Lichen Drawing
In this lesson, you will learn how to draw lichen, a fascinating type of fungus that often appears on trees and rocks. The process is straightforward, starting with outlines and moving on to details that will help your drawing look more complete. This lesson is designed to take about 30 minutes, giving you enough time to practice and refine your skills.
Drawing requires patience and practice. If things don’t turn out as expected, remember that it’s just paper, and you can always try again. Each attempt helps you improve, so keep at it! By focusing on the shapes and textures of lichen, you’ll gain a better understanding of how to represent natural elements in your artwork.
As you work through this lesson, you’ll develop your ability to create different types of lichen and add depth with shading. This practice will enhance your drawing skills and help you appreciate the beauty of nature in your art.
Materials
- Blank Paper
- Pencil
- Crayons or Colored Pencils
- Black Marker (optional)
To kick off your drawing, it’s a great idea to begin with simple outlines. This way, you can easily shape the lichen before adding any details. Once you have those outlines in place, you can start thinking about how to add some shading to give your drawing more depth and interest. If you want to get a better sense of the overall process, feel free to take a quick look at the drawing steps ahead of time. Are you excited to start creating? Let’s go!
Time Needed: 45 minutes
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Outline a Foliose Lobe
First, draw a wavy outline of a foliose lichen’s lobe.
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Form More Lobes
Draw more overlapping wavy lobes to form the main shape of a foliose lichen.
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Add the Apothecia
Create small circular clusters on the surface of the foliose lichen to draw the apothecia.
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Outline the Crustose Lichen
Form a bumpy outline of the crustose lichen.
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Add More Texture
Draw wavy, curling lines to create some texture to the surface of the crustose lichen.
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Draw the Fruticose Stem
Draw another lichen known as a fruticose by first forming its pointy stem branching into thinner strands.
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Create More Stems
Add more pointy fruticose stems branching outward similar to the illustration.
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Form the Tree Branch
Draw the outline of a tree branch. Then, add curved and wavy lines to form the rough, bark texture.
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Color the Lichen Drawing
First, color the foliose lichen with blue-green. Next, shade the foliose’s apothecia and the crustose lichen yellow. Then, shade the fruticose lichen light green. Finally, color the tree branch brown.
Lichen Drawing PDF Download
You can check out the link below to see or download this drawing lesson. The PDF is a handy resource for learning how to draw lichen. At the end of the PDF, you’ll find a coloring page with just the outlines and an extra exercise to spark your imagination!