Succulent Drawing
Mohammed Huberty
The First Leaves
The most important thing about the first leaves was their values. The rest of the drawing would reference the values depicted here, so it was important to get them right. After I hatched-in the leaves, I lightly brushed the hatch into a slightly darker value while smoothing out the hatch lines at the same time with a soft angle cut brush.
To draw the light area around the edge of each leaf, I hatched out to it, then brushed blended the edge of the hatching out into the leaf edge. That smoothed the edge of the hatching and also gave the leaf edge a little value.
Values and Edges
Aside from their shadows, the only thing that separates some of these leaves are their white edges. Because their values are so similar, the leaves would blend together without a clear boundary, which makes rendering the white edges a very important part of the drawing. I tried not to overemphasize the edges though, because when something is so important, I tend to do that.
Inner Leaves
This inner part of the plant held most of the smallest details, and I had to re-draw all the detail there because my tracing simply could not capture these tiny lines.
The values were more varied at the center because of the angle of the leaves. The main light source coming from one point gave each leaf a different shaded value, and the small leaves were curled, giving each value a gradated nuance. Additionally, these leaves cast subtle shadows that made the plant look three-dimensional. I used very sharp leads to shade these small details, and I blended the hatching with the point of a small angle cut brush.
Learning to draw can seem a daunting task for new artists. One of the main challenges, though, is less about learning to use a pencil in a new way and more about learning to use your eyes in a new way. The contour or outline of an object is one of the key aspects that allow others to identify it. Learning to see those lines is an important skill for drawing recognizable subjects.
If desired, use photo editing software to alter the image. Change a colored image to grayscale. Increase the contrast in the photograph to exaggerate the darks and lights in the image. These alterations change your view of the image and can often make it easier to see and accurately reproduce shapes and values in a drawing.
Take out one of your printed copies. Assess the proportions and placement of the objects in the drawing. Draw a basic shape over the objects in the printed image. Notice the size of the objects. How big is one object compared to the other? You can even get out your ruler to help you.
Now that you have the basic size and position for the objects in your reference photo, examine the individual shapes that comprise each object. Trace around each object on the reference image. Note the overall contour of the objects.
Sketch the contour and individual shapes on your paper inside the basic placeholder shapes you created in the previous step. You will probably need to draw additional guidelines on the reference photo to help you draw the size and position of these individual shapes accurately, just like you did in Step 3 above.
There are many ways to create value in a pencil drawing. Some artists add value and texture by varying their pencil strokes. Hatching, stippling, cross-hatching and scumbling are pencil techniques that the artist can use to add shading to a drawing. Hatching is drawing a set of parallel lines on the page. Stippling is making dots on the paper. Cross hatching is drawing a series of perpendicular lines. Scumbling is making small or large circular scribbles without lifting the pencil from the paper.
Move to the center box and create a grey that you feel falls in the middle between these 2 extremes. Depending on the supplies you have available, this might be created by using a different pencil grade or adjusting the pressure to influence the amount of graphite deposited.
Use your notes to color in your drawing, matching the colors from your value scale to the dark or light areas in your image. Use the blending stump to smooth the transition from one shaded area to the next. Use the kneaded eraser to pick up color and return light areas to the drawing. Add any additional details that might not be present in your reference image.
Lightly spray your pencil drawing with fixative spray before matting and framing your work. Prop the drawing upright. Hold the can about 10 in. away. Start spraying off the edge of the drawing and sweep horizontally across to the opposite side, finishing your stroke off the edge of the drawing. Repeat, overlapping strokes until the drawing is covered with a light mist. Allow to dry. If desired, apply a second coat using vertical strokes and allow to dry.
You can also take the basic cacti and succulents and take them a step further. I like to draw mine in little flower pot type containers, but I love how these are drawn in bottles and other containers!
I'm a self-employed mom of two who loves having a creative outlet. I'm a former elementary school teacher so getting organized and being creative has been part of my life forever! I'm excited to share my ideas with you!
I'm a self-employed mom of two who loveshaving a creative outlet. I'm a former elementary school teacher so getting organized and being creative has been part of my life forever! I'm excited to share my ideas with you!
1. I first started off with an outline of the succulent. For the purpose of the demonstration, I drew my lines quite heavily, but when I usually draw things like this, I draw the outline very lightly. If your outline is a little dark, feel free go over the outlines lightly with an eraser. I also recommend putting in guidelines when drawing outlines. In this sketch, I did not put down any guidelines but I usually do.
8. When referencing my photo, I noticed that the edges of my leaf had a faint reddish tinge to it, so I decided to go in and add that into my drawing with color 7. I also went in and made some minor adjustments with other colors.
And even though it seems like there are just that many ways you can draw succulents and house plants, there are quite a few different ones plus, remember, there is always an option to play with different types of pots and such.
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Starting in the middle of your page, doodle three overlapping shapes to form the center of the succulent. Typically the leaves are thick and round so keep all the lines curved and try not to create any pointy edges
Now we need to build more layers that will be appearing from beneath our center. Draw one leaf shape and then draw the adjacent ones slightly beneath the first. Keep overlapping the leaves and at the same time make each leaf a little larger in size than the previous one.
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This group of plants are my absolute favorites. I have a cactus/succulent patch, that's where the bobtails (shingle backs) live, and also several pots with the sensitive plants - the succulents which cannot take the rain in winter. Several cacti are in flower right now, one of them is this dragon fruit.
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