How to Draw a Mug

Stap met stap

1. Stap 1

   Besluit na jou ooghoogte en merk dit.

   Everything about the ellipses follows from this. If the mug is below your eye level you will see into it; if it is level you will not. Make the decision consciously now rather than letting it drift halfway through the drawing.

   Pas op Not deciding, then drawing a rim that contradicts the base.

   Gaan na You should be able to say whether you are looking down into this mug or across at it.

2. Stap 2

   Trek die rand as een ellipse, in'n enkele vinnige beweging.

   Go round three or four times without stopping and keep the best pass. Speed is what makes an ellipse smooth - drawn slowly it comes out lumpy on one side every single time, because your hand cannot hold a curve at low speed.

   Pas op Building it out of short careful arcs.

   Gaan na It should be symmetrical about its own long axis.

3. Stap 3

   Trek die twee kante reguit af en kleef effens vas.

   Start exactly at the ends of the ellipse's long axis. A slight taper inward looks more natural than perfectly parallel sides, and it is what most real mugs do.

   Pas op Starting the sides inside or outside the rim, which leaves a visible step.

   Gaan na Each side should begin exactly at the widest point of the rim.

4. Stap 4

   Maak die bodem toe met'n ellipse effens ronder as die bokant.

   The base is further from your eye level than the rim, so it is rounder. Same width, more curve. Getting this relationship right is the difference between a mug that sits on the table and one that appears to be sliding off it.

   Pas op Drawing the base flatter than the rim, or as a straight line.

   Gaan na Rounder than the rim, and exactly the same width.

5. Stap 5

   Voeg by 'n tweede kurwe net binne die rand.

   This thin band is the thickness of the ceramic, and it is what makes the top read as an opening rather than a painted disc. One stroke, following the rim's curve.

   Pas op Drawing it parallel all the way round instead of following the ellipse.

   Gaan na There should be a visible band between the two curves at the front.

6. Stap 6

   Trek die buitenste kurwe van die handvatsel.

   Start just below the rim and end about two-thirds of the way down the side. Both ends must touch the mug - a handle that floats beside the body is the most common error here and it is instantly visible.

   Pas op Leaving a gap where the handle meets the mug.

   Gaan na Both ends of the curve should touch the side of the mug.

7. Stap 7

   Gee die handvatsel dik met'n tweede kurwe binne - in.

   A handle is a strap, not a wire. The inner curve runs parallel to the outer one and meets the mug slightly closer in at both ends. This is a small change that makes a large difference to how solid the mug looks.

   Pas op Drawing the handle as a single line.

   Gaan na There should be a visible gap between the two handle curves.

8. Stap 8

   Markus waar die lig vandaan kom.

   Pick a side and commit. A cylinder shades differently from a sphere - the darkest band sits just inside the edge on the shadow side, not at the very edge, because light bounces back up off the table onto the rim.

   Pas op Shading the very edge darkest, which makes the mug look flat.

   Gaan na You should be able to say which side is lit.

9. Stap 9

   Skadu die kant van die beker weg van die lig.

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

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

   Gaan na The dark side should be clearly darker than the mid tone, not slightly.

10. Stap 10

    Voeg 'n ligter strook reg aan die skadukant.

    Light bouncing off the table catches the very edge of a cylinder, so the darkest band sits slightly INSIDE the outline. Leaving that thin lighter strip is what makes the mug read as round rather than as a shaded rectangle.

    Pas op Running the shading right up to the outline.

    Gaan na There should be a thin lighter line between your shading and the edge.

11. Stap 11

    Voeg die skaduwee onder op die oppervlak by.

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

    Pas op Drawing it as an even grey blob detached from the object.

    Gaan na It should touch the object and be darkest at that contact point.

12. Stap 12

    Gaan oor die lyne wat jy wil hou, en verloor die gidse.

    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.

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

    Gaan na The outline should be clearly darker than the smallest details.