How to Draw a Pumpkin

پړاو په پړاو

1. پړاو 1

   Draw one oval and nothing else yet.

   One shape, one motion. A slightly lopsided mass drawn confidently beats a perfect one assembled from nervous strokes, because you can correct a shape and you cannot un-see hesitation.

   پاملرنه Building the mass from many small safe strokes.

   کتنه It should fill most of the page with a margin all round.

2. پړاو 2

   Push the outline in and out.

   Nothing organic is a perfect oval. Push the outline in and out where the subject actually does - the asymmetry IS the likeness.

   پاملرنه Leaving the construction oval as the finished outline.

   کتنه The outline should differ visibly from the oval underneath.

3. پړاو 3

   Draw a cross through the middle.

   Two light lines through the middle are the rulers for everything that follows. Without them the features drift off-centre a few millimetres at a time.

   پاملرنه Skipping the axes because the shape looks simple.

   کتنه The two lines should cross near the middle of the mass.

4. پړاو 4

   Draw the top of the pumpkin.

   Whatever sits on top attaches INTO the form, not onto its outline - it comes out of a dip or a mound, and drawing that junction is what attaches it.

   پاملرنه Balancing the stalk on the outline like a hat.

   کتنه The top feature should overlap the mass's outline.

5. پړاو 5

   Draw the depression at the top.

   The hollow around the top is what makes the form read as having a top rather than an edge. One curve, and note which way it bows - it tells the viewer where their eye is.

   پاملرنه Omitting the dip so the top sits on a flat line.

   کتنه The dip should curve, not sit flat.

6. پړاو 6

   Set the light and note it in the corner.

   Pick a direction and commit. Every decision from here - shading, highlight, cast shadow - follows from this one, and changing your mind halfway is the classic way a drawing ends up lit from two directions.

   پاملرنه Deferring the decision and shading by instinct.

   کتنه You should be able to point at the light source.

7. پړاو 7

   Add tone on the shadow side.

   Work in one direction and build darkness in passes. Scrubbing back and forth gives an even grey - precisely the thing that makes a drawing look flat.

   پاملرنه Scrubbing, and stopping two steps short of dark enough.

   کتنه The dark side should be clearly darker than the mid tone.

8. پړاو 8

   Keep the very edge lighter than the band inside it.

   Leave a thin lighter strip right at the shadow-side edge - bounced light from the surface below. It is the single cheapest thing that makes a form read as round.

   پاملرنه Running the shading tight to the outline.

   کتنه A lighter line should separate shading from edge.

9. پړاو 9

   Add the bright spot.

   One highlight, small, off-centre on the lit side. Two symmetrical highlights read as plastic; a big one reads as wet.

   پاملرنه A large or doubled highlight.

   کتنه The highlight should be smaller than your thumbnail.

10. پړاو 10

    Draw the pumpkin surface.

    Surface marks follow the form - they curve over the mass and fade near the highlight. Flat marks cancel the volume you just shaded into it.

    پاملرنه Marks drawn flat across the curved surface.

    کتنه Marks should bend with the surface.

11. پړاو 11

    Draw the shadow underneath.

    Darkest at the contact point, softer as it stretches away from the light. It anchors the object; without it everything you shaded still floats.

    پاملرنه An even grey puddle not touching the object.

    کتنه The shadow should touch the object's base.

12. پړاو 12

    Strengthen what stays and erase the guides.

    Weight the silhouette, erase the axes and the oval, and leave the interior marks light. The weight difference is what makes it look deliberate.

    پاملرنه Equal weight everywhere.

    کتنه Outline darkest, marks lightest, guides gone.