How to Draw a Magnolia

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. Top Guideline

To start our magnolia drawing we will put down some guidelines to help use define the proportions and size of the flower. This will help us understand the placement of the flower on the page and make all the later steps much easier. Draw a horizontal line towards the top of page that will define the highest point on the flower.

Make sure to use the diagrams to help you understand where we are headed and dont be shy about erasing! Correcting lines when you arent satisfied with the result is a great habit to get into.

Step 2. Diagonals

Add diagonal lines from the edges of the horizontal line that move down and away from the center.

Step 3. Left Diagonal

Add a longer diagonal line coming from the end of the left line that moves towards the center but stops before it comes completely center. Notice how this line comes further down the page compared to the last line.

Step 4. Right Diagonal

Add a similar line to the right side, make sure these two lines do not touch. There should be space between these two lines.

Step 5. Bottom Line

Complete the diamond like shape by connecting the two lines with a horizontal line.

Step 6. First Petal

Now that we have our guidelines in place we will begin constructing the petals. Try to get the placement and angles of these petals as close to the example as possible. Remember to erase if you need to! Starting on the left side, we draw a diagonal line moving up towards the right. Use the diagram to help you see the placement of the line!

Step 7. Curve

Now we add a line that angles downward from the last one, these two lines defines the top curve of this petal.

Step 8. Edge Line

Now we add the edge of the petal by drawing a diagonal line that is slightly curved and attaches at the base. Notice how we are starting with the petal that is closest to use because it will cover up parts of the petals that are behind it.

Step 9. Second Petal

To start the second petal we draw a line moving up towards the right from the last petal. Start this line partway up the edge line of the last petal.

Step 10. Curve Edge

Finish this petal by curving over the top of the petal and then running the line against the guidelines. Pay attention to how this petal is taller than the first one.

Step 11. Middle Petal

Add a petal that sits in the middle behind the two petals we just completed. Try to get the intersections of these lines in the right place, I know this can be quite challenging at first but getting each line correctly will make it easier down the road. I really like using guidelines because it helps me place these lines correctly in a way that is consistent and dependable.

Step 12. Left Petal

Add another petal to the left side that runs along the guideline, is curved on the outside and more steep on the inside. Note that this petal has a sharp tip because we only see part of this petal.

Step 13. Outer Petal

Now we will add a petal that is outside of the initial guidelines, draw a small diagonal line coming down from the right side of the flower. Make sure to start this line pretty high up on the flower.

Step 14. Complete Petal

Draw a curving line that connects the previous line to the base of the flower, try to capture a similar curve to the drawing below.

Step 15. Sharp Petal

Now we will add a petal on the left side that is outside the guidelines. Draw a sharp triangle that juts out of the flower, dont connect this triangle to the base, make sure to connect it to the front most petal.

Step 16. Edge Line

Draw a line from the tip of the sharp triangle that curves down to the base. This makes it look like the petal is curved around and we can see both the inside and the outer side of the petal.

Step 17. Tiny Petal

Now that we have all the big petals complete lets fill in some of the spaces in the middle. add a small triangular shape between the two petals on the right side.

Step 18. Erase & Cleanup

Erase away the guidelines and redraw any flower lines that accidentally got lightened. I am using a kneadable eraser which is a puddy/playdough like eraser that you can mold into whatever shape you want. I prefer these erasers because they dont leave any shavings :D.

Step 19. Last Petal

Add a tiny petal on the left side of the flower, with this petal we have completed the construction of the flower petals! :D

Step 20. Base Bulb

Draw a semi circle at the base of the flower that curves downwards. This is where the flower petals connects and attaches to the stem. Most flowers have a similar set up where the petals grow out from a central point, notice how the edge lines of the petals flow away from this point. Keeping things like this in mind will help you draw flowers from imagination once you’ve gotten more comfortable putting down lines.

Step 21. Stem

Add two vertical lines that are slightly curved and misshapen for the stem, dont draw these too straight because that will make it feel unnatural.

Step 22. Nubs

Add tiny nubbins on the side of the stem to give it a little more character.

Step 23. Shading Lines

Add a few shading lines to the middle petal that are close to the base. These help define the form of the petal

Step 24. Shade

Add similar shading to the rest of the petals by focusing on the corners and the areas close to the base. Add shading to stem right before it connects to the base of the flower.

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 learnable 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!