Draw Like an Artist: 100 Flowers and Plants

"Draw Like an Artist: 100 Flowers and Plants" by Melissa Washburn is a very detailed drawing book for all things flora. It has 50 step-by-step flower variations she teaches you how to draw, then 20 vines, leaves and trees, and closes out with another 30 "other plants" such as mint, bamboo, prickly pear, and many others.

I think the power of this book is the extensiveness of it. There are so many different plants you can draw from this guide. The introduction, how to use this book, and tips for line control are all excellent resources for any aspiring artists learning to sketch and draw plants.

Practicing these many different and unique types of botanical sketches would keep one busy for a while, further adding to the worth of a unique book like this in your personal library.

I received this eBook free of charge from Quarto Publishing Group – Quarry Books via NetGalley in exchange for a fair and honest review. I did not receive any fiscal compensation from either company for this review and the opinions expressed herein are entirely my own.

Draw Like an Artist: 100 Flowers and Plants is a great art book for beginners or class rooms. There are some good techniques and advice offered in this book.

I'm a pretty poor artist but would love to be able to draw, so I have a small collection of books which give guidance on drawing techniques. I can honestly say this is the best I've come across. It begins with advice on what to use and how to grip your pencil, and goes on to basic drawing techniques - observe, draw the outline, refine and fill in. The tone is friendly and helpful and you can really feel the author's enthusiasm.

After the introduction there are many examples of how to draw individual plants - usually 6 sketches per plant, from basic outline to finished drawing. The steps are easy to follow and understand. I can see where I've been going wrong - the outline is vastly important (e.g. it had not occurred to me that a fern leaf is a big triangle!).

Although the author is American, the plants used in the book were mostly familiar, although some such as rubber plant and aloe are usually found as houseplants in the UK. There was no 'plant discrimination' and quite a few weeds were featured. I'm looking forward to trying the dandelion as our garden has quite a few!

Thanks for the publisher and Netgalley for the digital copy.

I thought that this book provided great and helpful examples for people wanting to play around with botanical drawing. I added sketches to my nature journal using the helpful models here.

Draw like an artist: 100 flowers and plants provides step-by-step instructions on how to draw flowers and plants.

The book is divided into three sections:
Section 1 has 50 flowers like tulips, marigold, rose and hibiscus
Section 2 has 20 vines, leaves and trees, including willow, maple, and magnolia
Section 3 has 30 of other plants including bamboo,chive, palm and fern.

Most of them have six to eight steps till completion.

I really do feel that this book helps me to draw better flowers and plants, and am attaching a pic of my drawings done by following the instructions.

The more detailed ones can be a bit more difficult to follow though (example: the rose!) because of all the confusing lines. However, as with everything else, patience and practice can only result in better drawings. As you sketch along and learn how to start with basic shapes and how to fill up those shapes, you can even go on to draw other flowers and plants not featured in the book.

With so many people doing nature, art and bullet journals nowadays, this book would be great to help them draw flowers and plants to be proud of!

Thank you to Netgalley and Quarry for this ARC given to me in exchange for an honest review.

Draw Like an Artist: 100 Flowers and Plants is a step by step tutorial guide to drawing botanical subjects. Due out 25th June 2019 by Quarto on their Walter Foster imprint, it's 112 pages and will be available in paperback format. Author Melissa Washburn is a professional artist and illustrator and her tutorials are clear and pretty easy to follow.

This guide provides a short introduction followed by 100 specific line drawing tutorials (see cover) arranged by different species and type of plant. The tutorial pages are similar to the drawings on the cover and have 3-6 steps each.

There is no index in the eARC I received for review, however the table of contents is quite detailed and specific. This is a very bare bones streamlined collection. There is no detailed written instruction here, just the line drawings with refinements.

Three and a half stars. This is for artists who know how to draw and need some help with perspective, composition, and positioning.

This is a great reference book for anyone wanting to draw realistic flowers and foliage. Particularly good for illustrators, artists, and anyone just beginning to draw. All the tips and instructions are at the beginning and all the plant drawings are literally step by step sketches, which is brilliant. The contents pages lists all the plants covered in the book so it is easy to find what you want draw. Overall a great reference book resource.

