How to Draw a Daisy

ჟრყოკა ოჲ ჟრყოკა.

1. ნაბიჯი 1

   Lay in one light circle for the head.

   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.

   გნთმაგაი! Skipping the circle and letting the petals sprawl.

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

2. ნაბიჯი 2

   Draw the centre.

   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.

   გნთმაგაი! Starting with petals and fitting a centre in afterwards.

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

3. ნაბიჯი 3

   Draw the first half of the 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.

   გნთმაგაი! Making every petal the same width and length.

   ოპჲგვპკა No two adjacent petals should match exactly.

4. ნაბიჯი 4

   Fill in the other half.

   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.

   გნთმაგაი! Squeezing the remaining petals to fit without overlap.

   ოპჲგვპკა At least two petals should pass behind others.

5. ნაბიჯი 5

   Darken the middle disc.

   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.

   გნთმაგაი! A pale centre, which makes the head look flat.

   ოპჲგვპკა The centre should be darker than any petal.

6. ნაბიჯი 6

   Add the stem, coming from behind the head.

   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.

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

   ოპჲგვპკა The stem should vanish behind a petal.

7. ნაბიჯი 7

   Draw the foliage.

   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.

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

   ოპჲგვპკა The two leaves should differ in height and size.

8. ნაბიჯი 8

   Put in the petal veining.

   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.

   გნთმაგაი! Veining every petal equally.

   ოპჲგვპკა The far petals should stay clean.

9. ნაბიჯი 9

   Shade 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.

   გნთმაგაი! Shading whole petals instead of the overlaps.

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

10. ნაბიჯი 10

    Add the daisy specifics.

    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.

    გნთმაგაი! Leading with the identifying detail before the form works.

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

11. ნაბიჯი 11

    Darken the very middle once more.

    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.

    გნთმაგაი! Timid values in the middle.

    ოპჲგვპკა Squint: the centre should read first.

12. ნაბიჯი 12

    Darken the final lines, rub out the guide.

    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.

    გნთმაგაი! Leaving the construction circle visible.

    ოპჲგვპკა No arc of the guide circle should survive.