Chinese Drawing Technique: Flower Basket Painting Guide (6 Steps)

2026년 4월 12일

Step 1: Outlining

Li Song, the artist of this "Flower Basket Page," was a renowned court painter during the Southern Song Dynasty, serving under Emperors Guangzong, Ningzong, and Lizong. He was a versatile artist skilled in painting figures, landscapes, and architectural subjects. Most of his surviving works depict realistic themes, and within his delicate and elegant style, a rich floral language often emerges. The vibrant and colorful large red camellias appear steady and rustic. He uses graceful, elegant hairpin flowers, side-angled winding branches, and tilted stem figures as companions, while the pure narcissus and lively winter sweet plum rest peacefully beside the basket.

When outlining this piece, don't focus too much on variations in line density. Instead, concentrate primarily on variations in line thickness and the diversity of brushstrokes. For example, the strokes for outlining the peony leaves should be thick and strong, while the veins should be rendered with a "nail-head-and-mouse-tail" stroke (釘頭鼠尾描). The outlines for the plum blossoms are generally "gossamer" strokes (游絲描), with some parts using broad, angular strokes. However, the camellia leaves are mostly rendered with smooth, rounded outlines. The outlining of the basket's braided bamboo also requires attention to variations in line thickness, especially for the outer contours of the object. Not only should the initial outlining be strong, but even after the coloring is completed in the later stages, the outer contours of the braiding should be re-outlined with medium ink.

When doing the baimiao (ink outline drawing), we also need to consider subtle changes in the shapes. For instance, the peony shapes should not be symmetrical, the tips of the daphne leaves must be rounded, and the leaf veins should not extend to the very tip of the leaf. Because the camellia petals are thick, the folds at the edges of the flower head should have longer curves. The narcissus petals are divided into two layers, upper and lower, rather than lying flat in one layer, and so on.

Step 2: Base Colors

Background: First, brush the entire picture with a thin layer of light bronze (cinnabar red + gamboge + a little vermilion + a little carmine). Once dry, generously wash the areas around the objects with a crimson color (cinnabar red + gamboge + rouge). The area above the objects should be slightly smaller, while the area below should be larger.

Camellia: The flower heads are evenly washed twice with a medium concentration of yellowish gamboge (cinnabar red + gamboge + white powder). The coloring must be even. The front leaves are washed with grass green (gamboge + indigo). The back leaves and sepals are washed with juice green (grass green + gamboge + a little cinnabar red). The old branches are washed with grey-green (malachite green + white powder + a little ink). The pistil area is washed with yellowish pink, with slightly blurred edges.

Narcissus: The flower heads are washed with a light white base color. The front leaves are washed with greenish blue (grass green + a little emerald green). The back leaves and stems are also washed with a light juice green. The bracts are washed with a light brownish ink (cinnabar red + ink).

Daphne: The flower heads are washed with a medium concentration of white powder. The front leaves are washed with greenish blue, and the back leaves and flower stalks are washed with juice green.

Plum Blossom (Xiu E Mei): The flower heads, sepals, and calyxes are all washed with a medium concentration of white powder. The sepals at the base of the front petals and the buds at the tips of the branches are washed with juice green. The old branches are washed with a light brownish ink.

Peony Plum: The flower heads are washed with pinkish yellow (gamboge + white powder). The center of the flower is shaded with a light reddish-brown (cinnabar red + a little rouge). The upper part of the flower bud is washed with pinkish yellow, and the lower sepal part is washed with juice green. The old branches are washed with a light brownish ink. The single old leaf is broadly shaded with dark green (grass green + a little ink) from the root outwards, and lightly shaded with light brown (ochre + ink) from the edge inwards.

Flower Basket: Both the colored and white parts are washed with light yellowish pink. The darker parts are washed with a medium concentration of reddish-black (carmine + a little ink).

Step 3: Shading

Camellia: In the center of the flower, use light brownish ink to draw a flat oval shape from the center outwards, then spread the color to the edges. The petals are mainly shaded with a yellowish orange-red (cinnabar red + a little gamboge). The shading is primarily from the base to the tip, and the color must be thin, with a wide and gradual transition at the edges. Avoid color accumulation, visible brushstrokes from the water brush, or color residue. Some petal bases can retain a water line.

