Want to learn to draw a leaf? Here’s how to get started.

In the hope that you may like to try a drawing of your own, I want to share a 2 techniques that I employ in my work: bounding boxes and observational drawing. These are foundational drawing techniques that can be used to achieve realism and accuracy in your work.

I’m going to use leaves to demonstrate how to use a bounding box, and how to observe closely. In so doing, I will show you a 4 step process that you can follow to draw a leaf of your own.

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Have you ever started a drawing and then run out of space on your page before you finished it? Or have you started drawing a single subject at a reasonable size and then found that you were drawing it larger and larger as you went on? These are scenarios in which using a bounding box will help.

A bounding box is a simple shape that you can imagine around the subject you want to draw. Many leaves fit neatly into ovals, diamonds, circles, and rectangles, as well as more complex shapes like hearts. Using bounding boxes in your drawing helps you maintain control of the size of your subject, as well as it’s shape. Using a bounding box means you’ve committing to drawing your subject within that box. It forces you to pay attention to the scale of your subject and to draw all of it at the same scale.

Step 1: Draw a bounding box

Closely observe the the leaf you want to record and determine which shape suits it best. The shape should fit so closely that it touches the edges of your subject (the leaf). This allows you to see the positive space (inside the shape of the leaf) and the negative space (the space between the leaf and the bounding box).
Once you have determined the shape you need, very lightly draw it on your paper.

Example 1: Here are some basic shapes that we can draw leaves within.

Step 2: Add a midrib (the centre vein) to your leaf. 

You’ll have to look closely at your leaf to determine whether the midrib curves, how much it may curve, and just what kind of curve  it is.

Example 2: Notice the different types of curves that lend uniqueness to each leaf

Step 3: Observe shapes and lines closely 

Have a very close look at your leaf. How does it fit into your bounding box? Which edges touch the box, which overlap? What is the shape of the space between the box and the edges of the leaf? What is the shape of the tip and base of the leaf? How do they relate to the bounding box? As you answer these questions, very lightly draw the shape of your leaf within the bounding box.

Example 3: Notice how each of these shapes of a leaf sits within, or overlaps, its bounding box

Symbolic (what you know) vs observational (what you see) drawing

At this stage of the drawing it becomes very important to really observe your leaf. Many of us know how to draw a symbolic leaf: roughly diamond shaped, has some lines to represent veins, probably has a stem. This symbol very clearly communicates “leaf” to us. However, if we need to communicate which plant this leaf is from, and how this leaf differs from other leaves, we need more information than a symbolic leaf can provide. We need to very closely observe:

• The overall shape of the leaf: diamond, triangle, oval?
• The edges (called the margin) of the leaf: smooth, serrated, sinuous? 
• The shapes of the tip and the base of the leaf: pointed, blunt, inverted?
• The pattern of veins visible on the leaf: simple, complex, alternating?
• The texture of the leaf: waxy, hairy, delicate?
• The colours the leaf contains: one colour, striated, gradation?

Can you find additional descriptors for the leaf you're working with?

The symbolic leaf on the left can’t tell us what kind of plant it comes from, however
the leaf on the right, drawn using close observation, indicates a hibiscus leaf

We are in the habit of making symbolic drawings because our brain habitually fills in the blanks with what it already knows. Observational drawing means really looking at our subject and drawing what we see, not what we know. It turns out, just like changing any other habit, this is quite difficult and takes a great deal of practice. The reward is worth the effort though: you learn to see our wonderful world as it is, rather than as you assume it is.

Step 4: Add identifying details

Spend some time observing your leaf, you can use the list above to help you. Now add some of the details that convey the information you’ve observed.

Example 4: Some of the identifying details added here are additional layers of leaves,
tears and cut-out shapes in the edges of a leaf, and uniquely patterned veins.

To recap

• A bounding box helps you maintain control of the size and shape of your subject, and position your drawing on the page
• You must closely observe and describe the characteristics of your subject in order to record them and communicate them
• Making symbolic drawings is habitual, notice when you slip into the habit and make an effort to switch back to observational drawing

I hope this tutorial inspires you to try drawing your own leaf. Remember that you can start with a very simple subject, in fact it’s the best way to start. A houseplant is every bit as beautiful as a tropical plant in a greenhouse.

Try out this technique and let me know how it works for you. Even better, take pictures as you work and send them over!