How to Draw a Maple Leaf Step by Step

by easylinedrawing

This short tutorial shows how to draw a maple leaf in four steps with simple illustrated examples and quick explanations.

Maple leaves have a very interesting shape but one that also makes them a little more difficult to draw then some other leave types. To help this tutorial shows a fairly simple step by step approach to drawing one.

As with most tutorials here on EasyLineDrawing it’s recommended that you start it in pencil and make light liens that you can easily erase in case of a mistake. You can darken them after you have all parts of the leaf outlined.

Step 1 – Draw the Veins/Midrib/Petiole

Start by drawing the petiole (part that attaches the leaf to the branch), midrib and the main veins. These will then work as guides for outlining the shape of the maple leaf.

Firs Draw the petiole/midrib and afterwards draw the primary veins (two on each side). These veins should all start from the same point where the petiole transitions into the midrib.

Draw each of these parts with a slightly curved or even wavy shape to make them look more natural (as opposed to just straight lines).

Step 2 – Draw the Outline of the Leaf

Around the veins/midrib draw the outer shape of the leaf as shown in the example above. The leaf should be split into five main parts. Two smaller ones at the bottom and three larger ones that each split into three more.

Step 3 – Draw the Smaller Veins & Finish the Line Drawing

After you finish drawing the outline of the leaf add the smaller and medium sized veins. The medium sized veins should generally go towards one of the tips while the small veins can be placed fairly randomly.

After you are done adding the leaf’s various parts go over your drawing with a black/marker or darker pencil lines. Optionally you can also make the main outline of the leaf thicker than the smaller details.

Step 4 – Color the Maple Leaf

Use pretty much anything you like to color the leaf (markers, colored, pencils, paints, pastels, etc…). Generally you will want to make it either red (as in this example) green, or yellow. Depending on weather you want a summer or a fall leaf. You can also try and color it several different colors that transition between green, yellow and/or red.

In case of a simple red leaf like this one you can make the midrib/primary veins a slightly lighter color such as orange or yellow.

Conclusion

A maple leaf has a very interesting shape which makes it quite popular and fun to draw. While it can be a little more complex than some other leaves you can make the drawing process a little easier by applying the step by step method used in this tutorial.

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