Chapter Four: Focus on Leaves, The Joy of Botanical Drawing

Every plant has leaves, so learning to draw them is crucial to botanical drawing. There are many variations of leaves, and drawing them well is a lifelong pursuit. A description of a leaf’s vein characteristics is an important part of botanical drawing as well as plant identification. Drawing subtle veining takes some practice and requires recognition of basic leaf-veining patterns. Plants fall into one of two leaf categories: monocot, a seed-bearing plant that has one cotyledon (the first leaf that appears on a seedling), and dicot, a seed-bearing plant that has two leaves that emerge first. It is helpful to know these two botany definitions that describe the two kinds of plants and their leaves.

Monocot leaves have parallel veining. They are usually long, strappy leaves that bend over, creating twists and turns. Parallel veining can be seen in grasses, tulips, irises, orchids, palms, corn, and bamboo. Dicot leaves have net veining, also known as branching veins. Roses, hibiscus, magnolias, and oaks have dicot leaves. Leaf drawing requires close-up examination of leaf veining, so a magnifying glass will be helpful. Because leaves are not very thick, we tend to think of them as being flat, but there are complex ways that light and shadow vary on leaves that can be used to make them look extremely dynamic and dimensional.

Plants in the monocot family usually have parallel veining. These kinds of leaves all have similar characteristics, and drawing them offers a great way to practice the beginning concept of overlaps. An overlap is created when a leaf folds over, covering part of itself so that we don’t see all of it. We can practice using shading to create contrast that contributes to a dynamic, dramatic, and dimensional drawing. Who doesn’t get excited by the idea of showing a rolling and overlapping leaf with convincing drawing and toning! This lesson will take the mystery out of this process, but it will require practice to really understand the concept. Minor adjustments in a drawing will make a huge difference in your result, so be sure to draw lightly.

We’ll also use a picture plane in this lesson, which is an imaginary perpendicular window right up against your subject. Taking measurements on this allows us to measure in perspective (see this page).

As you work, observe and reference this drawing in which the closest edge is green, the center vein is red, and the outer edge is blue. It’s important to keep track of all three lines; as when the leaf overlaps, an edge will disappear behind the rest of the leaf. We still want to visually continue all lines, even when we can’t see them, so that they appear to connect. Repeat this lesson as many times as you like with different leaves that have parallel veining. Look at real leaves on plants to see how they twist and turn, and try to draw them realistically. You can also practice these overlapping techniques by cutting your own leaves out of paper and using tape to hold them in place.

Leaf with parallel veining, such as from a tulip, daylily, iris, grass, corn, or any other monocot plant

EMBOSSING TECHNIQUE PRACTICE

When your botanical subjects have light, skinny areas, this is a good time to use an embossing tool. Thin roots, hairs, veins, or stamens are all potential subjects for embossing. Embossing tools are used in various crafts to create a recessed or indented pattern on a surface. On paper, they work to press fine lines into the paper surface. When you draw over an embossed area with a colored pencil, the embossed area stays light while the pencil tones cover the paper around the embossed area. If you paint over the embossed area with watercolor, the paper will be tinted, so keep this in mind when combining embossing techniques with watercolor. The trick to this technique is to mix embossing with regular drawing so that the embossing doesn’t look too obvious. Practice keeping your embossing subtle and varied so that the lines are not stiff and regimented.

Take a moment to study your leaf subject. Be sure to use a magnifying glass so that you can see the pattern of the veins clearly.
To practice with the embossing tool, on a small section of your paper use a tool with a medium-size point to draw some veins. Draw with the tool as if it were a pencil, pressing it into the paper. Apply strong pressure at first, then ease up on the pressure, making the line thinner and thinner until it disappears. Practice this on your page to try different ways of using this tool. Draw over the embossed area with a light layer of Dark Sepia to see how the embossed lines remain the color of the paper and will show up once some toning is added around them. This is a great way to preserve thin, light areas on a drawing, such as veins of leaves. (A)

To practice tinting your veins, paint a small area of a green watercolor wash. (B)

Once dry, draw with the embossing tool over the watercolor and then apply Permanent Green Olive and Dark Sepia colored pencil, on top. Observe how the embossed areas are now tinted green, rather than the white of the paper. Veins are rarely as light as the paper, so tinting with a watercolor helps the veins look subtle. (C)

This lesson explores the pattern of a leaf’s net veining. This is any pattern with a strong center midvein and branching secondary and tertiary veins. You’ll revisit leaves over and over again, and understanding their repeated patterns will be incredibly helpful.

