{"id":49400,"title":"Tutorial on Illustrating another bee","description":"Hello and welcome to my next guide for drawing cartoon-like yet fairly realistic images! This time, it\u2019s what I hope are bumblebees!","content":"<p><strong>Hello and welcome to my next guide for drawing cartoon-like yet fairly realistic images! This time, it\u2019s bumblebees. Concentrate on the sections highlighted in blue (some of it might have been done in previous steps, it\u2019s not a hundred percent accurate) and colour it in at the end!<\/strong><\/p><p><em>Just a little disclaimer: These illustrations weren\u2019t \u201cdrawn\u201d as such, but I illustrated them using digital design software. I hope these step-by-step tips help you draw or create a similar image, be it pencil, paint or digital art! Bee images may all vary slightly from each other, here and on other pages, and may not show the bee a hundred percent realistically.<\/em><\/p><p><em>Post is an edited version of an older one, this post was last edited 7th July 2025.<\/em><\/p><p>Let\u2019s have a look at what we\u2019re working with in this post.<\/p><h2>What are we aiming for?<\/h2><p>A small bee of sorts, flying to the left! (I hope it is a bumblebee! I took a photo of it).<\/p><h2><img src=\"https:\/\/images.teemill.com\/tkeesc5munzrbnyrz16iqwkqzvtxr9qzmzsg3kbjglj4nxt3.png.png?w=1140&amp;project=goldstart-359042&amp;v=2\" alt=\"Illustration of a fairly chunky bee flying to the left. It has fairly fluffy orange, brown, black, grey and white sections. It is shown against a pale blue, slightly greenish background.\" title=\"Illustration of a fairly chunky bee flying to the left. It has fairly fluffy orange, brown, black, grey and white sections. It is shown against a pale blue, slightly greenish background.\" \/><\/h2><h2>Step 1 - Draw an outline<\/h2><p>Time for an initial outline here. No blue bits shown for this step, because it would all be highlighted otherwise.<\/p><h2><img src=\"https:\/\/images.teemill.com\/vmjjk5yxqftx2ft2c20jwnjlwje9aph8bqrotymzsgne3foc.png.png?w=1140&amp;v=2\" alt=\"Image of most of a partly-finished bee illustration, all bee content so far shown in white with a black outline; focus here is on body and front leg outlines) against a kind of almost turquoise background.\" title=\"Image of most of a partly-finished bee illustration, all bee content so far shown in white with a black outline; focus here is on body and front leg outlines) against a kind of almost turquoise background.\" \/>Step 2 - Add the antennae and an eye<\/h2><p>The bee is shown side on, so you can only see one eye.<\/p><p><img src=\"https:\/\/images.teemill.com\/15ovmrbuzuiov9nfxbsqfmudce3nzuwhsdleeouphuhutj0f.png.png?w=1140&amp;v=2\" alt=\"Image of most of a partly-finished bee illustration (as a general rule, previous detail is shown outlined in black, new detail is outlined in blue, here focussing on eye and antennae; all bee content shown that's not an outline is in white) against a kind of almost turquoise background.\" title=\"Image of most of a partly-finished bee illustration (as a general rule, previous detail is shown outlined in black, new detail is outlined in blue, here focussing on eye and antennae; all bee content shown that's not an outline is in white) against a kind of almost turquoise background.\" \/><\/p><h2>Step 3 - Add some head, wing and knee(?) detail<\/h2><p>I\u2019m not an expert on naming bee anatomy!<\/p><p><img src=\"https:\/\/images.teemill.com\/k39qphvnthvreccdkp4f0wkeutb4pdvqpaaizac9i92vogv8.png.png?w=1140&amp;v=2\" alt=\"Image of most of a partly-finished bee illustration (as a general rule, previous detail outline in black, new detail outlined in blue, all bee content so far shown otherwise in white; focus here is on the bee head, wing and knee) against a kind of almost turquoise background.\" title=\"Image of most of a partly-finished bee illustration (as a general rule, previous detail outline in black, new detail outlined in blue, all bee content so far shown otherwise in white; focus here is on the bee head, wing and knee) against a kind of almost turquoise background.\" \/><\/p><h2>Step 4 - add some more leg and wing detail<\/h2><p>I think the bee in my photo had pollen on its legs, which is what the detail shows here.