How to Draw a Tulip with Curving Leaves — Step by Step
Draw a tulip made up of one broad front petal, two wrapping side petals and a longer rear petal. Include the stem of the tulip, two long leaves and add a few lightly sketched lines to show the curved surfaces of the flower.
Try this lesson with feedback — free →Watch the pencil strokes
Free replay
Enable JavaScript for the pencil replay. All drawing steps are available below.
What you’ll learn: Draw a simple tulip by creating readable front and rear petal forms and a narrow connected stem. Add two turning leaves and then create a small fold and selected pencil shadows to suggest some depth to the flower.
Replay a drawing step by step and then follow along with the individual steps to draw the same image on paper or in your drawing app of choice. You can watch the entire drawing or any single step as many times as you like. No account is required to watch the replays.
Place the flower cup and stem direction
Place a light rounded cup in the upper half of the page. This will form the basis of your whole flower. Now draw a light guide for the gently curved stem down from the base of the flower. Leave a margin below this and enough space to the left and right of it for two long leaves.
Sketch out the flower cup to approximately the same width as its height in this sketch. Note that this is a general sketch for the entire flower, not just the front petal. Draw a light stem guide curving down from the flower’s base. The guide should be longer than the height of the flower cup. Provide plenty of space to the left and right of the stem guide for the two long tapering leaves. The individual sketches for the petals as well as the final width of the stem are included in the next two steps.
Why this works
These first shapes help to establish the whole flower. The rounded form of the flower cup gives the several petals that make up the flower a sense of unity, and the direction of the stem provides a sense of movement to the whole drawing. Because these are drawn with light pressure, they are easy to rub out in short eraser passes later.
Build the overlapping petal structure
One front petal, two side petals, one rear petal. Make the front one lower than the rear one and stop the hidden edges of the sides and rear where they are hidden by the in front ones.
Keep the light cup guide visible while you build the flower. Use it to judge the height and width of the petals, which curve around the cup and have softly pointed tips. Place the softly pointed top of the front petal part way down into the light cup guide. From the point of the front petal, draw rounded curved lines that extend from the front of the flower to the base of the flower. The face of the front petal should be quite broad. Continue to add more petals in a similar fashion to the front petal, including the left side petal and right side petal. The left side petal is drawn from the base out to the edge of the flower and up to the higher tip, and then curves back in toward the center of the flower until the upper edge meets the face of the front petal. The right side petal is drawn in a similar manner, leaving enough room between it and the front petal for a small corner turn. Next add the exposed rear petal of the flower. This petal’s left edge will stop at the edge of the left side petal and its right edge will meet the right side petal. Finally, add the lower forms of the flower in to one rounded base. Draw longer contours in two comfortable strokes instead of one. Once all four petals make a readable cup, erase the remaining placement guide in short passes. Restore only the small contour sections that the eraser touches.
Why this works
The four petals make up one flower cup. The broad front petal in this drawing covers the lower portion of the long, tall rear petal as well as parts of both the left and right side petals. In order to keep the drawing simple and avoid showing too many internal lines, the hidden edges of the side petals stop at the front petal’s edge. As for the petals themselves, they can vary in width, height, and curve.
Add the stem and two leaves
Now change the single stem guide into two very close curves for the two sides of the stem which join up at the base of the flower. Draw two long, thin tapering leaves from two different attachments on the stem - one to rise up to a high point on the left, then curve back down to rejoin the stem, the other to bend out to the right and curve up to a point.
Use the stem guide to draw two narrow edges to the stem, placing space between them as they curve downwards from the base of the flower. Once you have drawn both edges erase the stem guide between them and restore any small parts of the edges that the eraser touched. The bases of the two leaves will attach to the stem at different heights. Start the left leaf lower on the stem than the right and make its tip high and curved and then follow the curve of the leaf back to where it attaches to the stem. Start the right leaf a little higher up the stem than the left and bend it out and up from the stem. Both leaves should be wide in the middle and narrow at the tip. In this drawing the bases of the leaves meet the edge of the stem. If a leaf covers part of the stem then erase that part of the stem. The insides of the leaves are left open for now.
Why this works
Even a slim stem has some width. Using two related curves shows this width more clearly than a single line. The leaves are long shapes with a wide middle and tapering to a point at the end. Adding different heights and bends to the leaves gives natural rhythm to the stem without complicating the drawing too much. The crossing of elements can be resolved as you go along drawing the individual elements.
Add petal folds and leaf curves
Draw the sloping surface of the small turn on the upper inner side of the right petal. Then draw a long thin line following the bend inside each of the leaves. The line should start near the base of the leaf and follow the bend up toward the tip. Do not follow the outer edge of the leaf, instead follow the natural bend in the broad surface of the leaf. Keep these internal curves light.
