Peggy Dean - Botanical Line Drawing: 200 Step-by-Step Flowers, Leaves, Cacti, Succulents, and Other Items Found in Nature

Acknowledgments

The amount of love and support Ive received from so many creatives has opened the door for my little passion project to blossom (pun intended) into print. Inspiration is everywhere, and I cant thank this community enough for letting me share your journey with you. Thank you to my amazing wife and family for letting me live a creative, unstructured life so I could bloom (another pun intended) into an artist. Thank you to God, Mother Nature, science, whatever you believe in, for putting such beauty on this earth that we can see, smell, touch, taste, and hear every day. What a beautiful, beautiful world. To my agent Carrie Howland (and Andy Barzvi), thank you for pushing me to my highest potential and not letting me stand in my own way. Thank you to my team at Ten Speed Press for their passion in exposing this project to more of the world, and to Tyler Spencer for some phenomenal design edits. Without you guyswell, you know.

About the Author

Peggy is a self-taught artist who is proud to offer a non-conventional method of accessible education to anyone who wants to thrive in the art scene. She believes that more than anything art is about empowering oneself and being proud of something youve created with your hands. She is an award-winning educator, and her unique approach has landed her an interview on the Today Show , amongst several other news outlets. Living her passion has allowed her to spend more time with her family in the Pacific Northwest, surrounded by the most beautiful nature in the world.

Resources

Although botanical line drawing doesnt take special tools, you may still wonder about some of the best material options. This is a quick guide for you!

PENS

If you plan on including any watermedia (watercolors) with your illustration, you want to make sure that the ink you use doesnt bleed. It wouldnt matter much if you were drawing over watercolor, but often times, folks draw their flowers and then go back to add color. There are some permanent archival pens out there that will help you achieve this. They are fast drying and dont react to water.

The first Ill mention is the well-known Micron pen. This pen comes in a large variety of tip sizes so you can grab what suits your fancy. The lower the number, the smaller the tip.

The Pigeon Letters has a line of permanent archival pens called Monoline Studio. These are similar to Microns and come in sizes 01, 03, and 05. They also have a little window in the cap that lets you see the tip!

If youre not worried about archival-quality pens, anything will doand I mean anything! Grab a ballpoint pen, a felt marker, a pencil, even a random crayon! The idea is to get to drawing. Doodle anytime, anywhere.

PAPER

Paper is another consideration if youre using watermedia with your illustrations. Stick to mixed media (usually 98lb) or watercolor paper (140lb or higher). These papers are built to withstand water.

If youre just looking to draw, there are a variety of drawing papers you might see (oftentimes, these are targeted toward fine artists who draw with graphite and charcoal, so its not made for line drawing but works great). For practicing, I love Rhodia pads. They come in many sizes and even have guides if you want them, although I opt for the blank pads. This paper is pretty thin, though, so if youre going for something more finished, look for Bristol paper. Its a nice, thick paper with a smooth finish.

Thats it! I advise you to simply start with what you havea napkin and crayon will do. Okay, its not ideal, but you get the idea. Happy drawing!

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FINISHED!

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FINISHED!