How to Draw a Mug

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1. Icyiciro 1

   urwego na Ikimenyetso.

   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.

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

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

2. Icyiciro 2

   i Nka Rimwe, in A UMWE Bihuta.

   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.

   Gusuzuma Building it out of short careful arcs.

   Kugenzura... It should be symmetrical about its own long axis.

3. Icyiciro 3

   i Kabiri Hasi, in.

   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.

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

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

4. Icyiciro 4

   Funga i Hasi: Na: i Hejuru:.

   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.

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

   Kugenzura... Rounder than the rim, and exactly the same width.

5. Icyiciro 5

   A ISEGONDA Igikubo Mo Imbere i.

   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.

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

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

6. Icyiciro 6

   i external Ikizamuko Bya i.

   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.

   Gusuzuma Leaving a gap where the handle meets the mug.

   Kugenzura... Both ends of the curve should touch the side of the mug.

7. Icyiciro 7

   i Ubugari: Na: A ISEGONDA Ishusho Inyuma.

   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.

   Gusuzuma Drawing the handle as a single line.

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

8. Icyiciro 8

   i Igicucu ni Kuva:

   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.

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

   Kugenzura... You should be able to say which side is lit.

9. Icyiciro 9

   i Bya i Bivuye i

   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.

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

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

10. Icyiciro 10

    a Iburyo: Ku i Igicucu - Impera:

    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.

    Gusuzuma Running the shading right up to the outline.

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

11. Icyiciro 11

    i Igicucu ku i Ubuso Hasi:.

    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.

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

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

12. Icyiciro 12

    ku i Imirongo Kuri, na i.

    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.

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

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