My name is Saana Khaan, and I work at the Museum as a scientific assistant. I frequently write and illustrate children’s science books and websites. In a few simple measures, I’ll teach you how to draw a scientific Drawing of a monarch butterfly. How to draw a butterfly.
Rather than taking photos of their specimens, scientists tend to draw them. What is the reason for this? You can draw when you want?
Remove any distracting backgrounds to reveal a lot more details.
Ensure that the colors are accurate.
Display your topic from the perspective you like.
Since you took the time to draw your subject, you learned a lot about it.
What You’ll Need
for how to draw butterfly: following requirements to be needed.
Print out the outline of a king!
materials for research: Collect monarch butterfly color images and drawings.
1 (#3) rough pencil for tracing: Hard pencils produce soft, light lines and are excellent for tracing.
1 soft pencil (#1 or #2) for tracing the outline and filling in the blanks: Soft pencils produce thick, dark lines and are ideal for tracing a thicker outline.
4 completely different colored pencils (tan and orange for the monarch, light-weight and dark inexperienced for the background).
a sheet of paper for drawing
1 pink pearl eraser: in case something goes wrong!
A magnifying glass (optional) can be found for a few dollars at any stationery store and will allow you to look more closely and see more detail.
What to Do
Learn how to draw a butterfly by following these steps!
Step 1: Do some research.
Look for exquisite photos or drawings of monarchs in books and magazines like Natural History and National Geographic. You may conduct your research in a library or online.
TIP: The most realistic color representation comes from a combination of scientific illustrations and photos. Examining pictures of monarchs from various perspectives and in various poses can help you create a more lifelike painting.
Step 2: Developing Observational Skills
Examine your sources carefully to improve your observation abilities and knowledge of monarchs.
Take note of the butterfly’s details: how to draw a butterfly
What is the size of the body? What kind of shape is it?
What happened to the wing patterns? Are there any veins visible?
What happened to the eyes? What form do they have?
When you draw, lightbulbs go off. You become aware of things that you would not have seen otherwise!
Step 3: Tracing
Before you begin, take a minute to study the image you’ll be drawing. (Here it is again in case you forgot to print it.)
Hold the printed outline up to a window for a better view. The brighter the day, the better!
Stack the blank pages on top of each other.
Lightly trace over the outline and all of the features of the butterfly with your rough pencil (#3).
Delete your tracing and the outline from the window until you’ve done.
Tape the outline as well as the paper to the window. When you sketch, this will hold both pieces of paper securely in place.
Step 4: Filling in the Drawing of the butterfly
Using your #1 or #2 pencil, draw a black outline around your tracing with short, heavy lines.
Make short zigzag lines across the white dots in the wings and then draw around them. Fill in the wing color with the tan pencil. Begin at the outskirts. When doing so, pay close attention to your reference materials and leave the centers of the wings white.
With your orange pencil, draw big lines. Except for the white dots, carefully go over the ten areas and then the rest of the white wing space.
TIP: To prevent smearing your painting, place a piece of plain white paper under your drawing hand. As you work, rotate the drawing—and don’t forget to rotate the white paper as well to hold it under your drawing hand!
Step 5: Doing the Background
To create the illusion of a backdrop, add some shape to your drawing. In nature magazines, an insect or animal is often seen in clear focus against a hazy backdrop.
Create an interesting outline around the butterfly with the light green pencil, and add shadows with the dark green pencil. A little goes a long way, it’s real!
TIP: To make it look like the butterfly just landed on some grass, draw short, zigzagging lines. Your butterfly will stand out beautifully if the lines are soft and fluffy.