All front leaves are shaded in dark areas with a light greenish-black (indigo + ink). Some leaves at the bottom can be shaded multiple times. For this step, the color should also be thin and light, and the color transitions should be neat and clean.

The back leaves of the daphne are shaded in dark areas with grass green (gamboge + indigo). The back leaves of the camellia are shaded with a greenish grass green, to which a little emerald green can be added.

The flower heads of the narcissus and plum blossoms are shaded with a thin greenish-blue (phthalocyanine blue + gamboge + a little emerald green). The corona of the narcissus flower is shaded with light goose yellow, and the bracts with a light brownish-black. The sepals of the plum blossom are also washed with a thin greenish-blue. The petals of the peony plum are shaded with goose yellow; the red center is shaded with reddish-brown (cinnabar red + a little rouge); and the sepals are shaded with dark green (grass green + a little ink).

The front petals of the peony are shaded with a very thin, diluted green (gamboge + indigo + cinnabar red + a tiny amount of ink). The back petals are shaded with a light carmine, leaving a water line at the edge.

All old branches are shaded with light ink powder. The old branches of the camellia need to be outlined to create a cylindrical volume.

For the dark parts of the flower basket, re-outline with light gamboge. For the light parts of the flower basket, directly re-outline with a thick brush in light yellowish-brown (cinnabar red + gamboge).

Step 4: Further Details

Background: First, blend out the areas around the objects. Continue to wash with a very light lotus root red (cinnabar red + ink + rouge). Then, leaving out all objects, use a goat hair brush dipped in a lighter yellowish-brown (gamboge + a little cinnabar red + a tiny amount of ink) to flatly wash the entire background twice, increasing the color concentration of the background and making the light-colored objects appear brighter.

Leaves: All front leaves are shaded about twice with a medium-to-light greenish-black (indigo + ink). The undulations of the leaf veins from left to right must be clearly defined. Leaves at the bottom should be shaded more times, and for leaves in the background, the contrast should be consciously reduced when detailing. Among them, the areas below the camellia and daphne should be emphasized. When shading the leaves of the peony plum, the brushstrokes should be dry. All back leaves are shaded with grass green (phthalocyanine blue + gamboge + a little emerald green). The narcissus leaves should convey a flat appearance. The camellia sepals are shaded from top to bottom. Old branches do not need to be detailed in this step.

Plum Blossom (Xiu E Mei): The calyx is blended and shaded with a light greenish-black outline. The petals are shaded from outside inwards with thick white powder. The petals are split and shaded from the center outwards.

Narcissus: The corona is also shaded with thick white powder. The reddish-brown in the center of the petals should be perfectly white, and the white shaded area of the petals should also be larger, without excessive consideration of light and dark overlay. The white powder applied to the middle corona should be small.

Daphne: The petals are colored with thick white powder; the petals should appear flat. For the back petals, use a small brush dipped in light carmine to continue shading, leaving a water line on both sides.

Peony Plum: The tips of the petals are lightly touched with thick white powder from the inside outwards, and the area touched must be small. The white powder coloring area should appear linear and spread out.

Camellia: Continue to use light carmine to re-shade the base of the petals towards the edges. The transition should be even, and the color should not be thick, neither too thin nor too thick. A water line can be left at the edge of the back petals.

Flower Basket: All dark areas are continuously shaded with ochre (gamboge + cinnabar red + a tiny amount of ink), mainly outlining the more pronounced raised and sunken structures, without covering the entire area. All heavily colored areas are flatly washed with gamboge and ink. All white areas are flatly washed with thick white powder using a brushstroke that emphasizes the texture, paying attention to the layering relationships when applying the flat wash.

Step 5: Finishing Touches

All back leaves are sprayed with a medium concentration of malachite green from the tip to the middle. The sepals of the camellia are washed from the base to the tip, and the color on the calyx of the plum blossom should be light. Then, use a medium-to-thick fleshy red (cinnabar red + white powder + gamboge) to wash the petals of the camellia from the tip towards the base. The color needs to have some opacity. When coloring, the color should be diluted with a water brush—directly outlined to the base of the petals.

