Compositon Planning: Dendrobium convolutum

The first thing to understand when planning a composition is that there is no single method that works for every plant. Each species and each illustration has its own structure and challenges. Because of this, composition planning is always a flexible process. The approach used in this illustration is particularly helpful when dealing with multiple overlapping stems, as it allows you to create a layout that is more compact, cohesive, and aesthetically pleasing but allows you to manage the parts individually in order to make the compositional task less daunting.

Initial Studies and Refinement

For Dendrobium convolutum, my starting point was to create comprehensive study sketches, as you saw in the previous post. These early studies cover a great deal of ground and help you understand the plant’s structure, growth habit, and key features.

However, illustrating the plant exactly as it sits in front of you is not always the best option fro a final composition. A botanical illustration often requires refinement and rearrangement, to achieve the strongest composition. This is a normal part of the process, and it should be approached with care -but it doesn’t need to take an excessive amount of time.

In this case, all compositional adjustments were made in less than a day, and the drawing will continue into the colour stage, where further refinements may still be made. Composition is iterative, and each stage or refinement offers opportunities to improve clarity and balance.

Adjusted composition with the repositioned canes and leaves - minus the flowers

Refining the Composition

I begin the process by tracing the separate parts of the plant from the study page. Using tracing paper and a fine‑liner Pigma Micron 003, I trace each element individually. Once these parts are on tracing paper, I cut them out and start making small adjustments to their positioning. This stage is very flexible: I move pieces around, refine spacing, and tape them into place to create an arrangement that works well—usually similar to the original layout, but with subtle improvements in balance and clarity.

This method is especially helpful when working with complex plants or multiple overlapping stems. It allows you to experiment freely without committing to changes on the main drawing. Explore: composition planning.

Creating a Clean Version

Once I’m happy with the provisional arrangement, I take a clean A3 sheet of tracing paper and trace the entire composition again. This removes the visual distraction of cut edges and tape, making it much easier to assess the layout clearly.

At this stage, I almost always make further refinements. Seeing the composition cleanly often highlights small adjustments that improve spacing or the relationship between parts. For this illustration, I created four or five versions, each slightly different, before settling on the strongest arrangement.

Working Without the Flower

In this case, the flower was not yet available, so the composition remains flexible. Once the flower spikes is are ready to be drawn, further adjustments will most likely be needed to integrate it naturally into the layout, and it’s normal for the arrangement to evolve as new parts become available. It is seldom the case theat the composition will be correct from the outset and much refinement is usually needed.

Video Demonstration

In the following video, you can watch the full process-from tracing and repositioning to creating a clean draft layout.

https://youtu.be/j3F1QuRYiGw

Next stage

Now that I have a layout that I’m reasonably happy with, the next step is to transfer the composition onto watercolour paper. Once the drawing is in place, I’ll begin the colour studies, focusing first on the leaves and canes. These will form the foundation of the next stage of the illustration and will be the subject of the following blog post.

At this point, I’m still waiting for the flowers to open - hopefully they will do so shortly. Once they do-I’ll be able to complete the flower studies and make any final adjustments needed to integrate it naturally into the composition.