In this tutorial you’ll learn a simple way to draw a Dandelion’s Seedhead (Pappus.) It’s the final form the Dandelion flower takes after its petals wither. Its seeds held by fluffy heads that are blown by wind to their new home.

Other than a relastic depiction of the Dandelion Seedhead, you’ll learn a stylized (and easy) way to draw them. Below you’ll find a Step by Step Guide using Clip Studio Paint.

Step 1: The Form's Outline

This step isn’t needed but is helpful if you’re a beginner. First you draw a circle to be the Head of the flower, and then connect a curvy line starting from it’s lower center to be the Stem.

Throughout this Tutorial I’ll use the Pen tool (G-pen) on Vector Layers. You can follow with whatever tools you wish.

After that, you lower the opacity of this outline layer. Since it’s a Vector Layer I’ll change the color too using the Layer Properties.

Step 2: The Puffball

Each seedhead of a Dandelion is a fluffy parachute connected to a seed under it. In this stylized rendition, you won’t draw much of the seed. The heads however are star-like. So we’ll draw messy star-like shapes for each head.

The smaller these stars are, the more realistic the end result will be.

Fill the outline you made in the first step with these messy star shapes. Leave some white space between some of them.

After that, fill the white space you left between them with smaller, messier star shapes.

Below you’ll find a drawing with my steps for drawing the star shapes of different types.

Step 3: Finishing Up

After finishing the head, you add the stem and the leaves.

The stem is follows the curvy line we added in the outline in the beginning, but it starts from one of the lower star shapes instead of the lower center of the flower head.

The leaves of the dandelion are big and layered with a pointy head. I recommend looking for references if you’re unsure how to draw them.

Then you could add a flying seed or two. The drifting seeds are the pinnacle of the dandelion’s beauty.

Finally, you can add a background. Dandelions drawn in this style work best when colored white above a darker background.

While the drawing is finished at this point, you could do much more by adding a background and/or changing layer colors.

Thank You

This is a pretty basic Tutorial, so thanks for following it. If you enjoy this tutorial consider following me on Twitter/X: @ahmadmanga and checking out my website ahmadmanga.net

 

For now, I leave you until we meet again in another tutorial.