Lily of The Valley- A Pencil Drawing

The Lily of the valley is a plant with interesting stories. Did you know it was once said to have been the plant that sprung up from Eve’s tears after she was sent out of the garden of Eden? Also, the plant is said to be able to guard gardens from evil spirits. The plant has a really fragrant smell, but is also very poisonous for consumption and could cause dermatitis when touched. Upon seeing that it was poisonous, I thought that it would have a negative symbolism, but so far I haven’t seen any and instead The Lily of the valley symbolizes purity, chastity, good luck, motherhood, rebirth and happiness. I’d like to see one someday ; )

I made use of a 0.7 Staedtler mechanical pencil and my Sinoart sketchbook

I drew the flowers first before adding in the character. I wasn’t too sure how I was going to render the leaves, because I’ve pretty much made it my life’s mission to absolutely not smudge to shade anything. I went back to study the drawings of some of the artists I look up to as well as older botanical illustrations by illustrators. I noticed they tended to use simple hatching. I’ve been doing that so far with the previous drawings but it’s nothing close to how neat theirs look. One thing I battle with constantly is how shaky my hands are so it’s pretty difficult for me to draw a straight line. But hopefully with practice I’ll improve, my lines were a bit neater in this illustration, I’m proud of that : )