Quick Tips for Rendering a Plant Symbol in Marker

I've been wanting to do a proper marker rendering tutorial for awhile, but haven't carved out the time, so thought I'd share a quick sketch I did for my students in the meantime.  It's pretty rough, but does show my simple approach to rendering a plant symbol in marker.

As you'll see below I'm not a fancy marker artist.  I greatly respect those that can use multiple colors and techniques to bring a graphic planting plan to life, but, alas, I'm not one of them.  I teach simplicity to my students to help them gain confidence, but encourage them to try other techniques later as they gain comfort.

With marker I put the emphasis on the ink drawing (using proper line weights and hatching), while using the marker to add color below the ink (which means you apply the marker first, then ink over it). Shadows are typically just a darker version of the original marker color I applied (I add the color, let it dry, then add it again for the shadow). Try it yourself!