Although you’ve probably looked at leaves thousands of times, as you work on this lesson really look closely at the leaf as if you are seeing it for the first time, and pay special attention to the veining. Veining is complicated because you’re not only drawing the veins but also what appears around the veins on a leaf. Veins create recessed areas on the leaf’s surface, which can create shadows and highlighted areas that are almost like pillows. I think of leaf veins as stitching on a quilt to understand their surface contour. If the veins are stitching, then what color do you use to draw them? Is it a light yellowish-green, or do you focus on the shadow created by the recessed area of the vein? It helps to think of the vein color as various shades of a color. Light and shadow make for variation in the veining, and your veins will look more realistic if you draw them this way. Sometimes veins are light, and sometimes they are dark. I constantly ask myself, “Am I drawing the vein, or the shadow created by the vein?” The answer is, I draw them both, sometimes on the same vein, and often I let my veins disappear as they approach the leaf margin. The veining looks different on the front and back of the leaf as well.

The key to realistic leaf veining is subtlety. Notice if the veins branch off before they reach the outer edges of the leaf. Make sure the veins aren’t too straight or curving too much but have appropriate zigzagging to look realistic. Observe and include the proper width variation and tapering at the tips and edges. For good toning on the surface contour of a leaf, remember how the light source reveals the distinct planes of the leaf. As you draw your leaf, keep in mind that the midvein is often the widest and lightest in color. The secondary veins will be thinner and slightly darker in color, closer to the color of the body of the leaf, and the tertiary veins will be even skinnier and closer in color to the body of the leaf. Observe these veins under magnification to see what I’m describing.

To enlarge the leaf pattern from your subject and exaggerate the veining, simply measure the width of your midvein and multiply it by 2, making it twice as wide (roughly ⅛ inch wide). But note that it will taper and get thinner as it moves toward the top of the leaf.

Leaves with net veining have a center midrib or vein creating two distinct planes that are affected differently by light. Think of the planes of a leaf as two sides of an open book. When light hits these two planes, one side receives more light and the other side more shadow. If you tone your leaf using this concept, it will look dimensional even though a leaf has very little thickness.

Once you understand the veining pattern, you can draw veins as a suggestion and not make them too prominent. Leaf tones in a finished drawing will be close in value, and veins will be subtle. It is a delicate balance to tone a leaf correctly. In the end, the veining should be close in value to the rest of the leaf so as not to have veins that are stiff and overpowering.

Leaf with net veining, such as a baby kale leaf (or any leaf that has a strong center midvein with branching secondary and tertiary veins)

This lesson uses watercolor washes in a loose style, working with the wet-on-wet technique to create vibrant colors, which is so much fun. After your watercolor dries, the details of the leaf veining are created with colored pencil. Collect some colorful fall leaves to use as your models. These instructions show my process, but rather than copying my leaf, use your own leaves for this lesson. When I suggest a specific color to use, keep in mind it will most likely be a different color for your leaf, but the process remains the same.

Choose a leaf with net veining. I chose a Magnolia grandiflora leaf, as they are thick and leathery, and keep their shape for a long time. The planes of this leaf are very distinct, and the front and back are quite different in color. Draw both sides of the leaf next to each other. It’s fun to see both sides of the leaf for comparison.

Study the back of the leaf. The midvein is more pronounced and can be likened to a cylinder on top of the leaf. As such, it can be toned like a cylinder. Right next to this prominent midvein will be a slight cast shadow, which will help raise the midvein on the leaf’s surface. Compare it to the front of the leaf, where the veins are sitting inside the leaf and are recessed. The other difference between front and back is that the back of the leaf is like the outside of a book, so it will receive light differently than the front of the leaf.