How to Draw an Ice Cream Cone

Dingana amin'ny dingana

1. Endrika 1

   Sary triangle lava sy malefaka, mifanohitra amin'ny ambany.

   Not too narrow - the opening at the top should be about as wide as one scoop of ice cream, and about half as wide as the triangle is tall. A cone that is too thin reads as a party hat immediately.

   Mitandrema Making the triangle too narrow and too long.

   Jereo The triangle should be roughly twice as tall as it is wide.

2. Endrika 2

   Mitohy amin'ny fihodinana ny fihodinana, fa tsy ny fihodinana mivantana.

   The opening of a cone is a circle seen at an angle, so it curves. Which way it curves tells the viewer whether they are looking slightly down into the cone or up at it - pick one and commit.

   Mitandrema A straight line across the top, which flattens the whole cone.

   Jereo The top should be a visible curve.

3. Endrika 3

   Ny soratra dia mizara ho soratra mifono taratasy sy soratra mifono takelaka.

   It has to sit ON the cone, which means its lower edge disappears behind the cone's rim. If the circle merely touches the top of the cone, the ice cream will look balanced there rather than resting in it.

   Mitandrema A circle that sits on top of the rim without crossing it.

   Jereo The circle should cross the cone's top curve.

4. Endrika 4

   Ampidiro ny sotro ambony, mifamatotra amin'ny voalohany.

   Slightly smaller, and offset to one side rather than balanced dead centre - two scoops stacked perfectly reads as a snowman. Let it cross in front of the lower scoop's outline.

   Mitandrema Perfectly centred scoops of identical size.

   Jereo The top scoop should be off-centre and slightly smaller.

5. Endrika 5

   Fafao ireo tsipika miafina ambanin'ny endrika eo aloha.

   This is the step that turns three separate shapes into one object. Anything behind something else goes: the cone rim behind the scoop, the bottom scoop where the top one covers it. Overlap only works once you commit to it.

   Mitandrema Leaving the construction lines visible, which makes everything look transparent.

   Jereo No line should cross in front of a shape that is nearer to you.

6. Endrika 6

   Ny fiteny malagasy dia tsy manana ny fiteny malagasy fa ny fiteny malagasy no tena fototra.

   Go round each circle and add three or four shallow bumps. Ice cream is soft and slumps; a perfectly circular scoop reads as a tennis ball, and the fix costs about ten seconds.

   Mitandrema Making the bumps regular, which looks like a flower.

   Jereo The outline should be uneven but still clearly round.

7. Endrika 7

   Sary ny takelaka vaokely: soratra mivadika amin'ny lafiny iray, avy eo amin'ny lafiny hafa.

   Both sets of lines curve with the cone, and they get closer together as the cone narrows toward the point. Lines drawn on a curved surface must curve - that single idea is worth more than the cone is.

   Mitandrema A flat straight grid, which makes the cone look like a piece of graph paper.

   Jereo The grid lines should be closer together near the point.

8. Endrika 8

   Misafidiana làlana iray hamirapiratana ary atsofohy ny lafiny iray amin'ny isaky ny sotrokely.

   A scoop is a ball, so it is light on the side facing the light and dark on the other, with the darkest part just inside the edge rather than at it. Shade both scoops from the same side or they will look like separate drawings.

   Mitandrema Shading each scoop from a different direction.

   Jereo The shadow should be on the same side of both scoops.

9. Endrika 9

   Apetraho ny aloky ny toerana hiarahan'ny takelaka ambony sy ny ambany.

   Wherever one thing sits on another it casts a small shadow there, and that little dark crescent is what makes the top scoop sit ON the bottom one rather than beside it. Same at the cone's rim.

   Mitandrema No contact shadows, so the scoops read as flat circles arranged on a page.

   Jereo There should be a dark crescent at every place two shapes meet.

10. Endrika 10

    Ny soratra dia miseho amin'ny endrika soratra miloko, izay mitovy amin'ny soratra amin'ny teny malagasy.

    A cone is a cylinder that tapers, so it shades the same way: dark on the shadow side, with a thin lighter strip right at the edge where light bounces back up. Keep the strokes following the cone's slope.

    Mitandrema Shading straight up and down, ignoring the cone's angle.

    Jereo Your strokes should follow the sloping side of the cone.

11. Endrika 11

    Mandehana amin'ireo andalana tianao ho hitazonana, ary adino ireo torolàlana.

    This is the step that turns a construction drawing into a finished one, and it is the one most people skip. Press harder on the outline and the features; leave the small stuff light. That difference in weight is what makes a drawing look deliberate rather than traced, and it costs thirty seconds.

    Mitandrema Going over everything at the same weight, which flattens the drawing back out.

    Jereo The outline should be clearly darker than the smallest details.