- Intro

Sweets and desserts are not only delicious, but they can easily grab the attentions of your audience whether they are a prop or the main centerpiece.

 

In this tutorial, I will explain some of the ways you can draw several mouth watering sweets!

- Texture

When it comes to drawing sweets and desserts, I would say the first thing you have to pay attention to is the texture of the components. For example, cakes are soft and moist; ice cream are smooth; croissants are flaky and crumbly.

 

In drawings, people can only interact with these pieces through sight, so being able to represent the characteristics of each components is important when it comes to making people believe what they see. Especially in desserts where a variety and balance of textures are important to having an eye-catching piece that looks mouth watering!

 

Look at the photo of this cake as an example.

If we take a closer look, we can immediately see the contrasting textures of each layer of the cake.

 

Immediately, we can see the difference of each layer. On the top layer (1) we have the chocolate glaze. Then on layer (2) we have a cake that has soaked up coffee syrup, (4) and (7) are the same cake but brushed with the syrup (6) instead. Layer (3) is a nice and creamy coffee buttercream and layer (5) is a nice thin layer of chocolate.

 

Take note of how different layer (1), (2) and (3) are. Layer (1) is smooth and shiny, very reflective of the environment. Layer (2) is moist and crumbly. Layer (3) is smooth and soft and leaves a clean cut at the edge.

 

Just by contrasting the different components next to each other, it becomes easier to imagine the texture despite not being able to directly touch it.

 

Next, let’s go through the different ways you can replicate these textures into your drawings!

1. Cake

First, start by drawing the rough shape of the cake. For this, I’m going for a triangular slice of cake.

Then put your base color. I’m going to draw a chocolate cake.

Next color the top layer of the cake. Since I’m focusing on the texture of the cake itself, I’m keeping it plain.

 

Since the top layer of the cake is the one most exposed to the heat source during baking, color it a darker color than the base color.

 

The top layer is the one most exposed to the heat source when baking, so color it a darker color than the base. Here I’m using a [Soft Airbrush] and [G-Pen] to give the impression of texture on the cake

Next, using a [Watercolor brush], I’m adding large strokes horizontally in a slightly darker color.

Then we add more dimensions onto the cake. Using the same brush but in a smaller size, paint in more highlights and shadows throughout the previous horizontal line. Keep the shapes round and scattered, try to avoid uniform shapes and lines. The contrast in colors and shapes should give the impression of cake crumbs.

Finally, clean up the details. For this, I prefer to use the [Eyedropper] tool to pick the colors that already exists on the piece and paint on top of those instead of introducing new colors.

Use the [G-pen] tool to draw dots and uneven lines in the corners of the cake and  near the intersection where the previous shadows and highlights were.

And voilà! You have yourself a slice of cake!

2. Bread

For bread, the steps are similar to a cake except the holes are bigger than the ones on a cake.

 

First, start off with the shape of the bread. For this, I’m going with a round one.

Next, I’m going to first color the bread using a golden yellow color.

The crust is like a somewhat thick shell that protects the soft dough. So the texture between the crust and the bread would be different. For this, I like to emphasize on the different textures by using different shapes.

 

Start by using a [Soft Airbrush] to place different shades of brown on the crust.

Then using a [Chalk] brush, pick the colors from the existing piece and draw horizontal lines at the intersection where two colors meet.

Now do this to the other areas as well.

To make it look more visually interesting, I’m using a combination of [Spray Airbrush] and [Chalk] in some areas using the color white. Usually, flour is added before baking some breads to prevent from sticking to things, but you can do this to give off a more rustic appearance to your bread.

Now that the crust is done, let’s move on to the bread part itself. I’m using a pale yellow for this bread, but feel free to choose any color you want, but keep in mind to make sure it is lighter than the color of the crust.

Using the same technique as the cake slice, I’m using a [Watercolor brush] to draw large strokes with a slightly darker shade.

Then, lowering the size of the brush, draw slightly big circular shapes throughout the dough.

 

Make sure to draw them in various sizes and in irregular shapes.

Next, choose a slightly darker color and go through some of the previous holes you’ve drawn to add more variety to the shapes. Feel free to add small dots around the bread as well to add more texture to the loaf.

And now you have a nice piece of bread!

