's the guide done. 3. Stages of the flower: Now let me show you the stages so you have a better idea of how this lesson is going to go. First, we will fill in these two circles in the center. We then add petals in the large circles starting with the front eight petals, then some background petals. And then finish it off with details. I'm going to break down each step and guide you through it. So if you’re ready, let's get started. 4. Start the center: First we're going to draw tiny circles on this guideline. Create two layers of circles like so. And that's step one. 5. Detail the center: Now mark the center like this, and fill in the rest of this small circle with dots. Also fill in any gaps in between a tiny circles as the flower is packed tight in the middle, and we want that effect. 6. Fill the center: Next, we're filling in this outer circle with little arches that go all the way round. There is no need to rush, so take your time and keep going around until the whole area is filled. If your hand starts to hurt, take a break and come back to it. And that's step three. 7. First petals: Now we're going to add petals, Starting with the front eight. So let's draw one petal on each guideline. Draw a petal like this, with rounded end. Repeat on all the other guidelines. Make sure the petals are somewhat the same shape. In the next step, we're going to fill in the blank gaps with more petals. 8. Background petals: Now let's add background petals. Start by adding one per section. Draw the new petal shapes behind your initial 8. Keep it random by drawing them on the left or right on different distances from the front petals. Keeping it random will make it look more organic and real. 9. Finishing petals: Let's fill the rest of the circle with more petals. Keep adding just like before and fill every gap. Do what feels right. Keep going around until it's pretty much all filled. That's the basic shape done. It looks great. In the next step, we're going to add details to give it extra contrast. 10. Details: To add the detail, use a pen with a smaller nib if you have one. If not, you can also use the same pen but with less pressure. So this is what I get with the normal pressure, And this is less. Flicking the tip of the pen also helps. Now let's start adding details like creases and shadows. First, draw a curved line that's almost the length of the petal, then add shorter ones like so. Next, add a tiny line or two from the top end of the petal. We're going to do this petal by petal. Petals that are almost fully hidden behind the others need more lines to show depth. Hardly apply any pressure to get nice thin lines. If you have any gaps close to the center of the flower, make sure to pen them in like so. And it's done. You've just drawn a gerbera. In the next stage, we're going to draw one at a slight angle like this one. 11. Second guide: The new guide is a bit different. First draw a cross with this ratio. Now, draw a semicircle on the top half, like so. Then the bottom half should look squished compared to the top. So something like this. Next, divide the diameter in three like the first guide, and add another semicircle in the middle section. We then add the squished bottom half. Do the same process one more time in the center. And add a final curved line, just like so. Now we need four lines on the top half. And for the bottom half, we draw two curved lines just like this. That's the new guide. 12. New center: We're going to start by drawing a curved line on the guide here. We then draw tiny bumpy lines along the crescent shape, like so. 13. Filling the center: Next we're going to fill in this section. Draw a line here and fill in the whole area with arches. Make sure this line of arches, is smaller than the rest. Now, draw a point in the middle, and surrounded with tiny dots. Concentrate more dots close to this line. 14. Finish second center: Now let's fill in this top part. Draw more arches starting small, then gradually make them bigger like this. Now, add the smaller lines of arches like so. 15. Adding petals: Next, we're going to draw petals on each of these guidelines. The top half petals are same as the other version. Just draw rounded petal shapes along the guideline. Now the bottom ones. The center one is like a triangle, just like this. Make sure to stay inside the guide. Next is the angled one. Start by drawing a line like this, then go down, then close it with another line like so. Repeat on the other side. The last two petals are pointing the side. So start with a line going up, then down towards the end of the guide, and then close with another line. Repeat for the other one, like so. It's better if it's not symmetrical. 16. More background petals: Now let's add more petals, starting with the top half of the flower. Just like the other version, add more petals in-between these petals. Mix the order up slightly to create a natural look, whilst keeping the shape of the petals consistent. Now at the bottom half, It's hard to explain, so watch closely and try to copy what I'm doing. I'm simply adding more petals in-between the petals, make them point at slightly different angles, like so. 17. Finishing petals: Now we're going to add some more petals on the bottom part. For these, you can poke out over the guideline. Make the petals random like so. Let's add a quick stem here too. That's the basic shape done. 18. Details on second flower: Now let's bring this to life by adding the details. Top half of the flower is pretty much same as the other version. Flick the tip of the pen from the center of the flower. And some long lines but not too many. For the bottom half, think of where shadows will be. Let's add tiny lines to the small petals too. Give a shadow effect to the stem. Erase the pencil and you’re done. It's a little bit more complicated than the first one, but it's manageable when you break it down into small steps. 19. Application: Okay, now you've learned the two different variations, we're going to draw this one together in the next stage. Okay, it's time to draw this. Start by sketching out the circles to decide where the flowers are going to go. Then add stems. We will also add a few leaves to balance it out. When you're happy with the placement, sketch out the rest of the guide. When that's done, pencil out each flower. Gerbera leaves have wavy edges, so start by drawing the center line, then sketch out this leaf shape with a wider top. Then draw wavy lines like so. For me, I'm too lazy to pencil out the center of the flower, so I usually focus on the big petals at this stage and draw the center part in once I switch over to the pen. When you're ready, start outlining with a pen. Erase the pencil once you've outlined. When adding details to the leaves, draw lines from the center line and also from the edges. Keep the angle consistent. And just like that, you're finished! How did it go? I hope you enjoyed drawing these flowers, practice will improve the result every time. Thank you for following me along, I'll see you in the next lesson! :)