Transcripts
1. Intro + Overview: welcome Teoh. How to draw Wildflowers. Hi, my name is Nisha. I'm an artist and an illustrator and have a background in graphic design. My work includes a lot of water colors and ink illustrations, and I really love to teach. Both of these. Thing is a big in her class, and we'll start with the basics. What you'll need will be some regular paper like printer paper, a set of ink pens in a variety of sizes, a pencil, and if you'd like to use the bonus included, it's a printable quote that you can use for the final project in this class. I'll take you through some illustration. Techniques and drills will cover the basics on how to add light and shadow and texture, but at the end we'll have seven wildflowers and a variety of shapes and sizes, and I'll take you through my exact process on how to create a balanced composition and layout. So grab your supplies and let's get started
2. Inspiration + Reference: The first thing you're gonna want to dio is find some reference images or some actual flowers either outside or the floral section in a store. What you'll be looking for are a variety in shapes and sizes and different textures have created a Pinterest board and have included the link in the description of the class. Feel free to use this for your reference images. This board contains all seven of our main wildflowers that were illustrating, and as we go through the lessons, you can refer back to this for all of your drawings, so keep it on hand and let's get started.
3. Illustration Techniques & Drills: all right, so the first thing we'll do is get our set of pens. You just want to have a variety. I've got a micron set here in different sizes and ranges, so as long as you have at least three different sizes, you'll be good. So first will go through line making for each of these sizes. This is my smallest one. It's a double 05 and I'm going to keep doing this with each of the size pens and just show you the range of thickness. Do this with your set of pens as well, and you will have a good guide as to how they will show up. So as you can see, going from the smallest to the largest, you can get a really good range of light to dark just by simple lines. And just by switching out your pen size, Okay, so the next exercise will work through is shading and controlling our light to dark by using the lines and then also by using dots awesome. Using a pencil just to roughly make some boxes, you can use three for the lines and three for the dots, and then we'll use the ink on top, all right, so using one of your pens can start making diagonal lines and just try to keep him evenly spaced down and just pick one side of your square to shade. The next step would be to increase the darkness by doing the same thing, but then adding another row of lines in the opposite direction. This is called a cross hatching, and this is a way to build texture and shadows and then, for the final box will make it the darkest shade by increasing the lines, doing cross hatching and making the lines much closer together. When your lines are closer together, you'll have a darker shadow. When you separate your lines and there's more space, it'll be lighter. All right, so for the bottom row will do the same technique. Except this time we will use dots and create our light, her middle range and our shadow. When he used dots like this, it's called stippling. And just like with the lines, the closer they are together, the more shadow you'll have, the more you space out your dots, it'll be a lighter tone. You can also switch up your pen thickness. I'm using the biggest size right here to add bigger dots, and that will keep adding to the density of that shadow. And on the very last square, try adding both lines and dots, so cross hatching and then also the dot spread out to create that light and shadow effect. One thing to keep in mind is your light source. So, on all of these, say the sun, which should be my light sores. It's coming down at a diagonal. In this case, everything on the right hand side is gonna be brighter, and the shadow will fall then on the left hand side. So when you are doing your illustrations, just keep your light source in mind. Okay, so now to apply this to say, Ah, flower petal, put the center of the flower and then the light source is coming from the same area. That would mean that your shadow to be closest to the bottom edge. So I'm showing you the difference between a curved line here and a straight line. When you have a straight line, it's not gonna look as natural as if it was curved. It'll look more organic and, like it goes on the pedal when it curves along the pedal line. So practice using a center dot and then making your lines coming straight out from one point. This is the exact technique you'll use for your leaves and your pedals. The other thing to practice is lines coming from one point so you're horizontal line is going to be your base, and then you're gonna make straight lines coming off of it. That same technique on a pedal will look a little like this. So are illustrations will be made up of some simple shapes, just circles, lines and dots and in some cases will be making little loops, just little narrow, overly shapes. So just practice some of these. We can also combine lines and dots together and create some texture that way, and using circles or loops or cross hatching, we can add different textures into centers of flowers. For example, the same technique applies to stems and leaves, so we'll just do a quick one here to show you also keep in mind your light source, which means the shadow fall on the left side and the highlights will be along the right side. So this is what the size five my krump in. You know, I'm switching to my thinnest micron pen, which is double 05 and using very thin lines to add some texture onto that leaf, matting the shadow lines along the edges and leaving the middle as the highlight part. And that is the basics of adding light and shadow with some simple illustration techniques .
