Understandably, fruits are among the easiest subjects in still life drawing. Of course, the levels of complexity vary within the genre, depending on the fruit chosen. One point to consider is whether you are looking for a cartoon job or a realistic one. You can choose between a single type and a collection of seasonal fruits. Yet another option could be the backdrop and associated elements in the image. The following tutorial lays out general guidelines for replicating any type of fruit on your drawing board:
• Model. Cartoon fruits are very easy to draw, where you don’t need a model. You can use your memory and an understanding of structures to create your fruits. If the idea is to get a realistic image, get a reference image or a real fruit for the purpose. This will help you achieve the correct shading effects.
• Basic Framework. Identify the basic geometric composition of the fruit. For example, a watermelon is spherical, a bunch of grapes is a collection of circles, and a banana is a long oval. Do not try to finalize your work at this stage. Just mark the underlying shape in your drawing area. For example, a handle will start out as just a circle and its curvy end will be added later. As you manipulate the skeletal structure, keep in mind the position and size of your final drawing. If you are making a fruit basket or other fruit collections, this foundation work becomes even more meaningful. Relative sizes, positions, and appearance will be defined in this step.
• Details. The degree to which detail is required will depend on the type of drawing you are attempting. Animations will need the smallest details, like an orange can be a simple sphere of color, grapes can be a set of overlapping circles, etc. In fact, you can also tweak its real-life build a bit. However, realistic still life art requires more painstaking work. Even the skin of an apple has a patchy pattern, the skin of a banana has black spots, and a pear has a granule-like exterior. All these fine points will be imported into the drawing.
• Shading and coloring. Colors are significant from the point of view of any type or drawing. If nothing else, they help distinguish between similar-looking fruits, just like in cartoons. In the case of a pencil sketch, use different grades of pencils to produce a variable impact of shading. Use it for the presence of light and a three dimensional look. Blend distinctive pencil strokes with a tortillon, where needed.
