Whether you draw landscapes, still lifes, or florals, at one time or another you will have to draw a leaf. Since they come in all kinds of shapes and sizes, it can be intimidating. Here are some tips to make drawing a leaf the least of your worries.
Shape
When drawing a leaf, take a look at the overall shape. Flower leaves are generally rounder in shape than tree leaves. Tree leaves usually have a more triangular form. Draw the basic shape onto your paper a little bigger than the leaf you want to draw. Then, draw the leaf inside the shape, following the general line you started with. By following the guide you should end up with a pretty accurate version of the real thing.
Line and Shading
The use of line when drawing a leaf is very important. Leaves are not composed of perfectly straight lines. More likely than not, your leaf will be drawn with many squiggly lines, so keep your hand loose as you draw.
Lines can also identify the age of your leaf. Thin sharp lines should be used for dried, crackled leaves, while bolder, softer lines should be used healthy leaves.
Another thing to notice when you draw a leaf is whether or not it is shiny or fuzzy, smooth or rough. Rose leaves are shiny and smooth. To draw this texture you will need to use sharp, defined shading and highlights. On the other hand, African violets have fuzzy, soft leaves. These can be drawn by using softer lines. The fuzz can be draw with small tugs on your pencil in places that are more lit. Let the shadows be just soft shading.
Veins
The veins in the leaves spur off of one main vein in the center that goes from the tip to the stem. These veins are not symmetrical on each side as you can see in my example. They stem off from the main vein and flow out to the farthest points on the leaf.
Sometimes there are also smaller veins that flow out of the larger veins, but they usually don’t reach the outer edges of the leaf.
Pleas click on the pictures, below, to enlarge them and to show more detail.
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