4. Dandelion: Okay, let's start with one of my absolute favorites. It's dandy lions. And using a size eight micron, I'm gonna make the stem first promise center dot Just make it a little bit thicker. And then out from that center point, just some straight lines. Well, look a little bit like a star and make some of them shorter, some of them longer. And then I'm putting a few dots just around the ends of, um and making sort of a rough circular shape with the dots, all right, and then switching to a size three pen. I'm going to go ahead and make little lines just on the ends of these dots, and that will give the texture and give it that fluffy feeling. Remember to put some of those little lines into the middle of the dandy line so that it's nice and full. They are actually all the way through, not just along the outside and as a final touch, we'll put a few of these Danny line seeds just flying off into the wind. A little got with a couple of lines, and you're done
5. Daisy: all right, I have a size three pin start with a little circle. It's the center of the daisy, and then we'll add on the pedals going all the way around. Once you have your first layer in, you can put in these second pedal layers that will peek out from behind and then, with some little loops, will just build. In the center. You can use little circles or little curved lines. I made little like in shapes and then going over the bottom edge a few times to give it a little bit of a darker shadow and then adding in those texture lines like we did in the practice drills. Just go ahead and make your curved lines coming out from the center of that flower all along each pedal. You can keep them pretty light in just a few lines, or you can build up that texture and really put a lot of lines in there and make it a darker shadow. Once your first layer is done, remember to add it on to the second layer of pedals that are in the back. Those will be a little bit darker and shadow, since there underneath so they get more lines. All right, let's put in a second daisy along the side. So making the middle with some loops for that center and then pulling out some petal shapes all the way around. I'm making the shorter pedals that are closer to us and then making longer pedals on the right hand side to show it's sort of tilted at an angle and then adding the shadow lines just like we did on the first Daisy. Don't worry about your pedals being perfect. More symmetrical. This is all practice, and the more you do it, the easier it will be okay and then switching to a lighter pin. This is, ah, size one and adding in a few of the lighter lines along the top edge of each of these pedals. This is a fun way to just add a little bit more texture into your flower and then just pull down a couple of stems. I'm gonna leave mine as is. You can choose data shadow if you like, and there you go couple of daisies
6. Lavender: right, So let's draw some lavender. This is a really fun one, and it's super easy. Just start with some little loops. I'm a center point. Draw a little stem, and as you move up, you'll be making these loops a little bit smaller, so you'll be drawing little clusters that get smaller as you move up. Okay, we'll put a second lavender stand on the side, going in the opposite direction. Just go along the stem line with your loops, and this time I started the top. I'm creating bigger clusters as I moved down the stem. Now the lavender leaves along the bottom are long and narrow there, almost like skinny teardrop shapes. So just putting a few of those along the base. Okay, now that the basic shapes Aaron, let's start adding the shadows. So along the bottom of the leaves and on the bottom along this, each of the cluster's we'll put in a little shading, just some lines, a little cross hatching and then also up, along with stem on the left side. And there you go. A couple of lavender stems toe add into your final project. They're fast and easy to make, and they had a lot of fun texture
7. Coneflower: All right, So for the cone flower will start with the center. It's gonna be a dome shape with a curved line along the bottom, and then we'll put in some of the petal shapes, these air going to be long and narrow. A little bit like a daisy. However, they're all gonna be pointing downwards. Also, remember to add that second layer of pedals that's peeking out from behind. It will give you a fuller flower and in a simple way to add some texture and shadow into that center. Part is by using cross hatching. So that's the diagonal lines, and you can make the lines along the bottom a little bit darker to give more of a shadow feel and then draw two lines for a stem. Okay, so for that texture that's on the pedals. Amusing US center pen. It's a size two, and I'm putting in those lines from the center outward, and then also remember to add the lines on to that. Secondly, or pedals to give that shadow effect and then also go in and add some more shadows onto the center of the corn flour. And then, using cross hatching, you can add shadows alongside of your stem. Right? So a second cornflower over here, it's gonna be pointing in a slightly different direction. We'll start with that center dome shape and then put in the pedals in the two layers and then add in your stem, and then you can start the shading. So using cross hatching on that center along the stem and then using the thinner lines along the pedals. And you just want to remember that if you chose your shadows to be on the left side, that second stem will be, ah, the same side so that it stays consistent and your light source is coming from one area, and then you can use that thinner pen and add a few more lines along the tops of the pedals is to add a little bit more shadow and texture along the edge, and they go to cornflowers. All done
8. Queen Anne's Lace: So for the Queen Anne's lace will start with a stem, and then a really wide top has maybe five or six longer stems. And the little flowers are on the tops of each of these, so you can make little branch like shapes at the ends of each of these stems. The flowers on the ends, a really tiny and the really delicate. So they're kind of like little puffy shapes is just gonna make little clusters along all the tops, and you might want to fill out to the rest of your flower. Here. I have a little bit of white space in between. I'm gonna put in a few clusters and extra stems just through the middle. Feel free to keep adding clusters and stems just to make your composition look the way you want to, making mine a little bit fuller than a little bit wider. And then when you're happy with the composition, you can add in a few extra lines to thicken up those stems just slightly. The overall look will be pretty delicate, though, and it's a nice fun flower to add for added texture.