I’m pleased with the simple way this book is laid out and the detailed illustrations are very easy to follow. The “drawing the negative space” concept is very helpful. I plan to add more variety to the plants in my paintings and this gives me a lot to work with.

A lovely, simple instruction on how to draw plants, leaves and flowers. From maple leaves, tulips, lavender and strawberry plants.

Perfect, clear illustrations to show how to do simple yet beautiful line drawings. Just right for a beginner

This is a fantastic how-to book for anybody who'd like to learn to draw all kinds of flowers and plants. Black and white sketches show how to simply draw the outline of each flower, leaf, tree, etc. first with basic shapes and then fill it out and perfect it with detail. Each one has about 4 illustrations that demonstrate quite well how you can move from basic ovals and lines to incredibly realistic plants, from coneflowers to lilacs to oak leaves. So many drawing tutorial books seem to require either years of training or supernatural art skills, but the author shows how anyone can draw flowers and plants by just taking enough time and attention and following her steps. This is a really lovely book and one I'm considering buying for our family.

My rating system:
1 = hated it
2 = it was okay
3 = liked it
4 = really liked it
5 = love it, plan to purchase, and/or would buy it again if it was lost

I read a temporary digital ARC of the book for the purpose of review.

Draw Like an Artist: 100 Flowers and Plants provides a step by step guide to drawing plants and flowers. The author, Melissa Washburn, is a professional artist and illustrator and her tutorials in this book are clear and simple. Each flower and plant is shown in the various drawing stage. I would probably give this one five stars if there was a little more explanation of the steps and some color. The book did make me feel that I could actually learn to draw though, which is exactly what I hoped for.

Thanks to Netalley for providing me with a free digital ARC of this one, in exchange for an honest review.

I love painting but I can't draw at all. This book is great for me! This book is simple yet clear without written instructions for each piece. There are many designs to copy and since there are no words there is no need to read detailed instructions that are hard to understand. I also like that there are general technique directions that are applicable to all the pieces and just drawing in general.

This book was very helpful. I’m definitely in no way at all an artist. This broke it down simply so I could at least get a general idea sketched into my iPad and then I couldbperfect it. Had fun!

I received an advance copy of this book from Net Gallery in exchange for an honest review.
A talented artist once told me that drawing is a skill, not a talent and that anyone can draw if they just practice. This book is an ideal way to practice your drawing skills of plants, flowers and leaves.
Each item is deconstructed into 6-8 step by step sketches. They are a simple yet accurate representations of botanicals. There is no coloration of the drawings, but I like that as it lets me experiment with my own technique without influence.
This is the perfect tutorial for creating a travel journal or a nature sketchbook,

Draw Like an Artist: 100 Flowers and Plants: Step-by-Step Realistic Line Drawing * A Sourcebook for Aspiring Artists and Designers by Melissa Washburn is a book I requested from NetGalley and the review is voluntary. This is such a perfect book for learning how to draw flowers, and there is so many flowers to learn! It is absolutely fabulous! They are all step-by-step with loads of instructions and illustrations! The drawings are clear to understand as well as the instructions. Wow, I was just blown over by the total amount of flowers too! Wonderful book! I plan to get this myself! This is for beginners but others may benefit too!

This is a great reference book for a variety of realistic floral and botanical vine images. There are a few pages of tips but the book really is filled with images. The steps are broken down to start with the basic shapes so your eye can really see how the flowers are built up. Then a flower is drawn in, it is nice to see the layers.

I am only a hobbyist, but I think the results I was able to produce first time after flipping through the book are satisfying(even good enough to share here). This is a bit more detailed than the doodle type flowers I have been doing.

This also seems like the perfect compliment to the watercolor books that start with “first, draw the flower” and then jump right into painting(which are great exactly what they should be) but it is nice to have a little more sometimes. Thanks to the publisher and net galley for the digital ARC to review.

This book is an art instruction book on using graphite pencil to draw realistic flowers and plants. After the brief introduction to her method, the author provided step-by-step drawings for one plant per page. There's no text, just 6-8 easy-to-follow steps leading from basic shapes to help block in symmetry, angles, and positions to adding details and cleaning up the guidelines. The author demonstrated how to draw a wide variety of flower and plant types so you can apply the lessons from one flower (or leaf, etc.) to similar flowers.

She covered 50 flowers and flowering plants, 20 vines, leaves, and trees, and 30 succulents, herbs, grasses, etc. I liked her clear illustrations, and I feel like I better understand how to use her method than some that I've learned. Overall, I'd recommend this book to those wanting to improve or learn how to draw flowers.

Let's draw
"Draw Like an Artist: 100 Flowers and Plants. Step-by-Step Realistic Line Drawing. A Sourcebook for Aspiring Artists and Designers" by Melissa Washburn was published by Quarto Publishing Group - Quarry. Washburn gives a brief introduction and states in regard to the use of the book: "There are many tools, media, and styles in which to draw flowers and plants. This book uses some techniques I have learned over the years and will show you the methods I have found most useful for understanding the basics of drawing realistically. The figures and steps can be copied directly to achieve a finished drawing, and the process and method can be used for drawing many other subjects, whether plants, animals, or anything else." She also provides a list with suggested materials and touches subjects such as the basic drawing process and tips for better line control before providing the step-by-step drawings. These are grouped into three sections: 1) Flowers and flowering plants, 2) Vines, Leaves, and Trees, and 3) Other Plants.
I have to confess that I am an absolute amateur when it comes to drawing and I have been impressed by the book. The step-by-step designs are really an inspiration and the number of them is absolutely inspiring. Every plant, may it be a common or an unique one is presented with up to six sketches which will be really a help for the aspiring artist. I highly can recommend this book for beginners and advanced artists who like to engage in drawing.
The complimentary copy of this book was provided by the publisher through NetGalley free of charge. I was under no obligation to offer a positive review. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.
#DrawLikeAnArtist100FlowersAndPlants #NetGalley

This is a really helpful book. As someone who is trying to learn to draw I think this is really useful and a great learning tool. It doesn't feel overwhelming or like it will be too hard, which is sometimes rare to find in books like this.

This was an amazing book on drawing that does exactly what it promises to do: it supplies easy to follow step-by-step realistic line-drawing examples for creating 100 flowers and plants that look amazingly realistic.

Starting out with the most simplistic of initial images, the authors shows you how to refine them in five, six, or seven simple steps to turn it from a crude blob outlining what you want, into an ornate flower, of from a spike into an detailed leaf, and so on. Page after page of these examples painstaking outlined (and then filled in!) in simple steps. Yes, they're drawn by an artist, but I'd be willing to bet that any budding artist who works through this book, follows the advice, and copies these examples will be turning out an end result that looks remarkably like the images depicted in this book. I commend it.

This book is best described as a visual guide to drawing 100 different flowers and plants. There are some basic guidelines in the introduction, but most of the book is dedicated to sequential line drawings that show how each of the flowers can be achieved in pencil. Since it's probably a fair assumption that many, or most, artists would be visual learners, I think this guide will serve its practical purpose for most. For those looking for more written explanation, or variations in technique and materials this could still be a useful back to basics supplement to a more exhaustive book.

Thanks to NetGalley for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Draw Like an Artist: 100 Flowers and Plants by Melissa Washburn published by Quarto Publishing Group - Quarry is an amazing and helpful guide to draw 100 different flowers and plants.

As someone who loves art and who loves to draw, this book is an asset for me.

The book teaches us to draw 100 different flowers and plants in basic steps. It is shown so simply that I doubt any reader will have any difficulty understanding these steps.

I had so much fun going through this book. I have already tried drawing a flower according to the steps given in this book. Loved doing that! Soon, I am going to draw other flowers given in this book too.

I really enjoyed it so I highly recommend this to anyone who loves art and loves to sketch.

I was provided an e-ARC by the publisher through Netgalley.

If you want to learn to draw botanically accurate plants, this book is for you. This book goes beyond the typical learn-to-draw book. Knowing the biological structure of a plant makes for a more realistic drawing .This books teaches you the plants structure as well as the bloom. Leaf shapes are explored as well as the make- up of the bloom. If you prefer vines rather than flowers, they are included as well. With the knowledge in this book, you can create beautiful, authentic botanical, prints. I received a free copy of this book and am voluntarily writing this review.

I'm no artist, but I'm aspiring to be and this book informs me that following instructions from it I can draw flowers and plants like one and so I immediately gave it a try. Hmm! Not bad actually. Definitely not like an artist but I did produce two very passable pen and ink sketches with not a lot of effort and I'm raring to do others. There are written guidelines and tips for technique at the beginning of the book and then an extensive selection of plants and flowers to choose from. Each one has approximately six to eight step-by step pictures to guide you (see the front cover of the book for an indication of what's inside it), however no further written instructions. Instructions are clear and easy to follow. A great book for a beginner like me.

Many thanks to Netgalley for a copy of this ARC for which I have given my voluntary and unbiased review.

The book Draw Like An Artist by Melissa Washburn gives some excellent tips for drawing different types of plant. These directions give broad tips with images as well as more defined specific directions for shading. I’m so excited about this book because I see so many students that have the desire to draw but have never been taught the basics—and with the illustrated pictures I can see their art potential blossoming along with their confidence. Love the book!

Easy step-by-step illustrations on how to draw many flowers and plants. Enough to keep you drawing for hours. This would be a good reference book to have on hand if you find yourself needing to draw certain flowers or would just like to practice.

This book was super easy to follow. All instructions were done in simple illustrations. I am sure if you sat down and practiced you could draw any flower or plant in this book very well with the illustrations provided.

Awesome book! Love the many detailed step-by-step illustrations and really learned a lot from this author/artist!

Loved this,. It has very good instruction, attention to detail and is easy to follow. As a novice artist it is easy to learn from. I would definitely recommend this book to anyone that drawing doesn’t come naturally to!

After a very brief introduction explaining how the author became an artist and illustrator and how to use the book effectively, the reader is guided step by step how to approach drawing one hundred different plants and flowers. She suggests using graphite pencils, felt tip pens or brush pens. The three main tutorial sections are Flowers and flowering plants; Vines, leave and trees; and Other plants. The simplicity of the steps gives you the confidence to have a go. A great teaching resource. Thank you to Net Galley and the publisher, Quarry Books, Quarto Group for an ARC.

This is brilliant!

I was convinced that everyone else but me could draw beautiful flowers but this is so easy to follow! I use them mostly in my journal and love how creative I feel!

Being a homeschool mom, I'm always looking for different ways to spark my children's creativity and interest. For a long time, they've enjoyed drawing and illustrating as they learn. But all of us get a little frustrated with our own limited experience. So we decided to give this book a shot. Divided into three sections (flowers, vines and trees, other plants), there were a large variety of plants to choose from and each was sketched out in 6-8 easy to follow steps. I especially appreciated how the author drew guidelines in the beginning to get the symmetry, and then later filled in the individual shapes. The author also took the time to explain elements like line thickness and negative space, concepts that can be used in other realistic drawings as well. We love practicing our artistry and how to better illustrate these plants in our notebooks. I would prefer this book in print format, but the digital is nice as well. There is plenty in this volume to keep us growing and learning for some time to come.

*Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book from the publisher. All opinions are my own.

This is a fabulous step by step instructional book for learning to draw flowers and plants. From a couple of circles and a line to an in-depth plant. This is great for the non-artist to see how this is done. I found myself being able to draw flowers in a way I never thought possible. I enjoyed seeing the change from one step to the next instead of just being told how to draw it.

This book helped to bring the mystique to drawing to a level even a beginner can understand. Pick it up and practice, practice, practice.


I received an ARC from Quarto Publishing through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. This in no way affects my opinion or rating of this book.

