Wildlife art| animal art| bird art
  • Home
  • Original Artwork page 1
    • Original artwork page 2
    • Original artwork page 3
    • Original Artwork page 4
    • Original artwork page 5
    • Original artwork page 6
    • Original artwork page 7
    • None animal art >
      • Broken Gem heart
  • Videos
  • Tutorials
    • How to draw a Monarch Butterfly Wing
    • How to draw cat's eyes
    • How to draw owl eyes
    • How to draw feathers 1 (hummingbird/Jacamar type feathers)
    • How to draw feathers 2 (irregular feathers)
    • How to draw feathers 4 - parrot feathers
    • How to draw feathers 3 chest/breast feathers
    • How to draw feathers 5 - Wing feathers
    • Hummingbird Head Feathers
    • How to draw cat fur
    • How to draw chimpanzee fur
    • How to draw a grasshopper’s wing
    • How to draw fish scales
    • How to draw snake scales
    • How to draw lizard skin
    • How to draw fish fins
    • How to draw a gemstone
    • How to draw tree bark
    • How to draw rose gold
  • Tips and Techniques
    • How to get white
    • What pencils should I use?
    • All about sharpeners?
    • How to blend with colored pencil
    • How to burnish
    • Erasing colored pencil
    • How to mix colors
    • Keeping your work clean
    • Reference photos and copyright
    • What to draw
    • How to make your work look real
    • I can't draw
    • What paper should l use?
  • Blog
  • Prices
  • Contact

How to draw a Monarch Butterfly wing using colored pencils

My sketches for drawing are incredibly rough. I have only a very basic and badly drawn outline and draw most things in freehand as l go.
The reason for this is because if l draw in graphite it dirties the paper and muddies my colours. If l use carbon paper (which l do) it leaves lines that are hard to remove, so l use as few as possible.
So in photo one l started by using only two pencils- a white which you can’t see in the photo. I used heavy pressure to mark out the white spots. And a magenta to mark out a the outline and the veins.
​l chose magenta because if l used a darker colour like black or navy it would dirty the yellows and oranges as l work.
Then l added under layers of yellow and light orange.
Picture
Next l used a darker orange and magenta to start adding the shading. Then l redid the veins using magenta.
Picture
I then went over the whole wing with yellow to blend it all together again. Then used a darker orange where l wanted shading.
Picture
Next l added some hot pink to add a bit of vibrancy to the shaded areas.l also used a bright yellow to add the light line above the veins.
Picture
Now l use a darker red violet to define the veins more use darker colours and heavier pressure to build the colour.
Picture
Now l use a crimson and hot pink to really add depth, and definition. I use and indigo on the veins.
Picture
Now onto the outer wing. I use a base layer of orange and block out the bits I want to remain white using heavy pressure with my white pencil.
Picture
Now a layer of Magenta.
Picture
Then a layer of a darker red violet.
Picture
Now a layer of purple and l also redefine the veins using the same purple.
Picture
Next a layer of navy.
Picture
First layer of black.
Picture
Two more layers of black.
Picture
Finally more layers of black. Violet on the veins. A little cream and peach on the white spots and a few white highlights. I also used some more vibrant oranges on the inner wing at this point, as lots of color wears off as l work.
Picture
  • Home
  • Original Artwork page 1
    • Original artwork page 2
    • Original artwork page 3
    • Original Artwork page 4
    • Original artwork page 5
    • Original artwork page 6
    • Original artwork page 7
    • None animal art >
      • Broken Gem heart
  • Videos
  • Tutorials
    • How to draw a Monarch Butterfly Wing
    • How to draw cat's eyes
    • How to draw owl eyes
    • How to draw feathers 1 (hummingbird/Jacamar type feathers)
    • How to draw feathers 2 (irregular feathers)
    • How to draw feathers 4 - parrot feathers
    • How to draw feathers 3 chest/breast feathers
    • How to draw feathers 5 - Wing feathers
    • Hummingbird Head Feathers
    • How to draw cat fur
    • How to draw chimpanzee fur
    • How to draw a grasshopper’s wing
    • How to draw fish scales
    • How to draw snake scales
    • How to draw lizard skin
    • How to draw fish fins
    • How to draw a gemstone
    • How to draw tree bark
    • How to draw rose gold
  • Tips and Techniques
    • How to get white
    • What pencils should I use?
    • All about sharpeners?
    • How to blend with colored pencil
    • How to burnish
    • Erasing colored pencil
    • How to mix colors
    • Keeping your work clean
    • Reference photos and copyright
    • What to draw
    • How to make your work look real
    • I can't draw
    • What paper should l use?
  • Blog
  • Prices
  • Contact