9. Lily of the Valley: So we'll start the lily of the valley with a little Bella shape, like an upside down U and then make a little wavy, oval ish shape for the opening of the flower. Then the stems. They're gonna be curved, and they're gonna be a long one main stem with a couple of the flowers falling off that centerpiece. So they're all gonna droop down. They look gonna look like little bells hanging off. This one is gonna have three flowers off of the main stem and just start with that upside down U shaped first and then put in the wavy opening of the flower second. And then there's a little piece that comes right in the center and it's a go little u shape . And then once we have the basic structure in, we can start adding the shadows. So keeping your light source in mind just start adding some shadow lines along the edges of the flower along the bell, shaped along the folds wherever it naturally folds, and then also some cross hatching along the stem. Okay, and I'm switching to a thinner pen, so have some more delicate lines. We're gonna put some shading and shadows along the underside of the flower. This is gonna have more shadow than the tops. And then along some of the edges of those pedals that are open, there will be some curved lines to indicate the pedal shape is rounded, curved and also in shadow. This is a good one to check back onto a reference photo just because there are so many different angles and parts of the flowers fold into the underside. So take a look at the picture. When you are a shading, he can get easy to overdo the lines, so just take little breaks and pause and take a look at the overall picture. And if you feel like there needs to be more, keep adding, and there you go, a sweet, bell shaped lily of the valley.
10. Golden Poppy: Okay, so the California Golden Poppy has some wide pedals, their bit floppy in. They are four on each flower, so you're going to start with the front, too, and then put in the back to right underneath with a circle centre in the pedals because they're floppy will have a little bit of a wave along the edge. And for the center, you're going to use some long, narrow shapes like long loops and just put them in a cluster in toothy center of the flower . You can add in a little shadow and shading in between those shapes. Okay, so now, to do a side view of the poppy, make a little oval shape, little bit lady, and then pull your four pedals up from that into some tapered wide petal shapes remembered a wave, the lines along the edges a little bit. You can keep your reference photo on hand and refer to it if you need to, and then we'll pull down a couple stems from each of these, okay, and then we can start with the shading. So using he of the straight lines had in the shadows along the bottom of the flower along some of the edges and then along the stem. When you're working on the open flower where you see the four pedals, the bottom two underneath will get more shadow lines, and the top two will be a little bit lighter because they're on top. And I was switching out to a thinner pin here just to get a little over a delicate line and then putting some shadow lines along the top edges of each of the petals. Keep pausing to take a look at your work as you go along, so that you know when you want to stop some areas you can leave open. That's where the light will hit it, and you can show that's the highlight. And then just keep adding the shadows mostly on the pieces that are underneath. So the bottom petals and right underneath on the stems where there would be a shadow. And there you go, Ah, Golden puppies set
11. Filler Foliage: Okay, so this is what I call filler foliage. You may find that you need a few of these smaller pieces Justo put in through your design and to give it a little bit extra filling and detail and just some texture. I'd recommend just doing a sheet of these and warm up and get practice on how to make different marks and different elements together. Whether it's circles, lines, curves, dots, just play around and have fun. We cannot in these leaves and branches in throughout your final design, and you can also vary up the ends. So some look like Berries and some look like tiny flowers and even just changing one shape on, say, the branch, you'll get a entirely different look. There are endless variations on these. This is just a quick reference for you. If you wanted to kick start some of these sketchy pieces, all right, now that we have a few ideas for our filler foliage, we can move on to our final design and put everything together
12. Final Project - Composition & Base Layer: we are ready for our final project. We're going to create this graphic together with the letters and the flowers, so I mean it really easy. I've already got a printable J peg or PDF. You can download this and print it out on it. Just a regular printer paper. Regular copy paper is fine, and there's a slight gray circle around as a guide you can use for the florals. You can, of course, use your own version or do one without text, totally up to you. But if you want to use this, just go ahead and print it out. And the first step will Dio is layout in pencil some of our florals so you can roughly use , um, shapes and put in maybe a circle for a daisy and some triangles for side views. Just go around your whole circle and place the main flowers. So I'm thinking of cone flowers for the left side here, and they're sort of in a triangular shape, and then I'll probably put the golden poppies on the other side, so there's a nice balance of the bigger flowers, and then we can fill in