How to draw leaves with pencil and paints

Drawing nature requires a person to be sensitive and understand its beauty, to accurately reproduce pictorial lines, bends and volumes. To display the natural beauty on paper, you need to be observant and attentive to the smallest details and changes that occur in wildlife.

Features of the structure of leaves

There are many different forms of leaves. They have individual characteristics, thanks to which they can be distinguished. To have an idea of โ€‹โ€‹how to draw leaves, you need to study the features of their structure. In order to determine the drawing order, consider what is present in each sheet.

Sheet structure :

  • A stem is the main and central part of any leaf (a line of symmetry dividing it into 2 parts).
  • A sheet plate having its own specific shape.
  • Streaks (branching from the stem throughout the body of the leaf).

We determine the details and draw leaves with a pencil

The process of drawing leaves with a pencil consists of the following steps:

  • Schematic construction of the main lines (at this stage, an approximate measurement of the proportions with a pencil occurs, the main axes of the sheet are drawn).
  • Image of the main contour of the leaf plate (maple, oak, birch, aspen and others).
  • Drawing of the stem, veins and smaller details.
  • Definition of light, half light, shadow and partial shade on a sheet.
  • Giving volume and texture to the sheet with pencil strokes.
  • Dashed lines should be thin. Darker details are drawn at the end of the work.
    How to draw leaves

Watercolor image of leaves

How to draw leaves? You can do this with watercolors. It is a transparent paint. Natural and bright objects will look made in watercolor, which allows you to convey subtle and smooth transitions of colors and shades.

Learning to draw leaves:

  • We sketch the sheet with a simple pencil. The lines should be very weak and barely noticeable.
    Draw leaves with a pencil
  • Determine the main color of the sheet. Dip the brush in water, then in the desired watercolor color ( a small amount of paint is taken) and apply the first layer. Color should be light and transparent.
    Learning to draw leaves
  • Determine the light and dark areas of the picture.
  • Select the desired colors and gently apply with a brush, creating smooth transitions of tones.
    Watercolor leaves
  • How to draw leaves, prompt watercolor. This is a paint that does not like clear borders and implies smooth and delicate color transitions. They are carefully created with a brush and water, while unnecessary lines are washed off.
  • The stem and veins are drawn with darker tones of colors to give the picture a relief.
    Watercolor leaves
  • If some details of the leaves turned out darker than necessary, this can easily be fixed with a brush and water, removing an unnecessary tone from a certain area.

Learning to draw is not as difficult as it seems. This will require, first of all, the desire to convey the splendor of the living world. How to draw leaves, how to see and feel natural beauty, will be prompted and taught by nature, which is always open to humans.


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