I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again: it’s really easy to make things look 3D. In this easy 3D art tutorial, we’re going to do just that, working on a simple leafy piece with basic art supplies to make it super achievable. And if you want a sneak peak at the process – jump down to the bottom to see a YouTube Short I made of it.

Step One: Gather your supplies

You’ll need:

• 3 colours: 1 main + 1 dark + 1 light
• 1 dark outline colour
• Paper that works with your materials

Use your preferred tools so long as they let you work quickly. I would suggest crayons, soft pastels, highlighter pens, colouring pens etc. I’m using Paint Sticks (well these exact Poster paint sticks to be precise) which are a super fun and quick way to lay down colour fast.

For my main leaf colour I’m using green – but this isn’t necessary. My light is a yellow and my dark is a blue.

For the dark outline I’m using a grey-green Molotow pen, but you could use anything – a posca, a biro, pencil, charcoal, colouring pens, etc.

I’m working in a Pith sketchbook but it’s not necessary. I could have used printer paper! Whatever you have easily accessible is the best paper for this.

Step Two: Fill your page with big bold leaves

Draw a big bold leaf, then draw another one. Continue until you feel like you’ve got enough leaves on your page.

I’ve drawn mine different sizes and going in different directions. Give it a try!

Step Three: Colour them in

Colour your leaves in. Enjoy the experience, whether you colour in slow and smooth, or fast and scribbly.

Step Four: Add shadows

Taking your darker colour, you’re going to add swooshes of darkness to one side of your leaves. This is our first step in giving them form / dimension and start to make them look more 3D.

Don’t worry if you stray outside the lines, it actually makes things look fresh and free

Step Five: Add highlights

Take your lighter colour and add swooshes of lightness to the other side of your leaves. This is our second and last step in making them look 3D. It really is as easy as this!

Again, don’t worry if you stray outside the lines, or draw completely off the leaf. It can look really cool.

Step Six: Add outlines

Take your dark outline colour pen, and using one bold, continuous movement, give each leaf an outline. Don’t worry if the outline is offset or wonky, this adds charm.

This is your time to be bold, go for it!

Step Seven: Fill empty space with ‘ghost outlines’

If you have any spots on your page that feel empty to you, add some ‘ghost outlines’ – outlines with no coloured leaves inside. I did this wherever it seemed like the page was too empty and needed something to make it feel complete, there’s no more science to it than that.

Step Eight: Enjoy your leaves!

And that’s you done. Take a minute or two to enjoy what you’ve made and the feeling of satisfaction at having been bold and made leaves with form.

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If you enjoyed this easy 3D art tutorial, you might like the class it comes from, Breaking Through Hesitation: Create with Courage 

You can see the class trailer and an excerpt from this class (in Shorts format) below