Botanical Drawing II: Shading & Structure

You’ve built a strong foundation in Botanical Drawing I, learning to see, structure, and create form using only line. Now, it’s time to expand your understanding of depth and dimension by exploring light, shadow, and value. This course takes the next step in your artistic journey, sharpening your ability to see subtle shifts in light and shadow while deepening your focus and observational skills. Using graphite, you’ll explore grayscale rendering and value mapping, learning to blend smooth transitions between highlights, midtones, and shadows, resulting in refined, visually rich botanical drawings that convey structure and realism. Nature remains our greatest teacher. Together, we’ll observe how light sculpts botanical forms, sketch directly from life, and refine our understanding of contrast. You’ll create a personal value finder, experiment with artistic tools, and gain confidence in shading in a supportive, engaging environment where curiosity and practice make learning fun. Now that you’ve learned to build form with line alone, you’ll be adding another layer of understanding with expert guidance and feedback along the way. Let’s keep growing — one line, one shadow, one discovery at a time! Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden strives to be a Garden for all and we are committed to offering diverse adult learning opportunities that are inclusive and accessible to all learners. If you would like to request an accommodation to support your participation in an adult learning opportunity at the Garden, please contact [email protected] or call 804-262-9887 x328 and we will make our best effort to help.