<\/p><p><img src=\"https:\/\/images.teemill.com\/zrtkfbrprc1ifkluhdzkbslzay9hmim9iusobe8ymtw7yefx.png.png?w=1140&amp;v=2\" alt=\"Image of most of a partly-finished bee illustration (as a general rule, previous detail outline in black, new detail outlined in blue, all bee content so far shown otherwise in white; focus here is on the front legs and wings) against a kind of almost turquoise background.\" title=\"Image of most of a partly-finished bee illustration (as a general rule, previous detail outline in black, new detail outlined in blue, all bee content so far shown otherwise in white; focus here is on the front legs and wings) against a kind of almost turquoise background.\" \/><\/p><h2>Step 5 - Add the rear legs<\/h2><p>If you want, you can stop here! You\u2019ve got most of the essential parts. If you want more detail and colour, carry on.<\/p><p><img src=\"https:\/\/images.teemill.com\/rnrkge8szzg9jpttfqtubwmpmtbuc0ozdba5oacfklbj6fuo.png.png?w=1140&amp;v=2\" alt=\"Image of most of a partly-finished bee illustration (as a general rule, previous detail outline in black, new detail outlined in blue, all bee content so far shown otherwise in white; focus here is on the two middle and two rearmost legs) against a kind of almost turquoise background.\" title=\"Image of most of a partly-finished bee illustration (as a general rule, previous detail outline in black, new detail outlined in blue, all bee content so far shown otherwise in white; focus here is on the two middle and two rearmost legs) against a kind of almost turquoise background.\" \/><\/p><h2>Step 6 - More detail on the body<\/h2><p>Don\u2019t forget that vertical bit behind the bee\u2019s head.<\/p><p><img src=\"https:\/\/images.teemill.com\/aah3ezunjlzhw1er1x53hnvga7gtnecybh3eduohsasqh4dq.png.png?w=1140&amp;v=2\" alt=\"Image of most of a partly-finished bee illustration (as a general rule, previous detail outline in black, new detail outlined in blue, all bee content so far shown otherwise in white; focus here is on the shoulder and back) against a kind of almost turquoise background.\" title=\"Image of most of a partly-finished bee illustration (as a general rule, previous detail outline in black, new detail outlined in blue, all bee content so far shown otherwise in white; focus here is on the shoulder and back) against a kind of almost turquoise background.\" \/><\/p><h2>Step 7 - Add more detail<\/h2><p>Some of this is different-coloured bee fluff, some is shading.<\/p><p><img src=\"https:\/\/images.teemill.com\/dewe0hkv2icprf5z4naxepoc7zdbpfomxgyixu98lfthnvfw.png.png?w=1140&amp;v=2\" alt=\"Image of most of a partly-finished bee illustration (as a general rule, previous detail outline in black, new detail outlined in blue, all bee content so far shown otherwise in white; focus here is on the back) against a kind of almost turquoise background.\" title=\"Image of most of a partly-finished bee illustration (as a general rule, previous detail outline in black, new detail outlined in blue, all bee content so far shown otherwise in white; focus here is on the back) against a kind of almost turquoise background.\" \/><\/p><h2>Step 8 - Add some final extra details<br \/><img src=\"https:\/\/images.teemill.com\/w5zlfirxebz6ybuuleo2iau4wjrw0imphcrscw7yfdvwelud.png.png?w=1140&amp;v=2\" alt=\"Image of most of a partly-finished bee illustration (as a general rule, previous detail outline in black, new detail outlined in blue, all bee content so far shown otherwise in white; focus here is on patches of the main body, the closer wing and a middle leg) against a kind of almost turquoise background.\" title=\"Image of most of a partly-finished bee illustration (as a general rule, previous detail outline in black, new detail outlined in blue, all bee content so far shown otherwise in white; focus here is on patches of the main body, the closer wing and a middle leg) against a kind of almost turquoise background.\" \/>Step 9 - Colour the bee in<\/h2><p>Here\u2019s a reference for the colours I used.<\/p><p><img src=\"https:\/\/images.teemill.com\/tkeesc5munzrbnyrz16iqwkqzvtxr9qzmzsg3kbjglj4nxt3.png.png?w=1140&amp;v=2\" alt=\"Illustration of a fairly chunky bee flying to the left. It has fairly fluffy orange, brown, black, grey and white sections. It is shown against a pale blue, slightly greenish background.