How To Draw An Apricot

In the first part of this tutorial, you will learn how to outline an apricot and a list of my favorite drawing supplies.

The second part of the post will show how to draw realistic drawings by adding values, shadows, and highlights.

Disclaimer: This post may contain affiliate links. If you make a purchase by clicking on an affiliate link, Nevue Fine Art Marketing may earn an affiliate commission at no additional cost to you. Affiliate relationships include, but are not limited to, Bluehost, Tailwind, Skimlinks, SareASale and StudioPress. To learn more visit Affiliate Link Disclosure Policy

Apricots come in various sizes and shapes, making them a fun subject for artists to paint and draw.

Staging a variety of summer fruits and vegetables can make a beautiful still life drawing everyone would love to display in their kitchen.

Apricots have beautiful curved lines that will help you to enhance your drawing skills.

The skin of apricots, apples, and grapes is smooth, which makes the light react similarly to each subject.

While this drawing tutorial will demonstrate how to add shadows and highlights for a realistic drawing, it can also be a fun exercise for kids.

Kids can learn how to draw the contour of the apricot in just a few easy steps and color it with crayons or colored pencils.

I encourage all children to have fun with their creative minds, and this easy drawing should be included in their coloring page portfolio.

I recommend using a reference image for all of your drawings.

I use Pixabay for reference images for most of my tutorials.

Pixabay offers stunning free images and royalty-free stock, which you can use for practicing your art skills.

For my original drawings, I get most of my images at Wildlife Reference Photos or commissioned jobs.

Reference image courtasy of Pixabay

Drawing Supplies

Below is a list of all the materials I use for my drawings. I purchase all of my drawing supplies online at Blick Art Materials.

Drawing Paper

Blending

Pencils

Value Finder

Gray Scale and Value Finder

Erasers

Extras

How To Draw An Apricot Step By Step

Start by sketching a circle for the apricot with a 2H Tombow Mono Professional Drawing Pencil. Apricots do not have perfect symmetry, so you do not have to strive for perfection.

Sketch the circle lightly because you will be erasing unwanted guidelines at the end.

Draw the split of the apricot with a curved line.

Refer to the reference image to see where the curved line begins and ends.

Draw the curve on the top of the apricot that connects to the split of the apricot.

Net draw the stalk where the stem attaches.

Study the reference image to see the shape of the stalk.

The simple shapes for this stalk are an oval, triangle, and rectangle.

Can you see the simple shapes that create the stack in this drawing?

Draw two parallel lines for the stem of the leaf.

Study the reference image to see the direction of the angle.

Now draw an upside-down heart for the leaf.

Add in the details of the leaf.

The last step is to erase all of the unwanted guidelines.

Congratulations, you have just learned how to draw an apricot.

In the next section, you will learn how to draw a realistic apricot by adding value, highlights, and shadows.

Drawing Tips:

The proportions of the subject you are drawing must be accurate if your goal is to draw a realistic drawing. Using the grid method to sketch out the subject will help you to keep the proportions correct. You can also use this to practice sketching an apricot to enhance your sketching skills.

Learning how to see value changes and simple shapes of a subject is an essential part of drawing and sketching.

Sketching the subject lightly will make it easier to erase the subject’s outline after you have added the shading.

Nothing in life has a line around it.

If you are trying to create realistic drawings, you want to create a form and separate planes with values, not outlines.

If you are not using the grid method, use your pencil or a ruler to be more accurate with the proportions of the apricot.
Make sure that you are using a sharp pencil.
Protect your drawing surface by placing a piece of paper between your hand and the drawing surface. The oils from your hand will soil the drawing surface, making it impossible to add soft value changes.
Study your drawing and the reference image to see if any adjustments need to be made before adding value to the subject.

Create A Realistic Drawing By Adding Value To The Apricot

Adding value to the apricot will create a three-dimensional illusion and make the apricot pop off the drawing surface.

Before you add value to your drawing, stand back to think about what you will be drawing.

Identify the direction from which the light is coming and where the darkest values are on the apricot.

Adding value to the apricot is a valuable exercise for drawing soft value changes.

The soft value changes are similar to drawing portraits and figure drawings.

Is there a cast shadow?

A cast shadow is a shadow that casts from an object or figure.

The cast shadow varies in value and is not a solid shape. The closer the cast shadow is to an object, the darker it will be. The farther the cast shadow is from an object, the lighter and less defined it will be.

Drawing Tip: The darkest part of an object is where the light does not hit.

Start by adding value with your 2H pencil to the darkest area of the apricot.

Drawing Tip: Using a 2H pencil will, condition the paper and add graphite to the bottom of the tooth on your drawing paper. This will prevent the little white dots you will get if you start with a softer lead. Start applying graphite with your HB pencil when you can not get any more value from your 2H pencil. If the area is still not dark enough, continue with your 2B pencil.

Work from dark to light and follow the contour of the apricot.

Begin each line from the darkest area, draw towards the lighter areas, reducing the pressure as you go, and lightly lift the pencil off the paper to feather the edge to white.

Do not be concerned about the dimple at this point. We will add the fine details at the end.

Start by adding graphite to the darkest areas of the apricot.

Notice on the reference image that there are darker values at the bottom of the apricot, near the stalk and the leaf.

The darker and lighter values create the contour and shape of the apricot.

Drawing Tip: Squint your eyes when observing a subject’s lighter and darker values.

Keep looking at your reference photo to identify where the darkest darks are and where the highlights are.

Don’t worry about adding too much detail at this point. The objective is only to add value to the darkest areas.

Drawing Tips: The darkest areas are where light does not hit.

Continue to add graphite to the darker areas.

Use a 2H pencil until the area does not get darker, then use an HB pencil.

Gradually lighten up the value where the lighter sections of the apricot are.

Drawing Tip: Work from dark to light to create a soft value change. Make sure your pencil is sharp, so the graphite reaches the valleys of the paper.

Drawing Tip: Continue to darken areas by drawing over an area with cross-hatching. Be sure not to leave any gaps between the lines. The more you cross-hatch over an area, the smoother the values will become.

Draw in any lines that you miss.

Drawing Tip: Fill in any spaces or dots you miss while adding the graphite to the drawing surface. Do not put this off to another time because you could miss some imperfections making the drawing look less realistic.