How to Draw a Tulip in 3 Steps

Believe it or not, a tulip requires a cold winter season to thrive, so it does not grow in tropical climates. Tulips grow in a wide variety of bright colors including yellow, red, purple, orange, pink or a combination of colors such as red and yellow.

In this section, we'll show you how to draw the above tulip. You can draw this flower freehand while looking at your computer monitor or print out this page to get a closer look at each step.

Follow the red lines in each illustration to learn exactly what to draw in that step. The lines drawn in previous steps are shown in gray. Here, we'll show you an illustration of each step and then give you a description of how to draw it.

1. Draw the Outline

If you're careful, you can draw two tulips in only three steps. First, draw a straight stem for one tulip. Make the line for the left side half as long as the line for the right side.

On the left side of the stem, draw a large, curving leaf. At the bottom of the stem, draw another leaf shape. At the top, draw the sides of the tulip like an inverted bell.

Behind the right-hand leaf, draw another, curving stem with a tulip shape at the top. Behind the stem, draw another leaf curving upward between the two tulips.

2. Petals and Leaves

For the left-hand tulip, draw the outside petals with two wavy lines that curve downward toward the stem. Draw the inner petals with wavy lines. For the right-hand tulip, draw a center outside petal as a large oval.

Show that the petal is turning over by drawing another wavy line at the top. Draw in the remaining petals with wavy lines. Draw two tiny ovals for the center.

Show that the leaves are folded over by drawing curving lines for the front edges.

3. Details and Shading

Because this drawing has very little detail, shading is important. Darken the insides of the leaves with many long, fine lines. Use shorter lines to shade the curves in the outsides of the leaves.

Shade the stems with a few long lines. Shade the petals near the tips and around the bottoms.

Congratulations -- you conquered the tulip in three easy steps! In the next section, learn how to draw a spider plant.

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