How to Draw an Apple

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1. _Daşarky 1

   Draw a circle slightly wider than it is tall.

   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.

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

   Barla Slightly wider than tall, and no dent yet.

2. _Daşarky 2

   Üstde bir gatlakly çyzyklyny bas, bir tarapa gaç

   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.

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

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

3. _Daşarky 3

   Asty ortadan biraz daşlaşsyn

   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.

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

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

4. _Daşarky 4

   Deňze çydamly, öwrümli köki ekle

   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.

   Gözleg Drawing it as a single thin line straight up.

   Barla It should be thick enough to have two sides.

5. _Daşarky 5

   Bir yaprak ekle: iki egri bir noktada birleşýär

   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.

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

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

6. _Daşarky 6

   Işiň nireden gelýändigini kesgitle we ony nyşanla

   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.

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

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

7. _Daşarky 7

   Outline the highlight where the light hits most directly.

   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.

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

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

8. _Daşarky 8

   Açykdan daşda tarapy kölgele, çepe iň kokardak.

   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.

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

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

9. _Daşarky 9

   Kelteňi agyza tarap gaýşyr, şonuň üçin hiç hili çuňňur çizgi ýok.

   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.

   Gözleg Leaving a visible seam where the shading starts.

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

10. _Daşarky 10

    Aşakky kenar bilen bir az agyrlykly bandy galdyr

    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.

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

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

11. _Daşarky 11

    Add the cast shadow on the table, away from the light.

    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.

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

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

12. _Daşarky 12

    Kowumy gaýgyr we aralygy barla

    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.

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

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

13. _Daşarky 13

    Konturyň üstünden git, näçe güýçli bassaň meňzeşdir.

    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.

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

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