The long Canadian winters can take a toll on my soul so when I need a reminder that Spring is around the corner, I get a few branches of Forsythia to bloom. In this particular case, since I got twice as much fun out of them as I drew them too!
While the buds on Forsythia are fully formed by early January, they wait for warm weather to open up. By cutting them mid-day when the temperatures are a bit warmer and bringing them indoors, you can trick them into thinking that winter is over.
Drawing a blooming branch
I like to focus on a single branch and try to capture all the details. I will use Translucent Visual Bond paper since I can layer my development process and use rough copy as underlay and just draw over it on another sheet.
I begin with a rough pencil sketch and I mark out general locations with basic shapes. The goal is to see the overall spacing and then I will go over a second time and add details.
I use that sheet as an underlay and on a clean sheet begin tracing out the details with a black permanent fine-liner. I will add details and texture. It’s best if you have a light source from one side so it creates defined shadows. Go and shade the buds and blooms to define the shapes.
Choose 3 color pencils that closely resemble the colors and add some color. Remember that the colors are not really just flat blocks but that you have a bit of green and brown in the yellow, and vice versa.
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