An olive sprig with two small fruits

Follow one curved stem through a small olive sprig with slender leaves and two fruits. A few simple midribs explain the leaves without a fine vein pattern.

A way into the drawing

1. Curve the twig

   Draw one gently bending stem and mark a few leaf junctions along it. Keep the spacing slightly uneven.

2. Place the leaves and olives

   Add slender pointed leaves in loose pairs, then two small oval fruits near one junction. Let one fruit overlap the other.

3. Select the midribs and folds

   Add two small oval olives where the stems meet. Use pale graphite on their lower sides and selected leaf edges, keeping the broad leaf surfaces open.

A small thing to tryAngle the leaves away from the stem instead of making every leaf parallel to it.