How to Draw a Lotus

He hipanga ki te hipanga

1. Ka taea te whakahau 1

   Draw a light circle for the whole flower 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.

   Whakawhanake Skipping the circle and letting the petals sprawl.

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

2. Ka taea te whakahau 2

   Add the middle of the flower.

   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.

   Whakawhanake Starting with petals and fitting a centre in afterwards.

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

3. Ka taea te whakahau 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.

   Whakawhanake Making every petal the same width and length.

   Whakamātautau No two adjacent petals should match exactly.

4. Ka taea te whakahau 4

   Complete the ring of 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.

   Whakawhanake Squeezing the remaining petals to fit without overlap.

   Whakamātautau At least two petals should pass behind others.

5. Ka taea te whakahau 5

   Darken the very centre.

   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.

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

   Whakamātautau The centre should be darker than any petal.

6. Ka taea te whakahau 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.

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

   Whakamātautau The stem should vanish behind a petal.

7. Ka taea te whakahau 7

   Add the leaves.

   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.

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

   Whakamātautau The two leaves should differ in height and size.

8. Ka taea te whakahau 8

   Draw the veins lightly.

   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.

   Whakawhanake Veining every petal equally.

   Whakamātautau The far petals should stay clean.

9. Ka taea te whakahau 9

   Shade the overlaps.

   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.

   Whakawhanake Shading whole petals instead of the overlaps.

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

10. Ka taea te whakahau 10

    Add what makes it a lotus.

    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.

    Whakawhanake Leading with the identifying detail before the form works.

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

11. Ka taea te whakahau 11

    Deepen the core.

    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.

    Whakawhanake Timid values in the middle.

    Whakamātautau Squint: the centre should read first.

12. Ka taea te whakahau 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.

    Whakawhanake Leaving the construction circle visible.

    Whakamātautau No arc of the guide circle should survive.