This botanical line art drawing was part of a collection, commissioned by my mum, for the 2021 gift-giving Christmas season.
They were a fun and relaxing project, and I believe something that anyone with a basic level of drawing and skill can do.
Line art is a form of illustration, that can be very simple, using one or two lines, or can be built up with multiple layers of ‘lines’, to create depth and realism.
Botanical art is one of my favourites, and is art based on real life botanical subjects, such as plants, flowers, seeds, fruit, etc.
This particular art piece was made using marker pen drawn onto A3 drawing paper and framed.
They were relatively easy to complete, and would be an excellent handmade gift idea.
Materials Used
- Thick White Drawing Paper (A3)
- Uni Posca Marker Pen (Colour: Red Wine, Tip size: 0.9-1.3 mm)
- Frame (fits A3 insert)
- Painters Tape (optional)
Process
This botanical drawing was inspired by a photograph of a rose flower.
The initial step was to draw the outline of the rose petals, leaves and stem. I started with the centre petals and worked my way out.
The most important part of this first step is to position your flower on the page where you want it. For this particular piece, I knew I wanted to place wording beneath the illustration, so the flower needed to be placed in the upper 2/3 of the page.
It’s also a good idea to use painters tape to tape down the edges of your page to your work table. It keeps everything level, but also prevents you from bending or creasing the edges with your hands.
Once the outline is drawn, the next step is to fill in the drawing with as little or as much detail as you like.
Theoretically, the drawing could have finished in the first step, however, for this piece I knew I wanted to add depth and realism, so the layers of lines continued…
I continued to fill in the flower with lines and shading, until it was complete.
The last step was to frame the art. I used an A2 frame with an A3 photo/art insert.
They were a great project and one I highly recommend if you want to gift beautiful handmade art.
