Draw Like an Artist: 100 Flowers and Plants: Step-by-Step Realistic Line Drawing * A Sourcebook for Aspiring Artists and Designers

by Melissa Washburn

Overview

Draw Like an Artist: 100 Flowers and Plants is a must-have visual reference for student artists, botanical illustrators, urban sketchers, and anyone seeking to improve their realistic drawing skills.

This comprehensive book features 600-plus step-by-step sketches depicting a vast array of beautiful botanicals, florals, plant structures, and more. Each begins with simple shapes and lines and builds on those forms, adding details like flower centers, leaf veins, and petal shading, and ending with a finished drawing. Helpful drawing tips are also included.

Designed as a contemporary guidebook for artists who want to draw botanical forms, Draw Like an Artist: 100 Flowers and Plants shows flower blossoms, leaves, and plants from a variety of perspectives. By following the guides, artists will become more skilled and confident in their ability to draw any flower or greenery.

Among the botanicals featured are:

• Tropical florals such as plumeria, protea, and African violet
• Hanging and vine blooms, including wisteria and morning glory
• Birch, white oak, gingko, and maple leaves
• Plants with interesting shapes, such as cactus, zebra grass, and bamboo

Author Melissa Washburn is a skilled illustrator whose clear and elegant drawing style will make this a go-to sourcebook for years to come.

The books in the Draw Like an Artist series are richly visual references for learning how to draw classic subjects realistically through hundreds of step-by-step images created by expert artists and illustrators.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781631597558
Publisher:	Quarry Books
Publication date:	06/25/2019
Series:	Draw Like an Artist Series , #2
Pages:	112
Sales rank:	250,119
Product dimensions:	8.40(w) x 10.90(h) x 0.40(d)

About the Author

Melissa Washburn is an artist/illustrator/graphic designer and the author of three books in Quarry's Draw Like an Artist series: 100 Flowers and Plants, 100 Realistic Animals, and 100 Birds, Butterflies, and Other Insects. She grew up in upstate New York, in the foothills of the Adirondacks, but has lived in the Midwest since 1996. Her fascination with things that run, fly, and grow has led to editorial commissions for publications such as Charlotte Home and Garden, Spirituality & Health magazine, and Smithsonian Magazine. She continues to exhibit her work throughout Northwest Indiana as well as illustrate and design for advertising, editorial, surface design, and package design. Her background includes a bachelor of fine arts in painting and printmaking from Binghamton University, a master's degree in arts administration from Indiana University, coursework at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, and experience as Art Director at the advertising firm Group 7even. She was a 2012–2013 recipient of an Individual Artist Program grant from the Indiana Arts Commission. She lives just outside Chicago in Northwest Indiana. You can see more of her work at melissawashburn.com.

Read an Excerpt

INTRODUCTION

My fascination with the natural world started in my childhood in the Adirondack region of upstate New York. I've always needed to know the name, characteristics, and life cycle of the plants, insects, birds, and animals around me, so it seemed natural (no pun intended) that these subjects would become a major theme of my work as an artist and illustrator.

The best teacher for drawing plants and flowers is nature itself. While plants and flowers can seem very tricky and complex at first, careful observation will show that, for the most part, they are composed of simpler shapes repeated in a few common patterns. Spirals, radials, and other symmetrical arrangements are evident everywhere you look, from the radiating pattern of daisy petals and the spiral arrangements of succulent leaves to the opposing leaf pairs of a milkweed plant. Knowing what to look for will help you master the drawing of plants.

For example, flowers such as daisies have petals that are all the same shape while irises and orchids have an arrangement of pairs or triads of differently shaped petals. Honeysuckle and trumpet vine have long, tube-like blossoms made of fused petals. Aside from the shapes and symmetry of stems, leaves, and flowers, it is also important to note the pattern of the veins on leaves, as there are several different arrangements depending on the type of plant. Some veins all radiate out from a central point at the base of the leaf, some branch alternately from a central vein, and some are paired symmetrically moving from the base to the tip of the leaf. The veins are generally either slightly lighter or slightly darker than the leaf itself.

