A Simple Way to Draw an Iconic Spring Flower

The arrival of spring also means the arrival of flowers. These flowers are often used to decorate and add a touch of life to their surroundings. You can do this by drawing them as well! In this tutorial, you’ll learn how to draw tulips, a popular spring flower, in a few steps.

By: Joy Ye

Tulips are one of the most recognized spring flowers. With a wide range of colors, they make the perfect decoration and are used for a wide range of purposes. When it comes to drawing, they are one of the easier flowers to draw. 

  1. Start with the simple shapes. For tulips, it’s easiest to start with a semicircle for the flower and two lines for the stem, almost like a wine glass.
  2. Tulip petals are shaped similarly to leaves, with two curves joined together at the top. Since some parts of the tulip get covered in this perspective, one of the petals isn’t visible and only the top of the back petals will peak through. Erase the base semicircle. 
  3. The leaves can be drawn simply by two curves. For this tulip, I’ll draw two leaves, but there can be more or less, depending on the flower. Erase the parts of the stem covered by the leaves. 
  4. You can add some extra details, like the midrib of the leaves and tulip petals. These should follow the curve of the leaf or petal. There is also the curve at the tip of a tulip leaf. 
  5. At this point, you can color it however you like. A tip for shading is that light comes from a certain source. Decide on the direction of your lighting and shade based on that. Then you’re done!

Anything can be broken down into simple shapes, so even if you wanted to draw a more complex or realistic tulip, by recognizing these shapes, you could still draw it. It’d be taking the two-dimensional shapes and translating them into three-dimensional ones.

One general tip for drawing is to draw lines in one confident stroke, even if you’re unsure. It helps give the drawing a cleaner look. If you’re drawing traditionally, draw lightly to make it easier to erase. Also, don’t be afraid to use references. They can help guide you when you’re confused, especially when you’re still learning.