How to Color a Realistic Plant – Easy Coloring Tutorial

Plants are one of my favorite things to color, and I love making them look realistic and full of life!

In this tutorial, I’ll show you a simple step-by-step method for coloring a plant with depth, shadows, and highlights using Ohuhu Markers - perfect for bringing your coloring pages to life.

1. Start with two shades of green - one lighter for baby leaves and one darker for mature leaves.

2. New leaves tend to be lighter and are often near the middle of the plant or tucked under other leaves. Coloring one or two leaves lighter helps make the plant look more realistic.
3. Fill in the other leaves with the darker green.

✨ Use an even darker green to add wiggly patterns along the edges of the leaves. Think of these shapes as long, thin fingers reaching inward - they add texture and make the plant more visually interesting.

If your color bleeds a little, you may need to layer it again once dry for a clean look.

Add shadows in the creases of the plant, usually down the center of each leaf and where all the leaves meet in the middle.

There’s no strict science to this - just place shadows where you think they would naturally fall for a realistic effect.

Leaves have a smooth surface, so they reflect light! Use a white gel pen to add highlights where the light from a window or the sun would naturally hit.

Focus on the highest, most exposed areas of the leaves for a realistic shine.

And that’s it, one beautifully shaded and highlighted plant!

This technique works for any plant illustration and gives it a lifelike touch with minimal effort.

Watch the mini tutorial in the video and give it a go!

Pens: Ohuhu Markers

Book: Girl Moments by Coco Wyo

White Gel Pens: Sakura Gelly Roll Set of 3 (Assorted Sizes)