Draw September Birth Flowers: Aster and Morning Glory Form Construction

Object Drawing Lessons

This lesson teaches the structural drawing of two September birth flowers: the aster and the morning glory. You will build each flower from simple geometric guides rather than copying a finished picture. The aster is treated as a radial burst of narrow petals in overlapping layers around a central disk. The morning glory is treated as a trumpet: a flaring circular face joined to a narrowing tube. All measurements are hypothetical examples; measure your own paper and tools. The convention for line drawings is that x-height is measured from baseline to midline, and letter styles may vary. No colored rendering or bouquet composition is included.

Practice materials: Printable downloads are not available for this lesson yet. Use the instructions and four exercises below.

Reference illustration

Use the stated measurements and conventions for each exercise.

Aster: radial petal layers

Begin with a light circle for the flower head. Mark the center point. Draw a smaller inner circle for the disk. The space between the inner and outer circles is the petal zone. Divide the outer circle into evenly spaced guide marks; for a hypothetical example, use 16 marks. These marks are starting points, not fixed petal counts.

Draw the first layer of narrow petals from the inner circle outward, letting each petal taper to a point. Overlap adjacent petals slightly. Add a second layer offset between the first-layer petals, and a third layer if space allows. Keep petal lengths varied but balanced. The disk remains a textured circle; indicate texture with short radial ticks rather than solid fill.

1. Draw a light outer circle and mark its center.
2. Draw a smaller inner circle for the disk.
3. Place evenly spaced guide marks around the outer circle.
4. Draw the first petal layer from inner circle to outer guide marks.
5. Offset and draw a second layer between first-layer petals.
6. Add short radial ticks inside the disk for texture.

Morning glory: trumpet form

The morning glory is built as a trumpet. Start with a large circle for the flaring face. Mark its center. Draw a smaller concentric circle inside the face to represent the throat opening. From the throat, draw two curved side lines that narrow into a tube. The tube should taper gently and end at a small calyx shape.

Divide the face into five equal sectors using light guide lines. The trumpet face has five radial creases that meet at the throat. Draw these creases as soft curves from the throat circle to the outer edge. Add a gentle wavy rim between creases. The tube connects behind the face; show it with two curved side lines that narrow toward the calyx.

1. Draw a large circle for the trumpet face and mark its center.
2. Draw a smaller concentric throat circle.
3. Divide the face into five equal sectors with light guides.
4. Draw five soft creases from throat to outer edge.
5. Add a wavy rim between creases.
6. Draw two narrowing side lines for the tube and a small calyx at the end.

Proportion and line convention

Use a consistent line convention: construction lines are light and may be erased; final lines are darker and continuous. For the aster, the disk diameter is a hypothetical one-third of the outer circle diameter. For the morning glory, the throat circle diameter is a hypothetical one-half of the face diameter. These ratios are examples, not standards.

X-height is measured from baseline to midline. When labeling parts on your drawing, use lowercase letters with a consistent x-height; letter styles may vary. Check that your labels do not overlap the flower forms. Measure your actual paper and pencil to set guide sizes; do not assume printer tolerances.

1. Choose a light line for guides and a darker line for final contours.
2. Measure your paper and set a hypothetical outer circle diameter.
3. Mark the disk or throat ratio as a light guide.
4. Label parts with lowercase letters at a consistent x-height.
5. Erase construction lines only after final contours are stable.

Worked example

Construct an aster with an outer circle diameter of 8 cm and a disk diameter of 3 cm. Place 12 guide marks. Describe the first two petal layers and one check.

Four practice exercises

Common mistakes

• Drawing aster petals as a single ring with equal lengths. Offset at least two layers and vary petal lengths slightly while keeping radial balance.
• Making the morning glory face flat with no tube. Draw two narrowing side lines behind the face and end them at a small calyx.
• Using heavy construction lines that cannot be erased. Keep guides light and reserve darker lines for final contours.
• Labeling with inconsistent letter heights. Set a baseline and midline, then keep lowercase x-height consistent across labels.

Self-check rubric

• Aster shows a distinct disk and at least two offset petal layers.
• Morning glory shows a flaring face, a throat circle, five creases, and a narrowing tube ending in a calyx.
• Construction lines are light and final contours are darker and continuous.
• Labels use lowercase letters with consistent x-height from baseline to midline; letter style may vary.
• Proportions are internally consistent and any numerical values are labeled as hypothetical examples.

Questions and answers