How to Draw an Apple

Schritt für Schritt

1. Schritt 1

   Zeichne einen Kreis etwas breiter als er groß ist.

   Start round and correct it later. An apple is not a perfect sphere but it is much closer to one than beginners draw it - most people go straight for the dented top and end up with a shape that reads as a pepper.

   Vorsicht! Drawing the classic 'apple silhouette' from memory instead of the round mass that is actually there.

   Kontrolle Slightly wider than tall, and no dent yet.

2. Schritt 2

   Drücken Sie eine flache Delle in die Oberseite, von einer Seite.

   The dip where the stem sits is rarely centred, and putting it slightly to one side immediately makes the apple look like a real one rather than a logo. Keep the dent shallow.

   Vorsicht! Cutting a deep V into the top. Real apples dimple, they do not fold.

   Kontrolle The dent should be off-centre and gentle enough to still read as a circle.

3. Schritt 3

   Lassen Sie den Boden auch etwas außerhalb des Zentrums sitzen.

   Almost nothing in nature is symmetrical, and an apple leans. Nudging the base a little away from the dent gives the fruit a direction, which reads as weight.

   Vorsicht! Making the outline perfectly symmetrical, which looks designed rather than observed.

   Kontrolle Draw a vertical line through the dent - the two halves should NOT match exactly.

4. Schritt 4

   Den Stiel hinzufügen, sich aus der Delle lehnend.

   A stem is a short thick tube, not a hair. Give it some width and let it lean - a vertical stem in the middle is the fastest way to make an apple look like a cartoon.

   Vorsicht! Drawing it as a single thin line straight up.

   Kontrolle It should be thick enough to have two sides.

5. Schritt 5

   Fügen Sie ein Blatt: zwei Kurven treffen sich an einem Punkt.

   One curve is the top edge, the other the bottom, and they meet at a tip. Attach it to the stem rather than floating it nearby - the join is what stops it looking pasted on.

   Vorsicht! Drawing the leaf as an oval, which reads as a balloon.

   Kontrolle Both curves should meet at both ends: base and tip.

6. Schritt 6

   Entscheide, woher das Licht kommt und markiere es.

   Everything from here depends on this one decision, so make it consciously rather than letting it drift. Pick a direction - upper left is easiest - and commit. If you have a real apple, put a lamp on one side of it and look.

   Vorsicht! Not deciding, then shading a bit everywhere. That is the single reason most beginner drawings look flat.

   Kontrolle You should be able to say out loud where the light is.

7. Schritt 7

   Umreiße das Highlight, wo das Licht direkt aufkommt.

   The brightest spot is not on the edge - it is on the part of the surface facing the light most squarely, which on a sphere is inside the form, slightly up and toward the light. Outline it now so you remember not to shade it.

   Vorsicht! Putting the highlight on the outline instead of inside the shape.

   Kontrolle The highlight should be surrounded by apple on all sides.

8. Schritt 8

   Schatten Sie die Seite weg vom Licht, dunkel am Rand.

   Work in one direction rather than scrubbing back and forth. Scrubbing produces an even grey, which is exactly the thing that makes a drawing look flat, so lay your strokes the same way and build the darkness up in passes.

   Vorsicht! Being too timid. Beginners routinely stop two or three steps short of dark enough.

   Kontrolle The darkest area should be clearly darker than the mid tone, not slightly.

9. Schritt 9

   Vermischen Sie den Schatten zum Licht, so dass es keine harte Linie.

   On a round object the transition from light to dark is gradual - a hard edge would mean a sharp corner. This soft band is called the core shadow and getting it to fade is most of what makes a sphere read as a sphere.

   Vorsicht! Leaving a visible seam where the shading starts.

   Kontrolle Run a finger along the transition. You should not be able to point at where it begins.

10. Schritt 10

    Lassen Sie ein leichteres Band entlang der unteren Kante.

    Light bounces up off the table and catches the underside. That thin lighter strip is called reflected light, and it is what stops the apple looking glued to the background. It is subtle - lighter than the core shadow, still darker than the lit side.

    Vorsicht! Making it as bright as the highlight, which flattens the bottom of the apple out again.

    Kontrolle Three values along the bottom: dark, then slightly lighter, then the shadow on the table.

11. Schritt 11

    Fügen Sie den Schatten auf den Tisch, weg vom Licht.

    The cast shadow is darkest where it meets the apple and softens as it moves away. It also anchors the fruit to a surface - without it the apple floats, however well you have shaded it.

    Vorsicht! Drawing it as an even grey oval detached from the apple.

    Kontrolle It should touch the apple and be darkest right at that contact point.

12. Schritt 12

    Tief in der dunkelsten Dunkelheit und überprüfen Sie Ihre Reichweite.

    Hold your drawing at arm's length and squint. You should see a clear lightest area, a clear darkest area, and a smooth ramp between. If everything sits in a narrow band of grey, push the darks - almost nobody pushes them far enough on a first attempt.

    Vorsicht! Lightening the highlight instead of darkening the shadow. Contrast comes from the dark end.

    Kontrolle Squint at it. Can you still see three distinct values?

13. Schritt 13

    Über die Umrisse, variierend, wie hart Sie drücken.

    A real edge is not one uniform line. Where the form turns away from you into shadow it is darker and firmer; where the light hits it the edge almost disappears. Varying it is the last thing that separates a drawing from a colouring page.

    Vorsicht! Tracing the whole outline at one weight, which undoes the roundness you just shaded in.

    Kontrolle The outline on the shadow side should be visibly darker than on the lit side.