Ideas and steps for drawing and painting leaves

We recently suggested creating art based on nature in and around your home.

Thank you to all of you for sending us your beautiful creations!

Here are some more ideas and steps for creating leaves (you can click on the arrows to see more steps):

Example 1:

1. Paint the veins of the leaves in a light colour.

2. Fill in the rest of the leaf with a darker colour.

3. Use a really thin paintbrush or pen to paint or draw the veins.

Example 2:

1. Colour the background of the leaf in a light colour.

2. Use a darker felt tip pen or fine liner to draw the veins.

3. Option to draw an outline round the leaf.

Example 3:

1. Draw a leaf shape.

2. Colour in lightly with a crayon.

3. Colour the centre with the same colour but apply more pressure.

4. Use a darker colour for the veins of the leaf and option to draw in an outline.

Example 4:

1. Draw some leaves.

2. Draw detail inside the leaves.

3. Using a light colour, paint the watercolour over the leaves (tip: use more water on your paintbrush to get a lighter colour).

4. Once the first layer is dry, use a darker colour to paint the detail (tip: use less water on your paintbrush to get a darker colour).

There are of course SO many ways you can draw and colour leaves. Take your time, don’t worry about creating a finished piece, just practise, experiment with different styles and colours and fill up the entire paper with your experiments…and keep sending us photos of your creations!

Check out the leaves below for more inspiration: