Exercise 09 · Difficulty: Intermediate · About 15 minutes

Single tulip Grid Drawing Practice

Skills: Negative space · Directional curves

Compare three petal tips above a cup-shaped bloom, then follow two leaves with different directions. The empty wedges between the leaves and stem help you check their curves.

Practice Materials

Use a square frame with 4 × 4 matching cells. Draw on paper while keeping the reference beside you.

Original illustration of a pink cup-shaped tulip above a slender green stem and two long asymmetric leaves — Reference Image
Observe the whole silhouette before using the grid.
Download reference PNG

Grid Reference

Match the positions where curves cross cell edges.

Blank Grid

Keep the same frame proportions on your paper.

Download A4 worksheet Download Letter worksheet Edit worksheet

The PDF pairs a labeled reference with a matching blank grid. Print in landscape at actual size. Use the worksheet editor to change grid density, choose paper size or export a PNG.

01 — Mark Three Tips and the Cup Base

Place the central tip, then the two side tips. The central point is highest; the right and left tips are not at exactly the same height. Mark the bottom where the bloom meets the stem.

Compare the overall width between the side tips with the height down to the base. Draw a loose envelope before attempting the petal notches.

Three tip marks and a base mark establish the cup-shaped bloom.

02 — Round the Cup and Place the Petal Seams

Follow the outer edges as they narrow into the base. They should curve, not fall as straight sides into a flat rectangle. Leave room for the pale central petal.

Mark the two dips between the three tips. From those dips, follow the seams down toward the base; stop where the petal disappears instead of drawing a heavy line through every shape.

The seam guides descend from the two upper dips toward the base.

03 — Measure the Empty Wedges Beside the Stem

Sketch the stem’s direction, then locate the high left leaf tip and the lower right tip. The left leaf is long and upright; the right one reaches outward more directly.

Use a straight tip-to-attachment guide for each leaf, then curve its edges around that direction. Compare the open white wedges between leaf and stem so neither leaf crowds the other.

The straight guides are direction checks; draw curved leaf edges around them.

04 — Check Your Drawing

Compare the whole drawing before refining individual cells. Use these checks to locate the largest mismatch.

Is the flower a box with points on top?
Round the outer cup sides and narrow them toward the stem. Keep the base curved.
Is the center tip off to one side?
Compare it with the cup base, then check the two dip positions on either side.
Do the leaves have the same angle?
Recheck their very different tip heights and compare the white wedges beside the stem.

Practice This Exercise

Make a second attempt on paper. Choose a gridded reference or remove the grid to test the relationships you have learned.

Compare the three petal tips. Follow each leaf from its base to its pointed end.

Reference

Matching drawing grid

The PDFs use the standard grid. For the challenge, draw a square frame on plain paper. Open the editor if you want fewer cells for an intermediate step.

Edit worksheet

What You Practiced

Tip heights organize a cup-shaped bloom.
Petal seams converge toward a shared base.
Negative wedges reveal the direction of long leaves.

Keep both attempts and note one correction: what moved, and which comparison showed you where it belonged?

Learn the Technique

Measuring angles and negative shapes →Gesture and directional lines →

Continue Your Practice

Easy flower →Leaf sprig →Use your own reference in Grid Maker →

Reference: original DrawGrid illustration. Orange guides describe this reference and should be drawn lightly, then erased. Material source record