How To Draw A Lotus Flower - Easy & Precise Step-By-Step Tutorial

Want to draw a lotus flower but you're not sure how to?

In this tutorial, I'm going to show you step-by-step how to draw a lotus flower.

Let's get started!

Disclaimer: In the name of full transparency, please be aware that this blog post contains affiliate links and any purchases made through such links will result in a small commission for me (at no extra cost for you).

Drawing Supplies I Used To Draw This Lotus Flower

To make this lotus flower drawing, I used a combination of alcohol markers and colored pencils.

I used Ohuhu Honolulu markers in the colors E260 Leather, E460 Military Olive, R242 Grayish Cherry, R270 Baby Blossoms, R280 Currant, RG050 Red Grey 05, RV270 Shadow Pink, R150 Zinnober, RV350 Crimson, and R290 Cardinal.

If you're on a tighter budget, these Caliart markers seem like a good and cheap alternative.

I also used Chromaflow colored pencils in the colors 2400 White and 2300 Black.

And I made this drawing on my favorite marker paper: Canson Illustration Manga. For this drawing, I cut one sheet in half to make it A5-size.

The Reference Image I Used

To make this beautiful lotus flower drawing, I used this reference photo of one I found over on Unsplash.

How Do You Draw A Lotus Flower?

To draw a lotus flower, you first sketch the basic outline. Then, you sketch the petals and the stem. Next, you color the lotus flower with markers, building the colors up from light to dark. And to finish it off, you add a few details with colored pencils and add a few white highlights.

Step 1: Sketch The Basic Outline Of The Lotus Flower

When sketching a flower like a lotus flower, I like to sketch the basic shape of the outline first.

This makes it a lot easier to get the sketch accurate.

I marked the basic outline and shapes in the reference photo and replicated them on my paper.

I moved the lotus flower up so that it was centered on my paper.

Step 2: Sketch The Petals Of The Lotus Flower

Next, I started sketching the petals using the guide I just made, starting with the bottom ones as they are the easiest.

Then, I added the next rows of petals until I had sketched them all.

Step 3: Sketch The Stem Of The Lotus Flower

After that, I erased the construction lines I made earlier and sketched the stem.

Step 4: Color The Lotus Flower With Markers

With the sketch now complete, we can start coloring it.

But before that, I like to lighten my sketch first to prevent it from showing through the ink too much.

The lotus flower in the reference consists of 2 different colors: purple (on the outer petals) and red/pink (on the inner petals).

I first colored the purply petals with R242 Grayish Cherry.

Then, I colored the other petals with RV270 Shadow Pink and the right edge of the stem with E260 Leather.

Next, I added some darker purple to the purple petals with R270 Baby Blossoms.

After that, I used R280 Currant to add some even darker shadows on the purple petals.

To finish the purple petals off, I used RG050 Red Grey 05 to make the color we just added a little more grey and to make the tip of the middle bottom petals grey.

I also used E460 Military Olive to color the remainder of the stem.

After that, I started working on the red petals.

I first used R150 Zinnober to color most of the petals except for the tips.

Then, I used RV350 Crimson to make the bottom half of the petals darker. I also added some textured ridges in the petals by coloring some thin lines pointing toward the tip of the petals.

Lastly, I used R290 Cardinal to add some really dark shadows to the bottom of the petals.

Step 5: Add Details To The Lotus Flower With 2 Colored Pencils

With the lotus flower now fully colored, we can start adding the details.

To do that, I used a white and a black colored pencil.

I added some white lines to the lighter parts of the petals to make them more textured.

I also used the white pencil to highlight the left edge of the stem.

And I used the black pencil to darken the shadows at the bottom of the petals.

Now the lotus flower is finished!

And That's How You Draw A Lotus Flower

I hope you enjoyed this tutorial and were able to follow along!

If so, let me know how it went and what parts you found difficult.

Thank you and I'll see you in the next one!

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