How to Draw a Sunflower

Today we will learn how to draw a sunflower. If you take a pencil and a blank sheet of paper and spend a little time, you will get a wonderful sketch. The knowledge and skills got during this lesson will come in handy when you will draw a still life or a picturesque field covered with bright yellow sunflowers with paints.

 Materials for Painting Sunflowers

• graphite pencils;
• colored pencils, pastel or sanguine;
• paper for sketches or an ordinary blank sheet of paper;
• eraser.

If you want to draw a sunflower, there is no matter what you have in your hands — a set of pencils or a pen — just spend several minutes plunging into the creative process and you will enjoy the result.

How to Paint a Sunflower Step by Step

Before you start, find a good sample. It is better to use a real sunflower. Examine it carefully, hold it in your hands and then leave your impression on a sheet of paper. If it is off-season, choose some photos of these sunny plants depicted at different angles and different stages of blossom.

Also, you can use my drawing of a sunflower as an example. You should get a similarly painted sunflower at the end of this lesson:

Shape and Composition

We will outline three flowers and depict them at different angles. First, outline the stem with a light line. The stem will look better if we curve and bend it a bit. Let`s inscribe the whole flower into simple geometric shapes – circles and ovals – and outline two more circles designating an anode with seeds and its relief. Also, it is necessary to outline the green petals which are located along the whole stem.

Improving the Details

Petals

Most of the sunflowers have two rows of petals. The shape of yellow leaves is quite simple. They resemble a diamond with rounded edges or an elongated oval. The petal of the upper row is partially overlapped with two lower petals. It is not difficult to show and locate the petals of painted sunflowers properly – inscribe them into previously outlined circles and try not to go beyond.
Do not be too accurate when painting the petals. Try to make them a bit different from each other. It will be good if several leaves differentiate themselves from others curving and looking to another side.

Stems

When painting the sunflowers, pay attention to the fact of how the stems are attached. It is well shown in our picture on the right flower. It is a very interesting angle – try to show it properly in your work. The yellow petals come out from under the small green leaves on the stem.

Leaves

The green leaves of sunflowers can be inscribed into quite a simple heart-shape which is similar to the drop. Then you should improve it a bit and show the uneven edges of leaves with wavy lines and sharp angles.

Baskets

You should draw a sunflower with big pronounced methods where we can see the neat rows of tiny yellow or greenish spots or ripened seeds. The anode of a flower can be convex or have a dent in the center.

We can show the direction of seed rows and the shadow on the relief surface with the help of strokes. The barely noticeable rounded strokes will help to show a lot of small objects of an anode.

Buds

Start drawing the bud from a circle. Slightly outline the direction of leaves with lines. Then you can improve and draw in these shapes.

Color

To enliven the drawing of sunflowers and to make it more expressive, use colored pencils, pastels, or even paints.

Show the light and shadow on the petals, leaves, and stems. Mark the brightly enlightened tips of yellow petals with almost white color. Mark the parts, which are in the shadow, with saturated yellow or almost brown.

Video on How to Draw Sunflowers with a Pencil Step by Step

Watch the short video tutorial on how to draw sunflowers with the help of a pencil or paints.

If you want to draw a sunflower with paints, you should watch a master-class The still life with sunflowers. And if you are a fan of Vincent Van Gogh`s paintings, it may be interesting for you to know how to paint a copy of his painting called “Sunflowers”.

If you have enjoyed this lesson and got the painting of sunflowers, leave your comments and show your drawings of sunflowers.