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Simple Steps for Drawing a Wreath

by Krystal Whitten September 03, 2016 18 Comments

I'm back with my third post in the "How to Draw" series. (You can view the first two here and here.)

I love drawing wreaths but I find myself feeling really overwhelmed when I sit down to draw one. Where do I start? What do I draw? Too sparse? Too full?

Ok, well I'm breaking it down step by step today so if you're like me, you won't be overwhelmed any longer. But before we go any further, download your worksheet here.

Your worksheet shows you the collection of botanical elements in this wreath and gives you a place to practice them, as well as draw a wreath of your own.

How to Draw a Wreath Worksheet

Grab a bowl or some round object to trace - or use your worksheet for the time being.

Trace your bowl lightly with a pencil

Move the bowl slightly and trace it twice more, giving the wreath extra layers

When you add your elements, you'll want to remember the Rule of Threes. The rule basically means that elements of design are more pleasing to the eye and present an overall balanced look when they are grouped by threes.

Draw your first element - the laurel leaves - to the inside or outside of the wreath. Imagine three corners of a triangle inside your wreath, and place the laurels at each "corner."

Now imagine your triangle has rotated slightly to the left. Add your next element - a rose - on each "corner."

Continue adding elements in threes around your wreath. I like to "connect" mine into the circular lines because it anchors the elements instead of having them appear that they're floating.

Here's a closeup. At this point, you can start filling in random holes with other elements. Don't stress over it being perfectly symmetrical.

Next I added in small tulip-like flowers, and berry sprigs

After that I added some berry clusters and curly-cues

I finished it off with some single leaves

Once you're happy with your pencil sketch, get a pen and ink it in. This part goes pretty quickly.

When you're finished outlining your drawing, it'll look pretty good. But you still need to erase your pencil marks.

Take a good eraser (My favorite is the Tombow Mono NP eraser here) and erase your pencil drawing.

You're left with a nicely balanced wreath!

Don't forget to add some lettering!

Finish it with some colored pencils or markers - or draw it on watercolor paper and paint it!

Here's a picture of a similar wreath I drew in my Lettering Prayer Journal with watercolor.

Tools I Used

Sakura Micron Pen 01 (for wreath)
Tombow Fudenosuke Hard Tip Brush Pen
Canson XL Drawing Pad

I also enjoy using the Canson Marker Pad which is ultra smooth and so nice for markers and brush pens.

If you enjoyed this tutorial and want more like it, check out my new book Faith and Lettering: An Inspirational Guide to Creative Lettering & Journaling (Amazon link)

With love and lettering,

*Affiliate links are used in this post. If you try this out, post a picture of your drawing on Instagram using the #krystalwhittenblog tag! I can't wait to see.

Krystal Whitten

Author

18 Responses

Anosha

May 10, 2020

OMG thank you so much!!! this was so incredibly helpful!

Rebecca

February 22, 2019

Mary
I love the rock idea. I’ve been leaving scripture cards @random places but I like this idea a lot.

Good tutorial, too. Love drawing wreaths.

Mary Wasley

January 22, 2019

I put Scripture on rocks to leave in my community. Making it more attractive is an asset. Thank you!

Cathy

February 15, 2018

Thanks for sharing.

Dru

January 19, 2018

Thanks for your fun and inspiring tutorials!

Sophie

December 24, 2017

Thank you for an excellent tutorial.
May l have the name of the prayer journal and where l purchase it in Canada?
Merry Christmas
Sophie

Marta

November 27, 2017

Thanks for this post, it’s really helpful! xx

Lisa

September 09, 2017

thanks Kristen! I am doing some embroidering for my daughter’s wedding, first time with this new skill. I drew a wreath on some linen for a little tablecloth and start the stitching this weekend. Your instructions got me past a huge hurdle! I will post it when I’m finished for you! Lisa

Marion Van Eijsden

August 25, 2017

Thank you for all your sharing. I made my first one thanks to this tutorial and places it on instagram with your hastag.

George

July 05, 2017

I liked the technique employed. Thanks for sharing.

Angie

July 01, 2017

Very inspiring! I think I can do this!

Kaity

June 20, 2017

What’s the journal your using at the end?!

Jill

March 11, 2017

Thank you for this tutorial! It helped immensely and I’m so pleased with the results.

Erna

November 29, 2016

Lovely tutorial, and I appreciate the printouts which break down all the elements. Thank you.

graceroom

October 18, 2016

thank youa for the tutorial, I just learn about the the Rule of Threes.

Laura

September 29, 2016

Thank you for this! I’m pretty new to this lettering journey and have wanted to try a wreath, but wasn’t sure quite where to start. Thank you so much for the step by step directions!

Danelle Bancroft

September 25, 2016

Thank you for this gold mine! I just printed off all your freebies! Ordering my prayer journal now. Can’t wait to start!

Kayechamp

September 06, 2016

Thank you for this. Great idea to have sheet with the individual elements on it as a reference. I get stuck trying to figure out what to put in my wreath

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