This week's lesson is on drawing flowers.

I'm gonna use a daisy. :)

Most flowers may be begun and mapped out with a circle. Draw the basic shape of the center first and then the limits of the petals (see photo above). When looking at your flower you may notice that the petals do not form a perfect circle. Loosely sketch the little quirks and direction the petals are heading (as in photo below).

Look closely at your specimen.
Don't count and draw every petal - it'll take the fun out of drawing. I must confess, I rarely count anything unless it's really important. Notice that the petals growing toward you may look much shorter than the other petals. Also take a look at the the center - there is a neat spiral pattern that you may wish to sketch in.

If your flower is in a vase, the flower probably isn't standing straight up. If it's leaning over, don't let yourself draw a perfectly upright flower. That tilt could bring a flare of natural life to your work.

Add the details. No need to rush.
 
Add shadows and shading.

Shade the stem and leaves. (All the above photos were done in a black colored pencil, which is hard to completely erase. The one below is in a regular drawing pencil, and the last has black colored pencil for darker shading.)

As you fine-tune the flower, erase some of the extra-sketchy lines. If you have a B pencil, try darkening some of the shading, but not too much. Keep it light and delicate.

And after that's all done, top it off with the flower's name, the date, and your name.
  
VOILA!
You have drawn a flower!