How to draw A Coffee Mug

How to draw A Coffee Mug

What you need

• Drawing paper Cartridge or sketch paper with a little tooth.
• Blue pencil A light blue col-erase pencil, or a very light HB.
• Graphite pencils HB and 2B; a 4B or 6B for the darkest darks.
• Kneaded eraser Press and lift; pinch it to a point for highlights.
• Sharpener A sharp point makes cleaner hatching.

Step by step

1. 
   01

   Placement

   Axis, height and width

   Drop a vertical axis. Tick the rim and the base on it, then the width: this mug is a little taller than wide.

2. 
   02

   Big shapes

   Two ellipses, two sides

   The rim is a flat ellipse, the base a rounder one. Join their ends with two vertical sides.

3. 
   03

   Construction

   The lip and the handle

   A second ellipse inside the rim gives the lip its thickness. The handle is a curved tube, joined to the body at two points.

4. 
   04

   Construction

   Commit the line, lift the blue

   Graphite contour: light on the lit left, firmer on the shadow side. Only the front half of the base shows. Then lift the blue.

5. 
   05

   Light and shadow

   Vertical bands

   A cylinder turns only one way, so its value changes only across it: light, halftone, core shadow, then reflected light.

6. 
   06

   Light and shadow

   The inside and the handle

   Inside, the light flips: the wall under the lit rim is darkest, shaded by the rim itself. Shade the handle as a tube.

7. 
   07

   Light and shadow

   The cast shadow

   The cast shadow runs from the base to the right across the table: darkest against the mug, lighter and softer as it goes.

8. 
   08

   Finishing touches

   Occlusion, last darks, the gleam

   Press hard where the base meets the table. Deepen the core. Then lift the glaze’s vertical highlight with the kneaded eraser.