Fruit Drawing Techniques: Create Beautiful Art Easily

Written by Daisie Team

Published on 11 July 2023 7 min read

Unlocking your artistic potential is as easy as picking up a pencil and indulging in some easy fruit drawing. Fruits, with their vibrant colors and diverse shapes, offer a fantastic subject matter to sharpen your sketching skills. Whether you're a seasoned artist or just starting your journey, this blog will walk you through some simple yet effective techniques to create beautiful fruit art.

1. Getting the Right Materials

Before we dive into the actual drawing, let's first ensure we have the right tools at our disposal. The right materials can make a world of difference in your easy fruit drawing journey.

Choosing Your Pencils

Choosing the right pencil is key in creating a beautiful fruit drawing. For beginners, start with a basic set of drawing pencils. Brands like Faber-Castell and Derwent are top choices for their quality and affordability. For sketching and outlining, a 2B pencil is a great choice. It's soft, dark, and perfect for creating strong lines. To add details or for lighter shading, an H pencil would be ideal—it's harder and gives lighter marks.

Selecting Paper

Next, let's talk about the canvas of your art—paper. A smooth, heavyweight paper such as Strathmore Sketch Pad will work wonders for your fruit drawings. It's sturdy enough to hold the weight of the pencil without tearing and smooth enough to allow your pencil to glide effortlessly. However, if you're planning on using colors, a lightly textured paper would be better—it holds the color better, giving your fruits a more vibrant look.

Using Colors

Last but not least, let's add some life to our easy fruit drawing with colors. Colored pencils, like Prismacolor Premier Colored Pencils, offer a wide array of shades to choose from. They blend beautifully and can provide stunning depth and dimension to your fruit drawing. If you're more into painting, watercolors or acrylic paints can also be used for a more fluid and vibrant effect. Remember, art is subjective and the choice of color is completely up to you. The sky's the limit!

Now that we have our materials sorted out, we're ready to begin our easy fruit drawing journey. So, grab your pencils and let's start sketching!

2. Mastering Basic Shapes

Now that we have our tools, we're ready to start sketching. Drawing fruit might seem daunting, but it's really about breaking it down into basic shapes. Let's explore how you can master these shapes to create stunning fruit drawings.

Drawing Circles

Many fruits, like apples and oranges, are mostly circular in shape. To draw a circle, start by lightly sketching a square. This will help keep your circle even. Then, draw a cross in the square to find the center. From there, you can begin sketching your circle from the center outwards, trying to keep the edges as symmetrical as possible. With enough practice, drawing circles will become second nature to you.

Drawing Ovals

Some fruits, like mangoes or avocados, have more of an oval shape. Drawing an oval is similar to drawing a circle, but instead of a square, start with a rectangle. Draw a cross in the rectangle to find the center, and then sketch your oval from the center outwards. Remember, the longer the rectangle, the more elongated your oval will be.

Combining Shapes

Not all fruits can be simplified into a single shape. Some, like bananas or pears, are a combination of shapes. For these fruits, think of them as a combination of smaller shapes. For example, a banana can be thought of as three connected ovals, while a pear could be a circle on top of an oval. Breaking down complex shapes into simpler ones will make your fruit drawing journey much easier.

Mastering these basic shapes is your first step towards creating beautiful fruit art. But remember, practice makes perfect. The more you sketch, the better you'll get at capturing the essence of each fruit. So, keep your pencils at the ready and let's move on to the next step.

3. Understanding Shading

With the basic shapes under our belt, we're ready to add some depth to our easy fruit drawing. Shading is the technique that will bring your flat shapes to life, making them appear three-dimensional. It's all about playing with light and shadow. Let's dig into this a bit more.

Light and Shadow

Visualizing where the light hits your fruit and where it casts shadows is the first step in shading. A simple trick is to imagine a light source, like a lamp or the sun, shining on your fruit from a certain direction. The parts of the fruit closest to the light source will be the lightest, while areas hidden from the light will be darker. Experiment with different light source positions to see how it changes your drawing.

