How to Draw a Peony - Simple Step-By-Step Tutorial

For over a decade now, I've been creating realistic drawings, and in this tutorial, I'm going to show you how you can draw a simple yet realistic peony.

I describe the whole process in easy-to-follow steps and in detail so you can easily follow along and create your very own peony drawing.

Let's get started!

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The Draw Supplies You'll Need

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

I used Ohuhu Honolulu markers in the colors RV130 Queen Pink, R190 Bougainvillaea, RV320 Apricot Pink, RV240 Bronze Purple, G270 Moss, G300 Dark Olive, E120 Reddish Brass, V160 Deep Lilac, and Y210 Deep Teak.

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, 2300 Black, and 0200 Amber Gold.

And I used a white Posca PC-3M paint marker for highlights.

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

The Reference Photo I Used

When making a realistic drawing, it's always handy to use a reference photo. When looking for one I saw this one on Unsplash and decided to use it for this tutorial.

How To Draw A Peony

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

Step 1: Sketch The Basic Outline Of The Peony

To make sketching the peony a lot easier, I like to start by sketching a basic outline first.

The peony has a wonky pentagonal shape which I replicated on my paper.

I then added the petal that's sticking out the bottom.

Next, I added a second pentagon shape to the bottom right and I marked the center with a triangular shape.

Step 2: Sketch The Petals Of The Peony

Now that the basic shapes are in place, it's a lot easier to sketch the petals of this peony.

I started by sketching the petals on the outside first as they are the biggest and less dense.

The petals don't need to be a perfect copy of the reference photo. Just try to get the shape somewhat similar. That's most important.

And remember, flowers can look a thousand ways and still look like a flower.

Next, I sketched the next row of petals. This time more on the inside.

I look at the edges I see in the reference and try to create somewhat similar shapes in my sketch.

I did this for all remaining petals.

And that's the flower part of the peony already sketched!

Step 3: Sketch The Stem Of The Peony

Next, I sketched the stem and the leaves on the stem.

I again started with the basic outlines.

Then, I added more details and pointiness to the leaves to complete the sketching part.

Step 4: Color The Peony With Markers

Now that the sketch is done, we can start coloring it.

But before we do that, I like to erase my sketch first until I can just about see the lines.

This prevents the sketch from showing through the marker ink in the end and ruining the drawing.

Next, I colored the peony with the first layer of color.

I colored the flower itself with RV130 Queen Pink.

I colored the yellow-brown bits in the center of the flower with Y210 Deep Teak and the dark pink parts with RV240 Bronze Purple.

And I colored the stem and the leaves with G270 Moss.

Next, I used V160 Deep Lilac to add some darker purple spots on the outside petals. I tried to replicate the ripples in the leaves a bit by scribbling around a bit.

I also added some brown-green to the leaves on the stem by coloring those parts with E120 Reddish Brass.

Then, I used R190 Bougainvillaea to add some darker pink spots the the rest of the petals and a few on the purple spots.

I again scribbled around a bit to replicate the texture of the petals of the peony.

Next, I used RV320 Apricot Pink to add more darker spots and ridges in the petals. I mainly used this color to darker the shadow parts in between the petals.

Lastly, I used RV240 Bronze Purple to color the darkest shadows on the peony. There are just a few, but coloring those makes a huge difference in my opinion.

I also used G300 Dark Olive to add some dark parts on the stem and the leaves as well.

And that's the peony all colored already.

Step 5: Add Details To Your Peony Drawing With Pencils

To make the peony look a lot more realistic, I added a few details with a white and a black pencil.

I used the white pencil to add more ridges on the petals by scribbling around a bit and adding some lines in the direction of the petals.

I also used the white pencil to highlight the top edges of the petals closer to the center.

And I used it to add some highlights and textures to the leaves on the stem.

To add more depth and details to the dark parts I used the black pencil to add some scribbly lines there.

To make the center of the peony more detailed, I used my Amber Gold Chromalow pencil to add tons of short lines in the yellow-brown parts. 

Then, I used my Black Chromaflow pencil to add some black short lines in the surrounding parts.

Step 6: Add Final Highlights To Your Peony Drawing

To finish the peony off, I added a few bright white highlights on the edges of the petals in the center with my white Posca PC-3M paint marker.

Now the peony is fully finished!

And That's How You Can Draw A Realistic Peony

I hope you liked my tutorial on how to draw a peony!

Let me know how your drawing turned out and what parts you found particularly difficult.

Thank you for following along with me! And I'll see you in my next flower drawing tutorial!

Luuk Minkman

Full-Time Artist Specialized in Automotive Art

I'm an artist and I draw realistic cars with alcohol markers and colored pencils. I have been doing so for a decade. I'm sharing everything I know about drawing on this blog. On here, you can find all you need to know to learn how you can draw realistic cars and other subjects yourself. Stay updated by following me on Instagram.