How to Draw an Apple

ก้าวต่อก้าว

1. ก้าว 1

   วาดวงกลมที่กว้างกว่าความสูงของมันนิดหน่อย

   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.

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

   ตรวจสอบ Slightly wider than tall, and no dent yet.

2. ก้าว 2

   กดที่แหลมเล็กๆ ลงไปบน ไปด้านนึง

   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.

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

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

3. ก้าว 3

   ขอให้ด้านล่างนั่งออกจากศูนย์กลางเล็กน้อย

   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.

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

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

4. ก้าว 4

   เพิ่มลำต้น งอออกจากรอยแตก

   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.

   ระวังตัวด้วย Drawing it as a single thin line straight up.

   ตรวจสอบ It should be thick enough to have two sides.

5. ก้าว 5

   เพิ่มใบไม้: เส้นโค้งสองเส้นที่พบกันที่จุดหนึ่ง

   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.

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

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

6. ก้าว 6

   ตัดสินใจว่าแสงมาจากไหน และทำเครื่องหมาย

   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.

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

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

7. ก้าว 7

   ทำรูปทรงของจุดที่แสงส่องเข้าไป

   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.

   ระวังตัวด้วย Putting the highlight on the outline instead of inside the shape.

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

8. ก้าว 8

   เงาด้านข้างห่างจากแสง สีดำที่สุดที่ขอบ

   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.

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

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

9. ก้าว 9

   ผสมเงาเข้ากับแสง เพื่อให้ไม่มีเส้นตรง

   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.

   ระวังตัวด้วย Leaving a visible seam where the shading starts.

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

10. ก้าว 10

    ทิ้งแถบสีเบาๆไว้ ตามขอบด้านล่าง

    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.

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

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

11. ก้าว 11

    เพิ่มเงาลงบนโต๊ะ ออกจากแสง

    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.

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

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

12. ก้าว 12

    เข้าไปในความมืด และตรวจสอบระยะทาง

    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.

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

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

13. ก้าว 13

    ไปที่ขอบเขต เปลี่ยนความเข้มข้นที่คุณกด

    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.

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

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