YU Can Do It: Realistic Apple Tutorial

Fall is officially among us! It's the season of warm blankets, crunchy leaves ... and who could forget the characteristic apples? To honour the fruit that no autumn would be complete without, there's no better way than to draw it!

Welcome back to YU Can Do It, a series where we show you the in's and out's of realistic drawing if you're just starting your journey. It's like having a mini crash course, but without the pressure and just the fun!

Today, we'll be doing this realistic apple tutorial that'll make you the top of the crop in autumnal drawing. This project can be completed in any medium you desire, although something that layers and blends well—like coloured pencils— is ideal.

Realistic Apple Tutorial: Step 1

To begin, we will sketch out the shape of our apple slice, doing this in two parts. First, draw a lopsided "C" with the bottom curve coming inwards. Do this in reverse, and slightly more downwards, on the other side. Connect the bottom with a rather squiggly loop. On the top, connect the two "C's" with a line. From this, draw the stem of your apple, doing this by creating a kind on curved line with a thicker end. Draw a little curve from the top of the right "C" to the right side of the stem, to give your work a 3D effect and show the little bit of apple skin peeking through. At this point, your sketch should look like below:

You might have thought to youself, "that was a bit tricky," but don't worry! This was the hardest part, and everything will be easier from here on out. Based on what we just sketched, we will draw the body and details of the apple. Draw a curved line connecting the mid-top of the left "C" to the botton side of the right "C." Two tear-drop shapes in the middle of the apple core will create the seeds, and a squiggle at the bottom of where the two "C's" intersect will create the blossom end.

Step 2

It's colouring time! To begin, we will block out the colour for the skin of the apple. Colour everything in with a mid-shade of green of your preference. We will also block in using a darker green a rounded area around the blossom end, and the bottom rim of the left "C." A lighter green around the top left and right sides will great our highlights. Note that you may also the colour red rather than green if desired.

Once we have blocked in the colour, we will blend it together, making our work look like so:

Step 3

Colour in the flesh of your apple flatly using a beige colour. We will go in later to add detail.

Step 4

To draw our seeds, first use a pinkish-beige and colour in the whole shade of the seed. Using a darker redish-brown, colour in the extremities in squiggles, leaving the top uncoloured.

As always, the key is in the blending! Do this for the seeds. Then, using a dark grey, lightly shade in the bottom of the seeds. Take a white pen and make little dots to give a glow effect.

Step 5

Now we will colour in the blossom end. Begin by using a beige slightly darker than the flesh of your apple, and colouring in the whole shape. Then, using a dark brown, drawing little squiggles around. You can try placing them as in the image below, or try experimenting! There is no right or wrong way to do this, so just play around and have fun!

As with the other steps, we will blend this in lightly to get a realistic effect.

Step 6

We are nearing the end of our drawing, so let's add a little stem! To do this, draw the whole stem a dark brown, and taking an even darker shade, colour in the tip and draw light little lines to give the impression of wood. Using a medium-dark green, don't forget to colour in that little bit of skin between the stem and flesh.

Step 7

Here is where everything comes to life: adding the details! There is no limit to how detailed you can make your drawing, but here is how to get the same effect as below. First, take a shade of yellow and lightly draw it in the centre of apple. This will create the effect of a core. Then, using a light green, colour in around the seeds. Also use this shade to very lightly colour some texture around the apple flesh. Using white, add some subtle light to the same flesh. Then, using this white again, we will draw very light dots of the surface of the skin to immate the imperfections that are commonly seen on apples. Finally, using a green pencil of your choice, trace around some of the apple flesh's exterior.

And there you have it! A beautiful, quick, and simple apple drawing to impress your friends!

Did you try out this drawing? Share it with us by tagging our Instagram and Facebook pages. We can't wait to see what you've come up with!

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If you enjoyed this art activity, you are sure to love the other projects availible on our blog! We have a multitude of projects for all ages, so what are you waiting for? Check it out here!

Fall is one of the most beautiful seasons, and there's not better way to enjoy it than getting inspired by what surrounds you and drawing it. So grab some art supplies, enjoy the charm the outdoors has to offer, and get artsy!