After the above colors are completely dry, wet the entire paper with clean water. While wet, use a medium-sized powenbi (splashing ink brush) to wash away the floating color from the painting and appropriately soften the elements in the picture. The main purpose of washing away the floating color is to highlight the pure baimiao of the three plums, the flower basket, and the vines, to refine the fleshy red at the tips of the petals, and to remove color residue from repeated washes of the background. After washing away the floating color, while the paper is still damp, use a small wenbi (texture brush) to brush a thin layer of light ochre (cinnabar red + ink) over the entire painting. Then, carefully absorb the floating color from the light-colored flower heads with a thin tissue. The areas that need absorption are mainly the plum blossoms, peony plums, daphne petals, and narcissus flowers. The absorption should be even, making these petals appear as white as possible.

Camellia: The base of the front petals is lightly touched with a medium-to-light carmine over a small area. Some petals can be outlined. The middle corona is diffused with light brownish ink (cinnabar red + a small amount of ink) from the center outwards, and after leaving a border, it is shaded inwards.

Peony Plum: The petals are mainly highlighted with a medium concentration of white powder, not too thick. This helps to prevent a second generation of floating color. The red center is shaded with reddish-brown (cinnabar red + a little rouge) from outside inwards. The edges of the back sepals are shaded with light lotus root color. The base of the sepals is outlined with a dry brush in light ink. The old leaves of the peony plum are outlined with light greenish-black along the main veins and leaf veins. The base is thick, the tip is thin, and the edges of the leaves are slightly diffused.

Daphne: The tips of the front petals are colored with thick white powder; the petals should appear flat. For the back petals, use a small brush dipped in light carmine to continue shading, leaving a water line on both sides.

Plum Blossom (Xiu E Mei), Narcissus: At the base of the petals, re-color with a medium concentration of white powder. Among them, the base of the plum blossom petals should be colored with dark green for the sepals. The corona is outlined with light rouge in the middle of the surroundings.

All Old Branches: The structure of the old branches is deepened and outlined with dark brownish-black. When outlining the old branches of the camellia, a little spiral pattern should be added. A water line can be left at the edge of the base of the back petals.

Flower Basket: All dark areas: diffused with very light brownish-black (gamboge + cinnabar red + a small amount of ink). When diffusing, pay attention to the overall light-dark relationship of the leaves, and do not let details overshadow the main subject. The ink lines of the dark parts are outlined with heavy ink in fine strokes. Among them, the connecting parts of the flower basket and plants on the left and right are broadly washed with a thicker reddish-black (gamboge + a little carmine). For the fixed bottom part of the basket, the entire outer contour is re-outlined with a thick brush in light gamboge. Note: A rough, thick brush must be used for re-outlining. The ink color for re-outlining should not be too strong, medium to light is sufficient. When re-outlining, the sequence and discontinuity of the lines should also be used to show the overlapping and intertwining relationships of the bamboo in the flower basket.

Step 6: Refinement and Final Touches

All back leaves are shaded in dark areas with grass green (phthalocyanine blue + gamboge + a little emerald green), and then entirely washed with gamboge green. Then, leaving out all objects, use a goat hair brush dipped in a lighter yellowish-brown (gamboge + a little cinnabar red + a tiny amount of ink) to flatly wash the entire background twice, increasing the color concentration of the background and making the light-colored objects appear brighter.

Camellia: The leaves of the petals are shaded about twice with a medium-to-light greenish-black (indigo + ink). The undulations of the leaf veins from left to right must be clearly defined. Leaves at the bottom should be shaded more times, and for leaves in the background, the contrast should be consciously reduced when detailing. Among them, the areas below the camellia and daphne should be emphasized. When shading the leaves of the peony plum, the brushstrokes should be dry. All back leaves are shaded with grass green (phthalocyanine blue + gamboge + a little emerald green). The narcissus leaves should convey a flat appearance. The camellia sepals are shaded from top to bottom. Old branches do not need to be detailed in this step.

Flower Basket: All dark areas are continuously shaded with ochre (gamboge + cinnabar red + a small amount of ink), mainly outlining the more pronounced raised and sunken structures, without covering the entire area. All heavily colored areas are flatly washed with gamboge and ink. All white areas are flatly washed with thick white powder using a brushstroke that emphasizes the texture, paying attention to the layering relationships when applying the flat wash.

블로그로 돌아가기