This tutorial will teach you how to draw realistic and creative leaves!
Steps
Method 1
Method 1 of 2:
Realistic Leaves
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Draw a line for the stalk. Do not make it perfectly straight. -
Thicken the stalk. Make the base thicker than the top.Advertisement -
Color the stalk with a dark shade of green. Draw 3 small ovals at the top of the stalk. Use a lighter green shade to draw these. -
Draw more ovals. Draw them a little bit bigger than the first ovals you made. Draw them by pair forming a V on the stalk, draw your last ovals as small as the first ones you made. -
Fill your leaves with color. -
Draw the midrib. Draw lines at the bottom of the leaves and connect them to the stalk. Make the base thicker than the tips. -
Draw the veins. Draw soft V's to make the veins. Make 5 veins in one leaf evenly spaced from each other. -
Make the veins for all the leaves. -
Add translucency and shadows. To add translucency, add a bright yellow color on the top leaves. Use a darker green to make subtle shadows.Advertisement
Method 2
Method 2 of 2:
Creative Leaves
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Draw a curved line with a color pencil or marker. Make it thick and irregular. -
Draw the branches. Make them curvy and irregular. -
Draw almond shapes of different sizes. Draw these at the tips of your branches and on the main stalk. Use a light green pencil to sketch these out. -
Draw the midribs of your almond shapes. Make the midribs thicker than the outline. -
Draw the veins. Draw them anywhere inside the leaves, starting from the midrib going to the edge, slightly slanted towards the tip of the leaf. -
Fill your leaves with colors of your choice.Advertisement
Community Q&A
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QuestionDo I have to draw the veins?Community AnswerNot if you don't want to. If you're doing a very detailed drawing, then the veins on the leaves would look more realistic.
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QuestionHow do I draw a pansy leaf?Community AnswerFind a reference photo online from a good source. Sketch the basic shape. Ignore any bumps or veins. If you're drawing the stem too, just draw a line in the shape you want the stem to be. Find patterns. This is stuff like how many bumps are on each side or how the main veins fit together. Fill in the details. Draw the shape of the stem around your original line. Pay attention to thickness and if the bottom is straight, like it was cut, or curved, like it was plucked off the main stem of the plant. Pick a light source for shading. Remember that light comes from there and only there.
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QuestionHow do I draw a holly leaf?Community AnswerExamine a holly leaf. If you can find one in real life, that's ideal but a photo from Google should do just fine. See how the leaf is constructed out of basic shapes? Try to mentally break the leaf apart into shapes and then try drawing that to get a basic idea of your shape. Once that's done you can outline it, adding more detail. Look at the leaf again. See where its high points and low points are; where does the light hit it? Use your observations to help you shade and render your drawing.
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Video
Tips
- Try to experiment and research on the shapes of the leaves to draw more realistically.Thanks
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About this article
Article Summary
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To draw leaves that look real, start by drawing a gently-curving line for the stalk that’s thicker at the base than at the top. Then, color it in with a dark shade of green. Next, use light green to draw 1 small oval at the top of the stalk, and pairs of ovals down the sides for the leaves, with the largest ovals in the middle. After that, add veins to the leaves, connect the leaves to the stalk, and use dark green and bright yellow shades to create shadows and translucency. To learn how to draw more stylized-looking leaves, scroll down!
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Thanks to all authors for creating a page that has been read 102,450 times.
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