Texture and Tone

Next, let's talk about texture and tone. These two elements add a lot to the realism of your drawings. Texture is the visible or tactile surface characteristics of a fruit. An orange, for example, has a bumpy texture, while an apple is smooth. To represent this in your drawing, you can use techniques like stippling for a bumpy texture or smooth, even shading for a slick surface. Tone, on the other hand, is about the darkness or lightness of color. Paying attention to the nuances in tone will help you capture the fruit's volume and weight.

Depth and Dimension

Finally, shading can give your fruit drawings depth and dimension. By varying the pressure of your pencil, you can create a gradient effect, which can give the illusion of roundness or depth. Remember, areas further from the light source should be darker, while areas closer to the light should be lighter. This interplay of light and dark will give your fruit a three-dimensional effect.

Mastering shading is a game-changer in your fruit drawing journey. It's the magic that turns a flat circle into a juicy, ripe apple. So, go ahead and play around with these techniques. And remember, every great artist was once a beginner, so don't be too hard on yourself and enjoy the process.

4. Applying Colors

Now that we've mastered shading, let's bring our easy fruit drawing to life with some color. Applying color to your drawings isn't just about picking up any old pencil and coloring in the lines. It's about understanding color theory, blending colors, and creating textures. Let's dive right in.

Basic Color Theory

Ever wonder why apples look so appealing in art? That's color theory at work. Color theory is the practice of mixing colors and the visual effects of specific color combinations. In the color wheel, colors opposite each other are complementary and can make your drawing stand out. For example, the complementary color of red (think apples) is green (think leaves). Using complementary colors can make your fruit drawing pop!

Blending Colors

Blending is another crucial skill in coloring. It involves combining different colors to create gradients or new colors. For instance, to achieve the color of a ripe banana, you may need to blend yellow with a bit of green and brown. Experimenting with blending can help you capture the unique colors of different fruits.

Creating Textures with Colors

Colors aren't just for, well, coloring. They can also be used to create texture. Remember the bumpy texture of an orange? You can use darker and lighter shades of orange to represent those bumps. For a smooth apple, you might use gradients of red to indicate its glossy surface. Playing with colors this way can add depth and realism to your fruit drawings.

Adding colors to your drawing is like adding spices to a dish—it brings everything to life. So, don't be shy. Grab those color pencils and start coloring your fruits. Who knows? You might discover a hidden talent for creating colorful, mouth-watering fruit art.

5. Drawing Different Fruits

We're almost at the end of our easy fruit drawing journey. Now that you've mastered the basics, let's put your skills to the test. We'll go over how to draw a few different types of fruits. So, grab your pencils and paper, it's time to start sketching.

Drawing Apples

Apples are a great place to start. They're essentially circles with a small curve at the bottom. You can add a stem and a leaf at the top. Remember to use different shades of red and green for the skin and don't forget the light and shadow to give it a 3D look.

Drawing Bananas

Bananas might seem tricky because of their unique shape, but they're really just a series of curved lines. Start with a basic oval shape, then add curves to create the banana's distinctive structure. Use a blend of yellow, brown, and green to give your banana a ripe look.

Drawing Cherries

Cherries are fun and easy to draw. They're basically two circles connected by a curved line for the stem. Use a deep red for the fruit, with darker shades for shadows and lighter tones for highlights. And don't forget the little light reflection to make them look juicy!

Drawing Oranges

Oranges can be a bit challenging because of their textured skin. Remember the circle techniques we discussed earlier? That's your starting point. Then, use different shades of orange to create the textured skin. Add a small circle at the top for the stem and you're done.

And there you have it! You've just learned how to draw some common fruits. But don't stop here. The world of fruit is vast and colorful. Try drawing a bunch of grapes, a spiky pineapple, or a tropical mango. The more you practice, the better you'll get. So, keep drawing and most importantly, have fun with it!

If you're eager to improve your fruit drawing skills and explore new techniques, don't miss the workshop 'How to Draw A Fruit In ProCreate' by Vicky Catalan. This workshop will guide you through the process of creating beautiful and realistic fruit art using the popular digital art app, ProCreate. Enhance your digital art skills and start creating stunning fruit illustrations today!