How to Draw a Cherry Blossom

Крок за кроком

1. Крок 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.

   Обережно Skipping the circle and letting the petals sprawl.

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

2. Крок 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.

   Обережно Starting with petals and fitting a centre in afterwards.

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

3. Крок 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.

   Обережно Making every petal the same width and length.

   Перевірити No two adjacent petals should match exactly.

4. Крок 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.

   Обережно Squeezing the remaining petals to fit without overlap.

   Перевірити At least two petals should pass behind others.

5. Крок 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.

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

   Перевірити The centre should be darker than any petal.

6. Крок 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.

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

   Перевірити The stem should vanish behind a petal.

7. Крок 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.

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

   Перевірити The two leaves should differ in height and size.

8. Крок 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.

   Обережно Veining every petal equally.

   Перевірити The far petals should stay clean.

9. Крок 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.

   Обережно Shading whole petals instead of the overlaps.

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

10. Крок 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.

    Обережно Leading with the identifying detail before the form works.

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

11. Крок 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.

    Обережно Timid values in the middle.

    Перевірити Squint: the centre should read first.

12. Крок 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.

    Обережно Leaving the construction circle visible.

    Перевірити No arc of the guide circle should survive.