How to Draw a Mug

Hap pas hapi

1. Hapi 1

   Vendos nivelin e syrit dhe shënoje.

   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.

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

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

2. Hapi 2

   Vizato rrethin si një elipse, me një lëvizje të vetme të shpejtë.

   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.

   Kujdes! Building it out of short careful arcs.

   Kontrollo It should be symmetrical about its own long axis.

3. Hapi 3

   Tërheq dy anët drejt poshtë, duke u ngushtuar pak.

   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.

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

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

4. Hapi 4

   Mbylle poshtë me një elipsë pak më të rrumbullakët se sipër.

   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.

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

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

5. Hapi 5

   Shto një kurbe të dytë brenda rrethit.

   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.

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

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

6. Hapi 6

   Vizato kurvën e jashtme të dorës.

   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.

   Kujdes! Leaving a gap where the handle meets the mug.

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

7. Hapi 7

   Jepi trashësinë e dorës me një kurbe të dytë brenda.

   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.

   Kujdes! Drawing the handle as a single line.

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

8. Hapi 8

   Shëno nga vjen drita.

   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.

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

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

9. Hapi 9

   Hidhe hijen në anën e kupës larg dritës.

   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.

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

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

10. Hapi 10

    Shto një shirit të lehtë në skajin e hijes.

    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.

    Kujdes! Running the shading right up to the outline.

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

11. Hapi 11

    Shto hijen në sipërfaqen nën.

    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.

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

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

12. Hapi 12

    Shko mbi vijat që do të mbash dhe humb udhëzimet.

    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.

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

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