Start the right petal’s turn with a point at the tip of the petal and curve down the upper inner side of the petal following its curve to where it meets the front petal. Note that the narrow strip of petal between this line and the edge of the petal is a part of the petal and not an extra petal or a hole. Draw one long light curve inside each leaf following its long bend from near the base to just short of the tip. These internal curves do not have to divide the leaves up into equal halves.
Why this works
To indicate the slight change in surface direction of a petal, use a single line. The line should join up with the existing right petal tip and curve down to meet the front petal’s edge. That keeps the small turned strip attached to its petal. The long curve inside each leaf shows how that broad surface bends. These should be worked lightly in preparation for adding shading in the next step.
Add selective overlap shadows
Imagine the light above and to the left. Draw light strokes along the curves of the individual petals. The front petal has to have the upper-left area light and the right side and base darker. The turned sides of the leaves have to be shaded, the overlaps have to be clearly recognizable.
Start with the broad front petal. Use light strokes to cover the curved surface of the flower, leaving the upper-left corner very light and then getting darker towards the right side and the base of the petal. Use long strokes to follow the curve of the side petal, stopping where it is covered by the front petal. Add a small shadow behind this edge to indicate overlap. Use long strokes to add light tone to the lower edge of the rear petal and the small inward turn of the right petal. For each of the leaves begin them with very light strokes along their broad surfaces, leaving a long light band on the surfaces that face the light. Then add a little more tone toward the internal curve of the leaves, shading the right-hand panel of the left leaf and the lower-right panel of the right leaf. Follow the long bends of the surfaces as you shade these areas with the pencil. For the light band use fewer strokes or lighter marks as you progress to the center of the band. There is no need to blend these strokes together. A faint accent down the right side of the stem is also optional. Remember that overall the tones should be light. Fewer, uneven strokes following the same forms can also be used to suggest these relationships.
Why this works
The direction of the pencil lines and their darkness have different jobs. The direction of the lines will describe the surface of the petal, and the darkness will show which parts of it turn away from the light and are in shadow. The front petal will cover up parts of the hidden petals, so the hatching will have to stop there, as hatching that goes around the front of the petal would misleadingly suggest that the hidden petal had bends that are not part of its shape. A small shadow near the edge of a petal is a separate effect from the hatching of the surface of the petals. As a bending surface, more curvature can be indicated by a gentle change in tone across the broad surface of the leaf than with a dark stripe next to the internal line. Keep the light band and add more tone to the part of the leaf that turns away from the light. Note that the leaf turns and the folded strip of the right petal face in different directions. So consider the surface before adding more darkness. The front petal curves outward, so the upper left area of it will be light, and the right side and base will turn away from the light.
A few useful checks
- If the petals of your tulip look like tips of a crown then you must make the front petal broader with a rounder body. The front petal should cover the lower part of the taller rear petal and the side petals should accumulate at the base of the front petal.
- Remember: A petal behind another should lose its hidden edge at the foreground contour. Draw only the outline of the petal in the front on the face itself and do not draw both outlines on the face itself.
- The stem should have two narrow edges that connect to the lower base of the flower. The stem should not be a single line, but two narrow edges, nor should it be as wide as a ribbon.
- This small turned strip of petal is part of the upper right petal and its inner edge starts at this petal’s tip and curves down to the edge of the front petal. A small loop floating inside the petal does not explain this turn.
- Use light pencil strokes along the curve of each petal. Do not have all your strokes follow around the edges of the ‘front’ petals in the drawing above. Stop the shading strokes where the front petal covers them and add a small amount of shadow just behind that edge where required. The front petal remains light towards the upper-left light source and turns to tone on its right side.
Try a small change
Optional: sketch a second, slightly smaller tulip with a wider flower cup and stem bending in the opposite direction to help solidify your understanding of how to draw the tulip. A simple turned edge on one petal, a partly hidden rear petal and the two leaves should be sufficient to help to cement your drawing skills without delving too deeply into the tulip’s shading.
The space between outline and finished drawing has been crossed. You have created overlapping petal faces, turned an edge and given the leaves form. The relationships between these features are what make the drawing of a tulip work even when the curves and the shading marks are not exactly the same as in this drawing.
Your drawing, with guidance
Know what to try on your next attempt.
Using a reference to draw from helps to understand where you are going with a drawing. When in a guided lesson you draw each step and then submit your work to Luna for the AI to provide you with feedback on your work.
- Replay a step whenever you need another look.
- Use the feedback from your lesson to make adjustments to your drawing and try again.
- Keep your lesson progress in your account.
This complete guided lesson is free if you have an account with us. No need for a credit card.
Try this lesson with feedback — freeDraw Beautiful Flowers
Keep building with 6 guided drawings. The paid continuation includes 5 lessons with checkpoint demonstrations and feedback on your attempts.
Want to work on a particular skill? Try a focused drawing exercise or get feedback on a sketch of your own.