How to Draw a Mug

שריט־פֿאַר־שריט

1. שריט 1

   Decide your eye level and mark it.

   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.

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

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

2. שריט 2

   Draw the rim as one ellipse, in a single fast motion.

   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.

   װײַז אױס Building it out of short careful arcs.

   באַשטעטיק It should be symmetrical about its own long axis.

3. שריט 3

   Draw the two sides straight down, tapering in slightly.

   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.

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

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

4. שריט 4

   Close the bottom with an ellipse slightly rounder than the top.

   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.

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

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

5. שריט 5

   Add a second curve just inside the rim.

   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.

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

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

6. שריט 6

   Draw the outer curve of the handle.

   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.

   װײַז אױס Leaving a gap where the handle meets the mug.

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

7. שריט 7

   Give the handle thickness with a second curve inside.

   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.

   װײַז אױס Drawing the handle as a single line.

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

8. שריט 8

   Mark where the light is coming from.

   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.

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

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

9. שריט 9

   Shade the side of the mug away from the light.

   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.

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

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

10. שריט 10

    Add a lighter strip right at the shadow-side edge.

    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.

    װײַז אױס Running the shading right up to the outline.

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

11. שריט 11

    Add the shadow on the surface underneath.

    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.

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

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

12. שריט 12

    Go over the lines you want to keep, and lose the guides.

    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.

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

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