in the spaces. Some of the smaller ones. Just use a light touch with your pencil so that it's easy to erase once you're done. If you want to add in some leaves in some other type of foliage or just indicate where they might go, you can do that too. Okay, we can start our thinking once we have a rough idea. And then I will start with the daisy at the bottom with that circle and then start putting in the pedals, okay? And then moving on to the cone. Flower will do that dome shaped first and then put in the pedals underneath. And then the third larger flower will be the poppies, just like we did in the practice. One where one is open and then won is on a side view. Okay, so now we can start putting our secondary flowers. You're sort of the supporting characters. I'm gonna put the lily of the valley somewhere up here, and then the dandy lines can go next to the cone flowers and then the Queen Anne's lace somewhere down below with the daisies, so that will fill out the composition a bit. There's a nice contrast of bigger shapes and smaller delicate shapes. And then I just remembered the lavender, which I wanna have a little bit of some, adding that once you've made all your adjustments and angles, you can start your inking. So the Queen Anne's lace will be the same way that we did in the practice video. Put in one main sten and then a few branching out, make a wider shape and then put little clusters of those flowers on top. - Okay , and then we can Inc in the dandy line. But that stem and then the little puff parts coming out from the center, all right, and then ink in the lily of the valley with a little bell shaped flowers and then the lavender. And then our base layer is done. So we'll just go through and erase the pencil lines that we made so that it's a nice clean design. And then the next step, we will start the shading and the details
13. Final Project - Detail Layer: Okay, so now that we have the pencil lines erased, we can start with our thinking in the details. I'm starting with the daisy and just like the practice video, adding in the little circle in loops into the center and then putting the fine lines on each of those pedals, putting the shadows towards the middle of that circle and then also remembering to put the shadow on the second pedal layer that's underneath. Also, remember, you can add lines and shadows along the edges of the pedals to that way, it looks like they're bending over and they're slightly curved on. The light is hitting the center of each of those puddles, Okay, and then the same exact technique for that side Daisy, starting with the center and then doing the shadow lines on each of those pedals. All right, so for the Queen Anne's lace, you can have in a little shadow underneath each of these little clusters. Because they're so tiny, you won't really need to go into too much detail. Just put in a little bit thicker line on some of them, and that will show a little depth and light and shadow. OK, moving on to the poppy. I'm gonna put in the little shadow lines and each of these four pedals and darken up some of that center a little bit. And then also on the side of you. Poppy, put in your shadow lines. Okay, so now for the cone flower, we'll start with that dome part in the center, and he's cross hatching just like we did before. And then once those were done, we'll put in the shadow lines on the pedals. Remember to switch up your pin thickness. So for these shadow lines, I'm using a center pen. It's a little bit lighter, and it adds a little bit more of a delicate texture. Okay, so for the lavender, you'll want to use the similar technique pleaded for the Queen Anne's lace. Just putting a little shadow lines underneath each of the clusters. Because they're so tiny, you don't have to worry too much about all the details, okay? And then, using that fine line pin again, putting in some of the shadows on the lily of the valley. Okay, so at this point, you can take a look at your overall design, and this would be a good place to start thinking about your filler foliage. So this is thesis more learner, more line work we had done earlier, and you can just put it in some of the spaces. Tuck it behind some of the main flowers, and it will give the whole piece a little bit more of a full feeling. And they're kind of like little accents that will help the whole design again. Just use a really light touch with the pencil, and once a ranking is done, we can clean it up. After I've got a size one pen Here. I'm I go through and just outlined some of these shapes, and then I'll go in with some areas that have the lighter pin and some with a thicker pen. And also there were some space between the among and the wildflower text. So I added a little butterfly just floating through. This is a size five pin, and I'm going in and putting some darker lines in some of the areas just to give them a little bit the thicker shape. Once you're happy with all your inking and the details, you can just erase the pencil lines and you'll be finished. I hope you had so much fun making this, and I cannot wait to see your creations
14. Wrap Up + Next Steps: congratulations. You finish the class and I am so excited to see what you make. Remember to post your work. I would love to see it. And if you have any comments or feedback, let me know. Also, you can follow me on skill share. Whenever I post new content, you will be the first to know. And if you post Instagram remember to tag me that way. I won't miss it. Thanks for joining me. See you in the next class.
Neesha @PaperWand Studio, Watercolor | Illustration Studio
