This mindful leaf pattern drawing exercise is an exercise that anyone can do. No previous experience necessary. As long as you’re able to hold a pen, you’re good to go.
Another positive thing about this exercise is that it will make you focus on the present and it serves as a great distraction from your day-to-day worries. A really mindful activity. Because of the repetitive actions, you’ll get in an almost meditative flow.
A while ago, I picked up a leaf and just look at it in detail. Really looked at it. And then I saw all those tiny details and those intricate vein patterns. Every section was separated into even smaller sections and it fascinated me.
Do you ever take the time to really look at something?
So, in this exercise, we will continually separate sections into even smaller ones, just like vein patterns on a leaf.
Have fun with this mindful leaf pattern drawing exercise! Please let me know if you liked this one.
You can find a small video of this exercise on my Instagram @thecreativecooldown
Supplies used:
Watercolor paper 300gr (Winsor & Newton), watercolor (Winsor & Newton), water brush (Pentel), fineliner 1.0, 0.3, 0.1, 0.05 (Copic), washi tape, jar, paper towel.
Alternative supply suggestions:
You can use your kids’ watercolor paints. They may not have as much pigment as the ones in the art stores, but it’s definitely something you can start with at the beginning.
Of course, you can use crayons, alcohol markers, or watercolor pencils as well.
If you only have regular paper, please be aware that your paper cannot hold that much water and will probably warp. Try taping it down to prevent it from warping too much.
If you don’t have fineliners, a pencil will work as well. Use heavy pressure to simulate a large tipped pen and slightly less pressure for a smaller tipped pen.
Instructions:
1. Before you start, breathe slowly in and out a few times to clear your head. Tape down your paper and make sure you cover an equal part on all sides of your paper with the tape. When you take off the tape in step 5, you’ll have a nice white frame around it. Wet your brush and cover your page with a thin layer of water. Then choose one or more colors and add them to your page. Continue until your whole page has color. Make sure the color is not too opaque, you still need to be able to draw a pattern over it.
2. When it’s dry, take a fineliner with a large tip and start drawing the large veins of your leaf pattern. Make sure you draw the main vein in the middle with veins on both sides curved slightly towards the top of the “leaf”. With this, you’ll separate your page into sections.
3. Grab a fineliner with a smaller tip and start separating the different sections into even smaller ones. While the main veins are curved, these sections are more angular-shaped.
4. Grab a fineliner with an even smaller tip and separate your smaller sections into even smaller ones. Continue until you feel that the sections are now small enough.
5. Slowly remove your (washi) tape. While you’re pulling, keep your tape parallel to the paper, this will prevent the paper from tearing.
Now you’re done with this mindful leaf pattern drawing exercise!
If you liked this exercise, you might like my mindful neurographic drawing exercise as well.