How to Draw a Hibiscus

Welcome to this drawing tutorial! Thank you for letting me share my love for drawing with you :D Feel free to use whatever tools and materials you like the most, I highly recommend drawing with a pencil when you first start so you can make mistakes without stressing about it! Never be shy about erasing ^.^

 Step 1. Guideline Circle

First we start by drawing a circle that is on a slight angle and a bit squished, pay attention to how it looks like its been squished a little from the bottom left and top right. This circle will a guideline for the size of the flower, draw it lighter than I have drawn it because we will erase it away later. I drew it darker to help you see the shape :D

Make sure that the circle is slightly higher on the page and there is room underneath it for a stem.

Here is a video version of the tutorial if you want to see it drawn in real-time
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Step 2. Core Circle

Now lets add a tiny circle that sits left of center that also feels squished in a similar manner. This circle represents the core of the flower where the petals and stem grow out from.

Step 3. Stem

Add two lines coming out of the core circle that are moving to the top right. Try to capture a similar angle to the one below.

Step 4. Bulbs

Add tiny bulbs to the side and top of the stem we just drew. Make sure to keep them small.

Step 5. Curved Line

Now that we have our guidelines and core drawn in, we will begin constructing the petals. The key to drawing petals is to understand that the edge lines of the petal move away from the core of the flower. Think of sunrays coming off a sun, we want this outward movement. Our little Sun Buddy in the diagram is here to remind us of this point.

Draw a curved line moving from the core out to the guideline circle. Notice how this line curves up to the left.

Step 6. Second Curve

Add another curved line that starts at the core but is moving more to the right, make sure these two lines do not start at the exact same point. There is space between the lines at the core circle.

Step 7. Third Curve

Add anoter curved line but this time moving to the right. These lines will define the centers of the petals and help us give proper spacing.

Step 8. Two Curved Lines

Add the final two curved lines to the top left of the flower. These two lines are slightly closer together than the previous lines.

Step 9. First Petal

Now that we have our center lines in place, we can begin constructing the outer edges of each petal. Start by adding a curved line to the bottom left center line. Note that it starts where the curved line meets the guideline.

Step 10. Top Portion

Starting at the same point as the last step, lets add a curved line moving upwards. These lines end around the middle point between the curved lines to its sides, so they wont touch the other center lines.

Step 11. Connect Top

Connect the line we just drew to the core of the flower. Make sure to give it a slight curve so that it has an organic feel.

Step 12. Connect Bottom

Repeat the process for the bottom line, this time curving out to the right slightly to describe the volume of the petal.

Step 13. Second Petal

Add a curved line to the top left center line that comes down to where the edge of the last petal is. Use the diagram on the left to help you see the shape of this line (in pink).

Step 14. Petal Continued

Continue the petal by starting at the guideline circle and curving down slightly, still making sure that this line doesn’t touch the center line of the petal to its right.

Step 15. Complete Petal

Finish this petal by adding a line that comes down at a sharp angle to connect to the core of the flower.

Step 16. Third Petal

Now we repeat the process for the next petal, make sure that the petals end where the guideline circle is. Using this guideline circle helps us give the flower nice proportions and will help us plan an image ahead of time.

Step 17. Third Petal

Complete the third petal by drawing a line that comes down and stops at the stem coming out of the core. The intersection between this third petal and the one to its right is hidden behind the stem. Getting this overlapping effect will help us sell the dimension of the flower.

Step 18. Fourth Petal

Start the fourth petal slightly below the bulbs on the stem and curve out to the guideline. Notice how this line is much longer than the ones we used in the last one.

Step 19. Bottom Curve

Jump to the petal on the bottom and draw the left edge of this fifth petal. I like to jump between adding lines to the petals towards the end to help me balance their size out.

Step 20. Dividing Line

Add a curved line between the the two center lines that initially starts at the center petal line of the fourth petal (see how the two lines are connected in the image below). This occurs because the bottom petal is closer to us and is hiding the side edge of the other petal.

Step 21. Complete Petal

We finish the bottom petal by connecting the last line we drew to where its center line.

Step 22. Complete Fourth Petal

Finish up the fourth petal by adding a curved line from its center line down behind the bottom petal. This complete the construction of the petals! yaaay :D

Step 23. Erase

Erase away the guideline, in the image below I am using a kneadable eraser which is a soft eraser you can change the shape of. I also prefer these erasers because they dont leave any eraser shavings that you constantly have to clean up. Consider giving one of these a shot if you draw a lot! (Note: they are fairly hard when they first come out of the package but you can soften them up by kneading it like dough).

Step 24. Darken

Darken any lines that got slightly lightened by the eraser in the previous step.

Step 25. Stem

Draw two curved lines that are slightly apart and connect at the base of the flower. Take note that its slightly more curved towards the base and straightens out so it looks like the flower is looking to the right. This slight curve also helps give the flower some weight.

Step 26. Leaf

Draw two connected lines that start at the stem to define the center line for the leaf, similar to how we did for the petals.

Step 27. Curve

Leaving some room from the end of the center line, draw a curved line that looks somewhat like the tip of a finger.

Step 28. Bottom

Draw a line that is tilted towards the right starting at the curved line.

Step 29. Top Line

Add a line to the top part of the curved one that moves towards the right.

Step 30. Connect

Draw a line connecting the bottom portion of the leaf to the stem.

Step 31. Connect Top

Connect the top portion of the leaf with another curved line.

Step 32. Shading Lines

Add lines on the petals close to the core of the flower, draw these lines moving outwards from the center point. This helps describe how there is a dip towards the core of the flower where the petals are connected. Also add shading to where the stem connects to the flower, this lets us know that the stem is further behind the petals and is connected underneath.

Final Step

Celebrate your drawing!

Yaay finished the drawing! Thank you so much for letting me share my love for drawing flowers with you! I really hope this was fun for you and maybe (just maybe) this tutorial has helped you realize that you can totally learn how to draw. I learned drawing at a later age so I know that this is a learn-able skill that anyone can pick up at any time (with effort, of course).

Check out more of the tutorial on the site! I've put lots of effort into creating these free resources because I want more people to fall in love with drawing. So feel free to share the link to this tutorial with friends :D That would be tremendously helpful to me on this mission to spread the love for drawing.

I have created a 20 page Printable Workbook (PDF) that will teach you how to draw different floral arrangements. I wanted to create something that could really speed up someone's learning and actually get them drawing. I poured tons of time into it to make it as useful as possible to someone who wants to capture the elegance and beauty of flowers, I would looove it if you grabbed your copy and drew with me some more!