Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level: 7.

3
Flesch-Kincaid Reading Ease: 66.1
Drawspace Curriculum 5.1.A3 - 4 Pages and 9 Illustrations

Draw Four
Different Buds
Use various lineweights to render four in-proportion
versions of a flower bud based on a sketch
by Leonardo da Vinci

Resources:
• 5.1.R1 Inspecting Classical Power Lines
• 5.1.R2 The Anatomy of Individual Lines This activity has two sections:

Supplies: paper, 2H, HB, 2B, 4B, and 6B grades of graphite

• How to Sketch Bud’s Proportions
pencils; pencil sharpener, erasers, charcoal pencil (optional) • Outline Four Lily Buds

How to Sketch Bud’s Proportions Figure 1

All four drawings in this activity begin with a simple

proportional sketch. You can create all four sketches at once
before you draw any outlines, or complete one sketch at a
time and then its outline.

Tip! As an Aside
You can sketch This activity is based on a small
more than one section (Figure 1) of a much larger
bud on a sheet of sketch by Leonardo da Vinci: Study of
paper. However, a Lily, c. 1480-1485, pen and ink over
each drawing black chalk with white heightening,
needs to be at 12.4 by 7 in (31.5 by 17.8 cm), Royal
least 5 in (12.7 Library, Windsor Castle, London,
cm) high. England.

ISBN: 978-1-927539-68-2
Copyright © 2013 Drawspace Publishing and Brenda Hoddinott. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, transferred, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including
electronic, digital, mechanical, recording, photographing, photocopying, or otherwise, without the purchase of a licence from drawspace.com or the prior written consent of Brenda Hoddinott and Drawspace Publishing.
2 Drawspace Curriculum 5.1.A3

Figure 2 Figure 3

As an Aside
The artist sees what others
only catch a glimpse of.
Leonardo da Vinci

Figures 2 to 5 show the

process of sketching a
bud.
The upper section of each
bud is a long oval shape
that splits into two sections
at the top (Figure 2).
Sketch the two leaves
(Figures 3 and 4) before
adding the stem (Figure 5).
Note that a section of each
leaf overlaps the stem.
Figure 4 Figure 5

As an Aside
On April 15, 1452, an
unmarried peasant girl
named Caterina gave birth
to a child in the Tuscan
hill town of Vinci. The
child’s father, Messer Piero
Fruosino di Antonio da
Vinci, was a wealthy, legal
notary.
The baby boy was given the
name “Lionardo di ser Piero
da Vinci”, which translates
to “Leonardo, (son) of (Mes)
ser Piero from Vinci”. Today,
we know him simply as
Leonardo da Vinci.

ISBN: 978-1-927539-68-2
Copyright © 2013 Drawspace Publishing and Brenda Hoddinott. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, transferred, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including
electronic, digital, mechanical, recording, photographing, photocopying, or otherwise, without the purchase of a licence from drawspace.com or the prior written consent of Brenda Hoddinott and Drawspace Publishing.
 Drawspace Curriculum 5.1.A3
3

Figure 6

As an
Aside Tip!
Learn how to see. Mark the grade of
Realize that the pencil used
everything connects on each of your
to everything else. sketches.
Leonardo da Vinci You can then
refer back to your
sketches and notes
to duplicate a
specific lineweight
in another drawing.
Outline Four
Lily Buds
1. Sketch and then
outline a bud Figure 7
with a 2H pencil
(Figure 6).
Press gently with
your pencil.

2. Use an HB pencil
to sketch and
then draw a bud
(Figure 7).
Press firmly with
the pencil.

As an Aside
Every now and then go away, have a little relaxation,
for when you come back to your work your judgment
will be surer.
Go some distance away because then the work
appears smaller and more of it can be taken in at a
glance and a lack of harmony and proportion is more
readily seen.
Leonardo da Vinci

ISBN: 978-1-927539-68-2
Copyright © 2013 Drawspace Publishing and Brenda Hoddinott. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, transferred, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including
electronic, digital, mechanical, recording, photographing, photocopying, or otherwise, without the purchase of a licence from drawspace.com or the prior written consent of Brenda Hoddinott and Drawspace Publishing.
4 Drawspace Curriculum 5.1.A3

3. Use a 2B Figure 8 Figure 9

graphite
pencil or a
2B charcoal
pencil with a
slightly worn-
down point
to sketch and
draw another
bud (Figure 8).
Hold the pencil
loosely so
only its weight
touches the
paper.

4. Press firmly
with the well-
worn point of
a 6B graphite
pencil or a
2B charcoal
pencil to draw
the bud again
(Figure 9).

As an Aside Challenge!
In addition to being a master of drawing, painting, Draw four more Buds that are
and sculpture, Leonardo da Vinci was also: proportionally the same as those in this
• an architect • an anatomist activity but look very different.
• a musician • a geologist Consider using various grades of graphite,
charcoal, or other mediums, such as
• a mathematician • a cartographer
colored pencils or markers.
• an engineer • a botanist
• an inventor • a writer

ISBN: 978-1-927539-68-2
Copyright © 2013 Drawspace Publishing and Brenda Hoddinott. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, transferred, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including
electronic, digital, mechanical, recording, photographing, photocopying, or otherwise, without the purchase of a licence from drawspace.com or the prior written consent of Brenda Hoddinott and Drawspace Publishing.