How to Draw an Apple

ステップバイステップ

1. ステップ 1

   高さよりも少し広い円を描きます。

   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.

   気をつけろ Drawing the classic 'apple silhouette' from memory instead of the round mass that is actually there.

   チェック Slightly wider than tall, and no dent yet.

2. ステップ 2

   上部に浅い凹みを押し込んで 片側に出して

   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.

   気をつけろ Cutting a deep V into the top. Real apples dimple, they do not fold.

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

3. ステップ 3

   底も少し中心から離れて座らせる。

   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.

   気をつけろ Making the outline perfectly symmetrical, which looks designed rather than observed.

   チェック Draw a vertical line through the dent - the two halves should NOT match exactly.

4. ステップ 4

   茎を加えて 凹みから出てくる

   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.

   気をつけろ Drawing it as a single thin line straight up.

   チェック It should be thick enough to have two sides.

5. ステップ 5

   葉を追加: 二つの曲線が点で交わる。

   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.

   気をつけろ Drawing the leaf as an oval, which reads as a balloon.

   チェック Both curves should meet at both ends: base and tip.

6. ステップ 6

   光がどこから来るのかを決めて、それをマークする。

   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.

   気をつけろ Not deciding, then shading a bit everywhere. That is the single reason most beginner drawings look flat.

   チェック You should be able to say out loud where the light is.

7. ステップ 7

   光が最も直接当たる場所のハイライトを描画します。

   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.

   気をつけろ Putting the highlight on the outline instead of inside the shape.

   チェック The highlight should be surrounded by apple on all sides.

8. ステップ 8

   光から遠ざける側を影にし、端が最も暗い。

   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.

   気をつけろ Being too timid. Beginners routinely stop two or three steps short of dark enough.

   チェック The darkest area should be clearly darker than the mid tone, not slightly.

9. ステップ 9

   明るい方向に影を混ぜて、硬い線がないようにします。

   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.

   気をつけろ Leaving a visible seam where the shading starts.

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

10. ステップ 10

    下端に 明るい帯を残して

    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.

    気をつけろ Making it as bright as the highlight, which flattens the bottom of the apple out again.

    チェック Three values along the bottom: dark, then slightly lighter, then the shadow on the table.

11. ステップ 11

    テーブルに影を投げる

    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.

    気をつけろ Drawing it as an even grey oval detached from the apple.

    チェック It should touch the apple and be darkest right at that contact point.

12. ステップ 12

    暗闇に潜り込んで 範囲を確認して

    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.

    気をつけろ Lightening the highlight instead of darkening the shadow. Contrast comes from the dark end.

    チェック Squint at it. Can you still see three distinct values?

13. ステップ 13

    押す力を変えて 輪郭を描いて

    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.

    気をつけろ Tracing the whole outline at one weight, which undoes the roundness you just shaded in.

    チェック The outline on the shadow side should be visibly darker than on the lit side.