How to Draw a Mug

tallaabo tallaabo

1. Habraac 1

   Go'aanso heerka indhahaaga oo u calaamadee.

   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.

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

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

2. Habraac 2

   Sawir xagal sida mid elipses, in dhaqdhaqaaqa degdeg ah oo keliya.

   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.

   Ilaalinta Building it out of short careful arcs.

   Ka hubi It should be symmetrical about its own long axis.

3. Habraac 3

   Sawir labada dhinac si toos ah hoos, ka yar yar.

   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.

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

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

4. Habraac 4

   Ka xiro hooska leh elips leh oo aad u yar oo ka badan sare.

   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.

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

   Ka hubi Rounder than the rim, and exactly the same width.

5. Habraac 5

   Ku dar wareegga labaad oo kaliya gudaha jilibka.

   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.

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

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

6. Habraac 6

   Sawir xagal-dheer ee dibadda ee gacanta.

   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.

   Ilaalinta Leaving a gap where the handle meets the mug.

   Ka hubi Both ends of the curve should touch the side of the mug.

7. Habraac 7

   Siiyaan xakamaynta xoogga leh wareegga labaad gudaha.

   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.

   Ilaalinta Drawing the handle as a single line.

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

8. Habraac 8

   Mark meesha iftiinka ka yimid.

   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.

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

   Ka hubi You should be able to say which side is lit.

9. Habraac 9

   Shade dhinaca mug ka fog iftiinka.

   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.

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

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

10. Habraac 10

    Ku dar mid ka mid ah strip lighter xagga midig ee hooska-xagga jiidashada.

    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.

    Ilaalinta Running the shading right up to the outline.

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

11. Habraac 11

    Ku dar hooska ee dhulka hoostiisa ah.

    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.

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

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

12. Habraac 12

    Go line aad rabto inaad sii, iyo ku dhinto hoggaamiyeyaasha.

    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.

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

    Ka hubi The outline should be clearly darker than the smallest details.