Drawing Fall Leaves (part 2)

1.The leaves that I picked for this still life were blackberry leaves. They did dry before I was finished and I replaced them with a similar group fresh off the vine. You'll see this as you scroll further through this Drawing Free Ezine. Originally there were 5 leaves in this group and I clipped off the leaf that would have been between the two lower leaves. You can see the mini stem left where I cut the leave off. When I replaced this group with a fresh group of leaves I clipped the same leaf off again. I clipped off the leaf to make my composition feel stronger and more dynamic to me. It is a feeling thing -- not a rule! Here you see all the colors that I am going to use to make this composition. Later, in addition to these Prismacolor pencils that you see here, I also used a dark brown and a fairly dark blue. I found that I really needed all these pencils to be kept sharp!

2.OK, here we go. Starting is always exciting and a bit unnerving until we just relax and slip into our Drawing Zone. I did not do any pre-drawings in graphite or colored pencil -- but the "this doesn't really count" pre-drawing stage is highly recommended. You can also decide in a "be nice to yourself" way that the first few that you start and even keep working out are for exploration and understanding of the subject, the position and the light - NOT the final drawing. Use this highly beneficial and "low stakes" drawing time for exploring, practicing and understanding the connection between your technique and the visual demands of the subject.

3.I'm starting here with the stem. Rarely would I start with just one part. I am (almost ) finishing this part of the drawing BEFORE I lay in the rest of the drawing. It works well HERE because it is in the CENTER of the leaves and thus in the CENTER of the drawing. This stem IS located in a position where everything else CAN revolve around it. When you SET something like this FIRST there is no going back . Colored pencil does NOT erase out. When you draw something that cannot be erased out you have determined the scale of every other thing in the entire drawing. Now all other aspects of this drawing have to be in relationship to the size of THIS drawn stem. The size of the stem creates the scale for the entire drawing -- IF everything will be drawn to the same scale. Drawing everything to the same scale creates realistic proportional relationships or "correct proportions". You are the artist and you don't have to follow any rules -- but knowing how the real world looks when viewed from your real eyes does help! I put the leaf that I cut off from the group of blackberry leaves here next to this little part of the drawing so that you would have an actual reference for the size of this drawn stem. Note the change in color and value as the stem turns. Also look for the way the thorns are shadowed even though they are tiny. Keep your pencils and eyes SHARP!

8.The main central stems are laid out for all four leaves. The outer edges of each of the leaves are found by drawing outwards along the secondary veins from where they originate on the central vein. Again, I am drawing the secondary veins OUT to the edge of the leaf where they end.

12.With a light yellow, I draw from the center stem out to the edge of each leaf. Then with slightly darker yellows that verge on orange, I start to lay in the stripes of the leaves. I am continuing to notice more and experiment as I go. Nothing is finally committed or set yet. When I know where the leaf edge is and I am satisfied with the outer contour of the leaf, then and only then do I make the edge. Notice here in the last photo how I made the CLOSE to the viewer (AKA the lower) edge darker, wider and also a more intense color. I made the BACK/higher edge lighter, thinner and a less intense (more dull) color. This will help bring the front edge visually forward and help push the back edge visually back.