How to Draw a Cherry Blossom

ก้าวต่อก้าว

1. ก้าว 1

   Begin with a circle around the whole flower.

   The circle sets the finished size and stops the petals creeping outward as you add them - the commonest way a flower drawing ends up twice its intended size. Keep it light; it comes off at the end.

   ระวังตัวด้วย Skipping the circle and letting the petals sprawl.

   ตรวจสอบ The circle should be the size you want the finished head.

2. ก้าว 2

   Add the centre circle.

   Everything radiates from the centre, so it goes down first, and every later petal is judged against it. Slightly off-centre reads more naturally than dead middle - real flowers are rarely symmetrical.

   ระวังตัวด้วย Starting with petals and fitting a centre in afterwards.

   ตรวจสอบ The centre should sit within the guide circle, roughly middle.

3. ก้าว 3

   Draw the first group of petals.

   Vary them as you go: a couple wider, one shorter, one overlapping its neighbour, and none exactly opposite another. Identical petals arranged evenly around a circle read as a printed logo, never as a flower.

   ระวังตัวด้วย Making every petal the same width and length.

   ตรวจสอบ No two adjacent petals should match exactly.

4. ก้าว 4

   Draw the rest of the petals.

   The second half has to negotiate with the first - some petals now tuck BEHIND ones already drawn. That overlap is what gives the head depth.

   ระวังตัวด้วย Squeezing the remaining petals to fit without overlap.

   ตรวจสอบ At least two petals should pass behind others.

5. ก้าว 5

   Shade the centre of the flower.

   The centre is the darkest part of almost every flower - it is effectively a hole into shadow, and the eye reads depth from it. Commit to it now so the values around it have something to key against.

   ระวังตัวด้วย A pale centre, which makes the head look flat.

   ตรวจสอบ The centre should be darker than any petal.

6. ก้าว 6

   Draw the stalk.

   From behind the head, never from its bottom edge, and with a slight curve - a dead-straight stem reads as wire. It is thicker than you expect near the head.

   ระวังตัวด้วย A ruler-straight stem meeting the head's outline.

   ตรวจสอบ The stem should vanish behind a petal.

7. ก้าว 7

   Add the leaves, no two the same.

   Different heights, different sizes, never opposite each other in a matched pair, and each angled its own way off the stem. Leaves are the place where flower drawings go symmetrical and die.

   ระวังตัวด้วย Two matched leaves at the same height, like a logo.

   ตรวจสอบ The two leaves should differ in height and size.

8. ก้าว 8

   Suggest the petal surface.

   A few veins on the nearest petals only, each following its petal's curve from base to tip. Texture on every petal flattens the head; texture on the near ones pulls them forward.

   ระวังตัวด้วย Veining every petal equally.

   ตรวจสอบ The far petals should stay clean.

9. ก้าว 9

   Add tone under the petals.

   Each petal casts a small shadow on the one behind it. Those little wedges of dark are what separate the layers - without them the petals dissolve into one shape.

   ระวังตัวด้วย Shading whole petals instead of the overlaps.

   ตรวจสอบ You should be able to tell which petal is in front.

10. ก้าว 10

    Put the cherry blossom features in.

    Whatever identifies the species goes on now, and only now - detail added before the structure works just gets erased along with the structure. Put it where it matters most and then stop early.

    ระวังตัวด้วย Leading with the identifying detail before the form works.

    ตรวจสอบ The flower should read as its species at arm's length.

11. ก้าว 11

    Make the centre the darkest point.

    Push the centre darker than feels safe, in two or three passes rather than one heavy scrub. Beginners stop two steps short of dark enough, and the centre is the one place you can commit without risk.

    ระวังตัวด้วย Timid values in the middle.

    ตรวจสอบ Squint: the centre should read first.

12. ก้าว 12

    Firm the keepers and clear the guide circle.

    Weight the outer petal edges and the stem, keep veins light, and erase the guide circle completely - any surviving arc of it reads as a halo hanging behind the finished flower.

    ระวังตัวด้วย Leaving the construction circle visible.

    ตรวจสอบ No arc of the guide circle should survive.