How to draw a Good Enough beehive…two ways!

From communities and collectives, to problem solving and even photography: the beehive comes up as a metaphor within business contexts and beyond as an ideal society, clear social hierarchy, and even a showcase for optimal/intelligent design. Even if you’re busy as a bee, you can include the beehive metaphor in your own work.
 

Here’s how to draw a Good enough beehive… two ways!

 

 
Thanks go to Rebecca Tall Brown for requesting this one!
 

Three Tips

• You can think of a beehive as a stack of rings, one on top of the other. I start with the topmost dome of the stack to help ground the shape of the hive, as well as give me an anchor for scale. When drawing a beehive that sits on a table or the ground, the top dome is wider. When drawing a beehive that hangs from a tree branch, the top dome is narrower and more pointy… like a football almost.
• Pick an odd number of rings for your beehive when it sits on a surface. I like to use five rings, including that top dome layer. It keeps things simple to draw. (You may notice that I had six rings for the hanging beehive. It’s what ended up looking right to my eye… the hanging hive wanted more symmetry.)
• When drawing my rings, I tend to do the outer lines first, then connect both sides with the horizontal lines. I find this allows me to better control the shape of my hive without spending a lot of time perfecting every ring layer. (Remember, we’re going for “Good Enough” here… not perfect!)

 
… and that’s it! Pretty sweet!
 
(Now draw yours up, Tweet it out to @jeannelking #goodenough, and generate some buzz!)
 
 
Want to have fun drawing AND inspire others to pick up the pen at the same time?  Got something you wish you could draw, but you’re not sure how to approach it? Tweet your drawing or idea to @jeannelking and tag it with #goodenough: it could be featured in an upcoming “how to draw good enough” blog post!
 
Looking forward to seeing what you draw forth!