Paint a leaf with fewer veins

Set up your study

Download the Fern Study palette below, or copy its six hex colors. Use a comfortable sketch canvas and a familiar brush; no premium brush is required. The featured illustration is a visual starting point, not a result you need to copy exactly.

Try it in four steps

1. Draw three different leaf silhouettes in mid-green. Vary their width and the curve of the stem.
2. Add a darker shape on one side of each leaf, following its overall bend.
3. Draw one central vein in a lighter green. Add only two short side veins on the largest leaf.
4. Leave the smallest leaf without any veins and compare how well it reads.

Check your result

At thumbnail size, the three silhouettes should remain distinct. Remove interior marks that compete with the outer shape.

Change one thing

Try one folded leaf by placing a narrow dark wedge beside its central vein.