How To Draw Bushes And Shrubs With Colored Pencils

Today's Q&A Wednesday post includes a mini tutorial on how to draw plants. Hither'southward the reader's question to get the states started.

Hi, Carrie,

I've been wanting to draw some acquit cubs I saw playing in a meadow with their mom. I only can't figure out how to exercise this meadow, with all the clover and daisy flowers interspersed. I was working on the little deport, and only sort of gave up because I didn't know how to do a good job with the plants.

Do you lot have any communication? I am getting a lot out of the tutorials, but oasis't seen anything that addressed this problem.

Thanks for whatever help you can give.

Pam

I want to give thanks Pam, who gave me permission to use her reference photo and drawing to illustrate this post. So let's begin by taking a look at both.

This is the photograph Pam took and is using for a reference.

Hither's Pam's drawing so far.

Pam has already fabricated a couple of wise decisions.

First, she cropped the reference photo to focus on the bear cub. By doing then, she removed a lot of surface area at the peak and bottom of the composition.

Secondly, she started the process of developing those groundwork greens by layering a base green over everything but the cub and the flowers.

So kudos to Pam for getting off to a proficient start.

As frustrated as she is, what I recollect Pam really needs is a niggling encouragement. She's washed a good job starting the flowers around the bear cub, so she doesn't really need communication nearly how to depict plants.

Only let me make a couple of suggestions that volition aid Pam stop this piece.

How to Draw Plants in Colored Pencil

In studying Pam'south photo and drawing, it's like shooting fish in a barrel to meet she'southward trying to solve 2 problems. How should she describe the background, and how should she describe the foreground?

Yes, both areas have the aforementioned flowers and grass in them. But in order to make the drawing look right, the two areas demand to be drawn differently.

The Groundwork

Drawing the groundwork is fairly easy. In that location isn't much detail. Your listen tells y'all there's a lot because information technology knows the same flowers and plants are in the background that are in the foreground. The foreground plants look difficult, and then the groundwork has got to be difficult, also. Right?

But look at merely the background. There really isn't very much there. Just shades of green and dots of white.

So brainstorm by putting down a base layer of green with a couple of light-medium-value yellow greens. Pam can continue with the light-green she started applying in the drawing.

Layer that equally smoothly every bit possible with calorie-free pressure level, a reasonably sharp pencil, and whatever strokes give you shine color. But don't worry nearly filling every paper hole.

Next, layer a one or 2 medium-dark value greens over the same expanse. Apply the same pressure.

When you have enough color on the paper, warm up a piece of mounting putty past rolling information technology between your hands. Then shape information technology like this or roll a pocket-sized piece into a ball.

Printing the mounting putty onto the groundwork here and in that location to lift color and create light spots. Those light spots should look like blurry, light-colored flowers.

If you lot make too many, fill in some of them again. If they don't wait calorie-free plenty, add a picayune bit of very light color to them. Don't add together white. That might make them besides bright!

My Examination Sample

The left side shows two warm, lite greens layered i over the other. The correct side shows ii additional, slightly darker colors layered over them. And then I added more layers of i of the lighter colors.

Later on that, I used mounting putty to elevator color randomly. This is the issue.

I discovered you don't need much of a point on the mounting putty. Using a small slice rolled into a ball also works.

Some other discovery was using a minor "edge" of mounting putty to make elliptical shapes. Flowers are seen from different angles in nature, so don't brand them all round in your art.

This test is on Bristol paper and is nowhere well-nigh finished, but information technology gives you an idea of what I'm talking well-nigh.

If I were doing this for a "real drawing" instead of a test sample, I'd practise a few layers of greens, then lift color, then do a few more layers and lift more color. That would create greater variety in the blurred shapes, and result in a more natural appearance.

The Foreground

Here'southward the reference photograph cropped to prove the foreground. I confess that looking merely at this gives me pause, too. I can certainly empathize Pam's difficulties!

But is it really that difficult to draw?

Remember, the focus is on the acquit cub. The meadow is the "phase" for the carry cub. Unless hyper-realism is your goal, these parts of the composition should not exist as crisp and clear equally the acquit cub.

And look at that crop above. Even in the photograph, the flowers in the foreground are besides blurry in appearance.

What does that mean? Drawing them in sharp focus makes more than piece of work than is necessary.

Don't forget that Pam has already fabricated a very skilful start in this surface area. She doesn't take that much more piece of work to exercise. (That's why I think Pam actually needs a petty encouragement and direction.)

And so here's what I'd exercise.

First, I'd stroke some highlights into the stems and leaves with a very light yellow, cream, or low-cal, warm gray.

Then I'd layer the lightest light-green Pam has used so far over all of the middle ground and foreground. Use light pressure and sharp pencils with whatsoever stroke works best. A lot of artists recommend circular strokes, only I too go practiced results with carefully applied directional strokes. Work around the flowers and the deport, simply coat green over everything else.

Then continue developing the plants that take already been fatigued. Darken the shadows, work on the highlights, and pay attention to the edges. Utilise lite force per unit area and sharp pencils.

The shadows don't demand to be real dark, so alternate the darker green with one of the lighter greens you already used.

Finally, finish the flowers past working on their shadows and highlights.

A Word of Caution

Don't go too detailed with these parts of the cartoon. They should await real, simply they shouldn't draw attending abroad from the behave cub.

To make sure they don't, do most of the detailing described in a higher place effectually the behave cub. Every bit you motion away from the bear cub, soften the details and don't add together as many.

If the foreground looks too busy after you lot've finished, glaze one of the base greens over information technology to soften the edges.

There'southward 1 Way to Draw Plants

There are 2 keys to recollect when it comes to deciding how to draw plants in a composition like this.

Start, study the reference photo. How do the plants look? Are they in sharp focus or are they blurred? How much detail to do you really encounter?

2nd, determine how you lot want to draw the scene, and make up one's mind how much of the detail you need to draw to get the look you want. In well-nigh cases, draw only as much detail as necessary to create the look you want.

Pam made a good start on this by cropping her reference photograph commencement. That left a lot fewer plants to draw.

At present all she needs to do is layer color and add just enough detailing to terminate the scene.

Got a question? Enquire Carrie!

Carrie Fifty. Lewis

Carrie L. Lewis has been an creative person longer than she can retrieve. An oil painter from her teens, she began using colored pencils because they were platonic for highly detailed work, and were easier to transport and use at horse shows. She at present uses colored pencils almost exclusively. From the beginning, horse were a favorite subject, and she'south been an equine portrait artist for virtually of her career. When she began drawing with colored pencil (and afterwards a move to Kansas,) she establish special beauty in landscapes, and landscapes are now what she draws most frequently. The rugged Flintstone Hills region of eastern Kansas is at the tiptop of her list of cute places to visit and draw.