Nice page Jette! There are a couple of things to consider and I would take another look at your actual leaves. Observation is key when doing leaves! On the leaf fronts, the main vein is often wider at the base and tapers as it heads to the top. The secondary veins usually start out thin and will even taper to be thinner as they reach the outside edge where they may trail up near the edge instead of going straight and hitting the outside edge. For example the main vein on the front of your oak leaf is wide and doesn’t vary too much as it goes up. On the back view of that leaf the main vein is narrower than the front and you do show it tapering. Be aware that quite often on the backs of leaves the main vein often sits up on the surface so it has dimension and it is more pronounced than on the front of the leaf. Also on the backs, the secondary veins may sit on the surface, but often the are not as noticeable on the back as they are the front. One way to show the main vein on the back, is to have continuous side lines and tone it appropriately and you can see the separation between the main and secondary veins. This varies from the front of leaves where the secondary veins shoot off the main vein at the same level and you can see they are connected. It is tricky to successfully capture the differences of both sides of a leaf especially when you are doing it in black and white. As an artist, it is your choice how much detail you want to put on leaves, but it is really vital to know how they are constructed so what you do illustrate is still believable and accurate, which is why these lessons are so important. I hope this isn’t too convoluted! Let me know if a sketch would be easier to make sense of.
Thanks for your comments – I absolutely see the things that you pointed out when I actually look at what i drew and what I should have seen. It all seems so clear in hindsight. thanks
09 April 2020
Leaves are teachers, for sure. They continue to challenge me and teach me all sorts of lessons. 🙂 You did a nice job here, and this page lays a great foundation for your journey with leaves! There is beautiful, subtle toning here, and nice leaf margins. Just work on veins a bit more. You’re on the right track.
Nice page Jette! There are a couple of things to consider and I would take another look at your actual leaves. Observation is key when doing leaves! On the leaf fronts, the main vein is often wider at the base and tapers as it heads to the top. The secondary veins usually start out thin and will even taper to be thinner as they reach the outside edge where they may trail up near the edge instead of going straight and hitting the outside edge. For example the main vein on the front of your oak leaf is wide and doesn’t vary too much as it goes up. On the back view of that leaf the main vein is narrower than the front and you do show it tapering. Be aware that quite often on the backs of leaves the main vein often sits up on the surface so it has dimension and it is more pronounced than on the front of the leaf. Also on the backs, the secondary veins may sit on the surface, but often the are not as noticeable on the back as they are the front. One way to show the main vein on the back, is to have continuous side lines and tone it appropriately and you can see the separation between the main and secondary veins. This varies from the front of leaves where the secondary veins shoot off the main vein at the same level and you can see they are connected. It is tricky to successfully capture the differences of both sides of a leaf especially when you are doing it in black and white. As an artist, it is your choice how much detail you want to put on leaves, but it is really vital to know how they are constructed so what you do illustrate is still believable and accurate, which is why these lessons are so important. I hope this isn’t too convoluted! Let me know if a sketch would be easier to make sense of.
Thanks for your comments – I absolutely see the things that you pointed out when I actually look at what i drew and what I should have seen. It all seems so clear in hindsight. thanks
Leaves are teachers, for sure. They continue to challenge me and teach me all sorts of lessons. 🙂 You did a nice job here, and this page lays a great foundation for your journey with leaves! There is beautiful, subtle toning here, and nice leaf margins. Just work on veins a bit more. You’re on the right track.