Draw Like an Artist: 100 Flowers and Plants is a wonderful book. For those of us who would like to learn to draw flowers and plants who have not had a formal education in drawing this book is great! Each page is filled with a different flower or plant. The guide is completely visual. There a drawings from the rudimentary beginning of each drawing to the completion. It is simple, visual and very inspiring. You can use these ideas on paper, fabric, and anything else you can dream up.
I would like to thank Quarto Publishing, the author and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This book does a great job breaking down each step in drawing a variety of flowers. I love doodle sketching and have been able to pick up some good tips on forming petals that look like there's structure to them. Have been having a lot of fun drawing bouquets and adding little decorations to cards!

The step-by-steps in this book are easy enough for even a beginner to follow, which was definitely helpful. Washburn also takes the time to go over materials, which is important when someone is just learning how to draw. I do not think any of the flowers, vines, etc., were so simplistic that anyone not on a beginner level would feel like they were wasting their time; if anything, the book is probably more targeted to someone on the intermediate level. Washburn just managed to successfully break down the steps enough that a beginner could follow along.

I always feel the need to point this out. The book is themed. If someone isn't interested in drawing plants, this is not the book for them. That being said, if someone is interested in expanding their skill set, sometimes going outside the comfort zone of what you want to be drawing is key.

This book provides a step by step guide on how to draw a variety of different flowers and plants. It ideal for those who are beginners.

There are three main sections: Flowers & flowering plants, Vines, leaves and trees and finally Other plants, alongside an Introduction on how to use the book, suggested materials and the basic drawing processes. Once this section is over, the book jumps straight into the images you can draw.

Each black and white pencil image comes with around six or seven steps to create the flower or plant, building up the image in stages until it resembles a flower. I had a go at a number of the images in the book, and whilst I'm no Van Gogh, they did look better than anything I would have drawn before!

I'd certainly recommend this book for anyone starting out and quite sure my daughter would find it useful as she likes drawing plants quite often using this type of stage by stage method.

I received this book from Netgalley in return for a honest review.

This is really helpful in learning how to draw flowers, leaves and some plants in very easy steps. There is a few techniques mentioned in the beginning with a short exercise explanation. Definitely the book for anyone who wants to start drawing flowers and plants.

Thank you Netgalley for providing me with the digital copy for an honest review.

Draw Like an Artist: 100 Flowers and Plants is a great instructional book with detailed how to to get you started and as a refresher. It is very detailed and easy to follow.

I was provided this ARC in exchange for my honest opinion. So, if you want an easy to follow instructional book this is the one for you, highly recommend.

A lovely book with loads of different examples of plants and flowers. I love drawing and painting botanicals, it is so nice to have step by step guidance through the most popular kinds.
There is a little text to explain how to draw, materials etc. but once you get to the "meat", its all gorgeous drawings.

I just adore these types of books. This one in particular is amazing, I love how it really explains what to do not just "and voila you're done'.

This is such a helpful book for beginners and not so beginners. You can get a lot of ideas for botanical drawings. Plus they easy to follow! Might hava to snatch a copy myself :)

Draw Like An Artist: 100 Flowers and Plants is an excellent book for beginners but I think even experienced artists interested in increasing their abilities in drawing flowers and plants will benefit from this book. The author provides really great multiple picture examples breaking down the process for each plant and flower. I highly recommend this book!

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the ARC! The opinions in this review are honest and my own. #DrawLikeAnArtist100FlowersAndPlants #nonfiction #drawing

Draw like an artist is on my to be purchased list. I love to purchase any drawing book to carry with me to draw on the go. I loved the step by step, simple and easy instructions for drawing 100 flowers and plants. All the leaves and fern techniques and the details that you can add simply make this an excellent resource for drawing backgrounds and nature scenes. I love that it starts with basic shapes and I can create a simple flower or add more to it and make it have more depth. These techniques are great for cards, scrapbook pages, drawing, watercolor, acrylics and many other media techniques. This will be a staple how to book! Thank you for the opportunity to review.

I received an ARC of this book from Quarto Publishing Group-Quarry via NetGalley, this review is my personal opinion.

What I like about this book gives is that you exactly what the title says, step by step how to draw flowers and plants. You can see that this book it's a work of art and love, Melissa Washburn gives so many options that you can you choose on which one you are going to focus first. So, no matter if you are an artist or maybe if you are like me trying to learn how to draw well. This book it's a great choice.