Drawn light
Sunflower Drawing in 2 ways will be described in this article! Sunflower is the “flower of the sun”! This fantastic, world-famous, ancient plant appeared in South America in 3000 BC. Having moved to Europe centuries later, it amazed the Spaniards with its sun-like golden inflorescence, which surprisingly always turns following the sun’s rays.
The Sunflower was called the “flower of the sun”. But about everything in order. It is believed that tribes of North American Indians domesticated this plant. According to some archaeologists, Sunflower was domesticated even earlier than wheat. Archaeological evidence proves sunflower cultivation in the territory of the present states of Arizona and New Mexico around 3000 B.C. It is also known that the “flower that turns after the sun” is found in the Greek myth of Clitia by Ovid, i.e. long before sunflowers appeared in Europe.
Many Native American cultures used the Sunflower as a symbol of the sun deity, especially the Aztecs of Mexico and the Incas in Peru. In those days, Indians consumed sunflower seeds mostly in ground form, much like we now consume flour.
There is also evidence of the Indians producing sunflower oil. It was used in baking and perhaps as a cosmetic agent to lubricate the skin and hair. In Europe, the Sunflower was introduced around 1500 by the Spanish conquerors of the Americas. This plant was initially used as an ornamental plant. However, the seeds were chewed in most cases, considering their medicine.
Sunflower Drawing is a fun and exciting activity! The Sunflower grew in the steppe regions of Peru and impressed the Spaniards with its sun-like golden inflorescence, which always turns to follow the sun’s rays. The Spaniards called it the “flower of the sun”. At first, the Sunflower was called differently: Mexican flower and Peruvian chrysanthemum, Indian golden flower and American chrysanthemum. But gradually, these names were supplanted by almost all peoples.
They were replaced by words whose root was “sun”. In Ukraine, the sun is sonechko, and the Sunflower in English – is Sunflower (sun flower). Sunflower is the namesake of the sun, the Italians, the French, the Dutch, and many other peoples.
The Latin name of this plant is Helianthus annuus. It is derived from Greek words meaning “sun”, and “flower”, and from the Latin word for “annual”. The English thought about oil production from Sunflower in Europe for the first time. There is even an English patent from 1716 describing the whole process.
But the large-scale production of sunflower oil – and we can be proud of it – began in Russia. Peter the Great brought sunflower seeds to Russia from Holland. At first, as in Europe, this plant served decorative purposes. The industrial process of sunflower oil production was created in 1828 by a certain serf peasant Bokarev, who decided to apply the technology of linseed and hemp oil production.
And already in 1833, the first sunflower oil factory was built. Sunflower oil quickly gained great popularity in Russia, mainly because its use was not prohibited during the days of Lent. Hence, incidentally, the second name of sunflower oil – Lenten oil. Breeders worked hard to increase the oil content of sunflowers and their resistance to pests. Soviet breeders have developed 20 varieties of Sunflower, characterized by high yield and oil content.
Let’s get to Sunflower a drawing right away!
Sunflower Drawing Realistic (option 1)
Drawing a sunflower with coloured pencils
Tools and materials:
- A simple pencil;
- Black pen;
- Eraser;
- A sheet of white paper;
- Coloured pencils (yellow, orange, lettuce, green, light brown, dark brown).
Step 1
Draw a large oval at a slant on the left side of the sheet. Inside it, draw another oval, but it will be three times smaller than the outer one.
Step 2
Let’s add some petals, which are located in the middle and are fully visible. They can be curved at will so that they look natural.
Step 3
Let’s add blackberries on the background to make the flower look thicker. Draw small petals that barely peek out between the larger ones. In the middle, add an oval and paint it.
Step 4
Now draw the stem and leaves. They may differ in size. On the right draw one largest leaf, and on the left – two small ones.
Step 5
With a black pen, trace the outlines and sketch the middle. Add some texture to the centre of the flower, and draw veins on the leaves.
Step 6
Draw the stem of the flower and its leaves in lettuce and green.
Step 7
Let’s make the petals yellow first and then add a little orange.
Step 8
The middle of the Sunflower should be drawn entirely in light brown colour, and then add a dark brown shadow on the edge.
Step 9
Now we know how to draw a sunflower with coloured pencils.
Sunflower Drawing Easy (option 2)
Give some structure to your future Sunflower.
All things in nature have a structure: a ball, cone, cylinder or cube. You can get better results if you start drawing everything in a row without form. In this case, you should start drawing the Sunflower with two concentric circles and the stem with a couple of leaves.
Your first sketch should be two circles and a stem
Press the pencil lightly; you will erase part of the drawing later.
Sketching the petals
The petals in a sunflower drawing can be imperfect. They are one of the truly unique things in nature. Not everything is mathematically “perfect.” There are irregularities. A petal out of place, a freckle on one cheek and not the other, an ear with a weird curve… These kinds of “non-standard” things make art more natural.
Sketch the petals where you want to see them.
Start with the four cardinal directions – north, south, east and west – and sketch petals along them. Then start filling in the spaces between until you’re relatively happy with them. Remember, you can always make changes later!
Erase the outline of the circle and the centre of the petals
Remember when I said that you should draw with light strokes? This is so that you can erase unnecessary lines cleanly.
Clean up the drawing by removing the circles and the inner edge of the petals.
Start by erasing the inner edge of the petals. Just erase them until you reach the edge of the inner circle. This will be the area where the seeds will be located.
Next, erase the inner circle.
Finally, erase the outer circle.
Erase the petals on the sunflower pattern.
Often people need to realize how much erasing goes on while drawing. That’s why sketching should be so easy. Artists can only magically get great lines by sketching beforehand.
For this part of the sunflower drawing, add dots to the ends of the petals and make them a little more symmetrical. You can add more petals around the edges (between the first petals) to give the flower more depth. Some sunflower varieties have more rounded petals, and some have almost serrated petals. The example draws pointed leaves, as on wild sunflowers in the fields.
Then erase the old lines.
Clean the petals and add dots; add a few extra petals between the original petals.
Add some colour to the sunflower pattern.
Sunflowers are not all one colour. They come in many shades of yellow, orange, and brown. Depending on the variety, you can even create a drawing of a red sunflower! The example shows a classic yellow-orange sunflower.
Water-based blending markers are great for this. You can also purchase felt tip pens with a brush and blending pen. I highly recommend trying a few brands.
The brown centre of the Sunflower has three shades of brown that I blended. The outer edges and the very centre of the Sunflower are often darker than the area in between, so I used colours that reflect that fact.
