In a world full of beautiful flowers, the poppy stands out with an irresistible allure. Its petals are like crinkled paper and come in different colors like red, orange, pink, and white. But there’s more to this flower than meets the eye.
It is often associated with remembrance, particularly in relation to war veterans and fallen soldiers.
When you touch the poppy, you’ll feel how smooth the petals are. They are like velvet and have a softness to them. And as your fingers glide across the canvas of this floral marvel, the poppy’s essence becomes a tangible experience.
While there are various species of poppies, the most common oriental poppy (including the orange and red) is the star of our tutorial today. We’ll guide you through a quick, simple way to capture all the charming features that this poppy possesses.
Follow every step below and don’t be afraid of erasing till you get the perfect drawing!
How to Draw a Poppy Flower – Step by Step Tutorial
Note: In this tutorial, we’ll draw two flower heads and two seed pods, finishing with a stem and a couple of leaves. So consider the proportion of your canvas for the best vision. You can also look at our pictures for further reference.
Step 1: As usual, we’ll start with the flower head first. Draw the first petal using curved lines to form a cup-alike shape. It also appears to be slightly crinkled at the edges.
Because of the side of view, there are additional lines that form to present the inner part of the petal.
Step 2: From the petal base, draw the second petal that is partly hidden by the first one. This is for overlapping, like the way the peony petals’ are sketched.
Step 3: Keep adding the next petal to the first layer of this poppy.
Step 4: Moving to the lower layer, sketch a large petal on the left side. Along its top, double the edge to create a fold.
Step 5: Add two more petals to fill in this layer. Each petal can slightly overlap or touch the neighboring petal.
You can also vary their size and shape to give them a natural look.
Step 6: After finishing the first flower head, move to another one from an angled view.
Start sketching a fan shape (also crinkled at the top edge) to mirror the main petal.
Step 7: Flexibly use curved lines to form invisible parts of additional petals on each side of the first one (refer to our picture below for an example).
Step 8: The flower head sketching is mastered. Now, let’s draw the poppy seed pods.
For the bigger pod that bends upwards: Draw a small oval shape to represent the base. From its top, draw a slightly pointy line that connects with the base.
Apply the same technique for the smaller pod that bends downwards.
Step 9: At the bottom of each seed pod and flower, add an extra element to fulfill its look.
Step 10: Next, draw the stems for the flowers and seed pods. Start from the base of each one and create curved lines that connect to a single stem.
Then add extra curved lines extending outward from the main stem to represent the central vein of leaves.
Step 11: Now, draw the leaves. Start with its slightly pointy tip that is symmetrical to the vein.
Step 12: The poppy leaves are usually lobed or dissected, so draw a wavy or jagged edge on the right side.
Step 13: Draw another leaf edge on the opposite side.
Step 14: Similarly, sketch the left leaves yet with size and shape varying. You can experiment with a special leaf whose only one side is visible.
Step 15: Complete the stems by sketching additional curved lines to present their thin and slender features.
Step 16: For the final pencil touches, add details to the flowers and pods. Use short, light strokes to mirror the vein. Plus, draw stamens which is a combination of curved lines and tiny ovals on its tip.
Step 18: The fun part of coloring has arrived. Have you chosen a desired color palette for your poppy? If not, you might use ours first and play with different colors later.
Begin with the base color of the petals, using light and even strokes.
Step 19: Add a darker shade of the same color to some of the outer edges and inner parts of the petals to create depth and dimension. Remember to blend the darker shade into the base color using gentle strokes.
Step 20: Immature poppy seed pods are often shades of green so start applying a light base first.
Step 21: Next, select a suitable green shade for the foliage and receptacles.
Step 22: Use a darker shade for the stem and to add depth to other elements (such as the veins).
Instructional Video
Final Step
How is your drawing? We hope you have a fun time exploring the poppy flower with us. There are lots of elements to deal with, aren’t there? When you’ve successfully nailed them all, we bet your artistic skill is elevated. But your poppy drawing doesn’t have to end here.
Think about incorporating additional elements to complement your poppy drawing. Insects, other types of flowers, grass, or rocks can add an additional touch of charm and nature. Or else, consider using a complementary or contrasting background (a scenic landscape or textured backdrop, for example) to enhance the overall visual impact of your artwork.
Especially, pay attention to the play of light and shadows within your poppy drawing. By managing this, you can create a sense of realism in every later drawing.
Want to share your masterpiece? Feel proud to upload it to the network so that everyone can see and leave compliments. We’re looking forward to your result too!