I've organized the exercises in this book not by scientific classification but rather by the more commonly recognized types and shapes that a general audience will be familiar with. Scientific botanical illustration follows a more specific set of conventions and level of detail, and there are a number of excellent references available on the subject for the interested student.

This book is divided into three main sections: flowers and flowering plants; vines, leaves, and trees; and other plants (including succulents, herbs, and grasses). You will probably find that as you get to know how certain plants are constructed, those forms will apply to other species with similar forms (for example, the basic parts of a daisy are very similar to the basic parts of a black-eyed Susan or echinacea/cone flower blossom). You'll also find that, like snowflakes, no two flowers or leaves are identical. It's the little flaws, quirks, and differences that give depictions of plant life their character and realism.

Once you understand the general symmetry and basic shapes found in common plants and flowers, you can begin working with them in perspective, in multiples, and as elements in larger compositions. I hope that this book will introduce you to the basics and get you more comfortable and familiar with some of the plant life we see all around us.

(Continues…)

---

Excerpted from "Draw Like an Artist 100 Flowers And Plants"
by .
Copyright © 2019 Quarto Publishing Group USA Inc..
Excerpted by permission of The Quarto Group.
All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
Excerpts are provided by Dial-A-Book Inc. solely for the personal use of visitors to this web site.

---

Table of Contents

Introduction, 6,
How to Use This Book, 7,
Tips for Better Line Control, 8,
SECTION 1: FLOWERS AND FLOWERING PLANTS,
Daisy, 11,
Black-eyed Susan, 12,
Coneflower (Echinacea), 13,
Coreopsis, 14,
Tulip, 15,
Crocus, 16,
Daffodil, 17,
Buttercup, 18,
Pansy, 19,
Peace Lily, 20,
Daylily, 21,
Sunflower, 22,
Dahlia, 23,
Chrysanthemum, 24,
Marigold, 25,
Dandelion, 26,
Anemone, 27,
Aster, 28,
Rose, 29,
Hibiscus, 30,
Lavender, 31,
Poppy, 32,
Apple Blossom, 33,
Cherry Blossom, 34,
Lotus, 35,
Protea, 36,
Geranium, 37,
Morning Glory, 38,
Horse Nettle, 39,
Thistle, 40,
Bluebell, 41,
Strawberry, 42,
Wax Plant, 43,
Clover, 44,
African Violet, 45,
Plumeria, 46,
Wild Rose, 47,
Iris, 48,
Lilac, 49,
Peony, 50,
Orchid, 51,
Gladiolus, 52,
Hollyhock, 53,
Clematis, 54,
Maypop (Passionflower), 55,
Honeysuckle, 56,
Bleeding Heart, 57,
Snapdragon, 58,
Sweet Pea, 59,
Wisteria, 60,
SECTION 2: VINES, LEAVES, AND TREES,
Birch, 61,
Ginkgo, 62,
Redbud, 63,
Ash, 64,
Walnut, 65,
Willow, 66,
Maple, 67,
Japanese Maple, 68,
White Oak, 69,
Mulberry, 70,
Sassafras, 71,
English Ivy, 72,
Virginia Creeper, 73,
Trumpet Vine, 74,
Dogwood, 75,
Magnolia, 76,
Tulip Tree, 77,
Juniper, 78,
Pine Cone, 79,
Pussy Willow, 80,
SECTION 3: OTHER PLANTS,
Aloe, 81,
Jade Plant, 82,
Echeveria Succulent, 83,
Sedum, 84,
Zebra Haworthia, 85,
Christmas Cactus, 86,
Prickly Pear, 87,
Philodendron, 88,
Peacock Plant, 89,
Fig, 90,
Rubber Plant, 91,
Bromeliad, 92,
Zebra Grass, 93,
Bluestem, 94,
Dune Grass, 95,
Bamboo, 96,
Chive, 97,
Parsley, 98,
Mint, 99,
Coriander, 100,
Raspberry, 101,
Tomato, 102,
Squash, 103,
Yucca, 104,
Hosta, 105,
Rhododendron, 106,
Milkweed, 107,
Palm, 108,
Fern, 109,
Chinese Lantern, 110,
About the Author, 111,
Acknowledgments, 111,