Intro

In this tutorial you are going to learn how to draw a delicious holiday dessert spread.

 

I will focus on my drawing process and explain how to make a composition that has a hand drawn effect.

Tools Used

Within the tutorial I will show how to use marker brushes and rough paper for texture which gives your drawing that hand drawn look.

 

When using markers or watercolor brushes you should set them to a lower opacity and use wider strokes.

To use the paper, simply go to the layers panel and set the layer it is on as an overlay.

 

Try to put it at the top of your layers so that any layers you color will have the paper texture.

Composition

To compose the drawing use the rule of thirds and 3d models. To make the thirds use the straight-line tool.

 

Try to put the focal point of your drawing on the lines as it will be easier to draw the attention of the viewer.

I also do a rough sketch using a marker in red so it is easy to see.

 

Once you have your rough sketch, then you can lower the layer's opacity so it is easier to see.

Coloring the Cheesecakes

To color my drawing, I like to use the brush set linked above since it gives it a very nice texture and a messy hand drawn look.

 

The brush creator provides a more in-depth explanation on what each brush does.

I begin by coloring it with the base color using the round mixing brush.

Once the base has been colored, add the sauce by using a marker and then pencil in the drizzle.

 

You can make the red sauce look more realistic by lowering the opacity of the brush.

Add the basic shading and little dots to add texture. You can also add the crumble base of the cheesecakes.

Add the cocoa powder by using the dot spray brush and then color the berries and the leaf on the red cheesecake.

 

I also add line art to the berries using a dark red pencil brush.

Using the dark red pencil brush, color in the berries and use it to define the table which will be textured later on.

 

Try to make the berries different shades of red so that it will be easier to see that they are separate objects.

In this step more details can be added like tree sprigs and the window. More information on how to do this will be provided further in the tutorial.

 

You can add more details to your table by using the watercolor brush in wider strokes in various shades of brown.

 

To color the window use a very light grey blue and use the rectangle tool to make the lines straight.

Color the window using the fill tool and then go over that with a slightly opaque marker.

 

Using a white brush you can add lighting to the sprigs and the cheesecakes. Using that same technique, you can make the sauce very glossy and shiny which will make it look more jellylike.

 

I also add the meringue to the cocoa cheesecake and the caramel to the green cheesecake. This will be explained later in the tutorial.

Here is what I consider the finished piece!

 

I added some thin line-art using a pencil and I have filled in the missing areas on and around the table.

How to Draw the Meringue!

To draw the meringue, I start by sketching the basic shape.

 

Since it would be made in real life by using a piping bag, it would start from the bottom, so make sure your lines go upwards.

 

If you are struggling with this, I recommend finding a reference photo so you can better understand the shape of the meringue.

Then I start adding the line art using a grey pencil since my meringue is white.

 

For my line art, I like to use a color darker than the base color so that you can clearly see the object.

To finish the meringue, color it white using the round mixing brush and then shade it by using various shades of grey with the watercolor brush.

 

After that, you should have a yummy looking meringue to put on your cheesecake!

How to Draw the Sprigs!

To make the sprigs look realistic, stick to their basic shape of a broad line with smaller lines branching out.

To start the sprigs I draw a line in a dark green using a pencil.

I begin by using a light green color for the needles. To maintain the realistic look, less is more as you layer each color.

You can add more needles by using another shade of green.

 

You should now have a finished sprig!