\" title=\"Illustration of a fairly chunky bee flying to the left. It has fairly fluffy orange, brown, black, grey and white sections. It is shown against a pale blue, slightly greenish background.\" \/>If you reached this step, you should have a fairly similar image to the one above! Well done. Why not try drawing one in your own style? Or maybe try drawing a bee that\u2019s more like a honeybee? The link for that one is <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"\/blog\/sheffinchs-tips-on-drawing-bees\/\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><u>here<\/u><\/a> (still on my site). Want a reference photo flipped the other way for this one? Here you go! Just a little more of this blog post to go underneath the image\u2026<\/p><h2><img src=\"https:\/\/images.teemill.com\/fgttrik1abr31jzncpwdwmie6gzpdphmkxnwfvkwkjicldpl.png.png?w=1140&amp;v=2\" alt=\"Illustration of a fairly chunky bee flying to the right. It has fairly fluffy orange, brown, black, grey and white sections. It is shown against a pale blue, slightly greenish background.\" title=\"Illustration of a fairly chunky bee flying to the right. It has fairly fluffy orange, brown, black, grey and white sections. It is shown against a pale blue, slightly greenish background.\" \/>Want to see more art?<\/h2><p>Have you seen my <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"\/\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><u>shop<\/u><\/a>? You can buy products there that get printed with my other art, by my product suppliers, when you order! (Please don\u2019t copy or use any of this website\u2019s content that\u2019s not the focus of one of my tutorials. For permissions regarding the use of graphics within this site\u2019s product customiser, please refer to this site\u2019s home page.<\/p><p>Until the next time I get in contact, thanks for your time!<\/p><p>Alex (\u201cSheffinch\u201d)<\/p>","urlTitle":"tutorial-on-illustrating-another-bee","url":"\/blog\/tutorial-on-illustrating-another-bee\/","editListUrl":"\/my-blogs","editUrl":"\/my-blogs\/edit\/tutorial-on-illustrating-another-bee\/","fullUrl":"https:\/\/sheffinch.co.uk\/blog\/tutorial-on-illustrating-another-bee\/","featured":false,"published":true,"showOnSitemap":true,"hidden":false,"visibility":null,"createdAt":1747836097,"updatedAt":1751899028,"publishedAt":1751899028,"lastReadAt":null,"division":{"id":351119,"name":"Sheffinch"},"tags":[],"metaImage":{"original":"https:\/\/images.podos.io\/veyi63vgkdkfubw6mt0dwuswq573bjf1owrpwct7rm5ddunq.png","thumbnail":"https:\/\/images.podos.io\/veyi63vgkdkfubw6mt0dwuswq573bjf1owrpwct7rm5ddunq.png.jpg?w=1140&h=855","banner":"https:\/\/images.podos.io\/veyi63vgkdkfubw6mt0dwuswq573bjf1owrpwct7rm5ddunq.png.jpg?w=1920&h=1440"},"metaTitle":"","metaDescription":"","keyPhraseCampaignId":null,"series":[],"similarReads":[{"id":49134,"title":"Experimenting with Digital Art","url":"\/blog\/experimenting-with-different-digital-art-styles\/","urlTitle":"experimenting-with-different-digital-art-styles","division":351119,"description":"This page is part of me trying out sharing different art styles on the internet! There\u2019s just one on this page at the moment, but check back for more updates.","published":true,"metaImage":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/images.podos.io\/ubmy86tc7eqccgqflprwc7kypz0m82gklumosbcbygz5knrh.png.jpg?w=1140&h=855","banner":"https:\/\/images.podos.io\/ubmy86tc7eqccgqflprwc7kypz0m82gklumosbcbygz5knrh.png.jpg?w=1920&h=1440"},"hidden":0},{"id":41015,"title":"Why Sheffinch?","url":"\/blog\/why-sheffinch\/","urlTitle":"why-sheffinch","division":351119,"description":"Cartoon of a chaffinch with an inquisitive expression (one eyebrow raised).","published":true,"metaImage":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/images.podos.io\/jlcuvbnby3rthu2ubejbwh4zemh8t188buodmrqi9ctmhluv.png.jpg?w=1140&h=855","banner":"https:\/\/images.podos.io\/jlcuvbnby3rthu2ubejbwh4zemh8t188buodmrqi9ctmhluv.png.jpg?w=1920&h=1440"},"hidden":0},{"id":48959,"title":"Sheffinch Themes | Parties","url":"\/blog\/sheffinch-themes-parties\/","urlTitle":"sheffinch-themes-parties","division":351119,"description":"Hello! 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