3. Tarts

The two main components of a tarts are the tart shell and the filling.

 

To really show the difference in the two components, I will be drawing a slice instead of the whole tart.

 

Start by drawing the sketch.

I will focus on the shell first before the filling. First, put in the base color. Tart shells come in different flavors and colors so feel free to choose the color you want, for example you can go with dark brown for chocolate or pink for strawberry, for this I’m keeping it simple so I’m using a light golden color.

With tart shells, the outside layers are darker than the inner layer. Again, this is because they’re the most exposed to the heat source when baking. Use a [Soft Airbrush] to put a darker color on the corners. This indicates the depth of the shell and also adds texture to it.

Because tart shells tend to be brittle, feel free to erase some of the corners to add more texture to the shell. This step is optional but the imperfections adds more details into the slice.

Tart shells are rather thick, so using a [G-pen] tool, pick a color that’s lighter than the base color and draw a line at the edge where the tart was sliced off.

Because the dough is crumbly, using the same color as the outer edges of the shell, draw some dots and uneven lines near the edges of the base. I’m using a combination of [G-pen] and [Watercolor brush].

Now that you have shell, let’s continue with the filling. Tart fillings are rather simple because they tend to be smooth and glossy. So start by choosing the base color of your filling.

 

I’m using a chocolate filling.

Since the filling has a smooth texture, we don’t need to add much. First, start with an [Soft airbrush] with a darker color on the bottom of the filling to add depth to it.

Use a [Watercolor brush] to add a smooth but imperfect texture on the filling.

Next use a [G-pen] tool to add highlights to the corners and edges of the filling.

And use the [Blend] tool to smooth out the edges and give it that soft and glossy look.

4. Ice cream

Next we have ice cream. Of course, ice cream can come in different shapes but since I will be discussing about whipped cream later on in this tutorial, I will be using the classic scooped ice cream for this.

 

First, start with a circle. I like to draw this by hand instead of using a tool to add an emphasis on the texture.

Next, on a clipped layer, add the shadow using the [Running color spray] airbrush tool.

This step is optional, but I like to add a bit of ice cream on the bottom to indicate the ice cream being pressed when being placed on the plate. Of course if the ice cream is being scooped with other utensils like a spoon, it isn’t necessarily there.

Next, make a guideline that follows the circular shape horizontally like in the picture below.

To add the slightly rough texture from being scraped by the ice cream scoop. Using the guideline, use the [Chalk] brush to make grooves along the guidelines. Use a variety of shades of the base color to add a variety to the grooves.

Using the [G-pen], add some whites along the edges of the grooves.

Because ice cream tends to melt fairly fast, use the [Blend] tool to blend the corners of the grooves and the highlights to give of the impression of melting ice.

And you’re done!

5. Candied fruits

There are hundreds of fruits out there and a lot of them can be incorporated into sweets in some way. For this tutorial, I’ve chosen to use oranges since the bright orange color is refreshing and eye-catching.

 

First, draw a bean like shape.

Fill in the base color.

Add a shadow using the [Watercolor brush]

Next, on a new layer, use a [G-pen] with lower opacity and draw a grid using white lines to divide the orange and one line on the underside of the orange.

Clean up these lines and create a diamond like shapes.

Next, using the [Running color spray] Airbrush, choose a pale yellow color and go alongside the bottom of the orange.

Use a light orange orange, paint the center of the diamonds with a [Watercolor Brush].

For oranges that are cut open, the shape of the pulp becomes more visible. Let’s take the orange above and slice it in half. Fill the center with an orange color darker than the outer layer.

Next, using the [Watercolor Brush], create triangles using a light orange following the placement of the diamonds on the outer layer.

Finally, add the highlights using the [G-pen] tool.

Now that we have our orange slice, duplicate the final result and stack them together.

I’m using a dark background so you can see the texture better.

 

Then, add a shadow in between the slices.

Draw a white outline around the oranges.

Next, using a light yellow color, fill in the outline in a layer underneath the orange slices. Lower the opacity of the layer to create a transparent look.

Create a new layer and lower the opacity. Use a [G-pen] to draw where the light and shadows are. Candies are hard and smooth, so there isn’t many textures to be added.

Blend the colors together.

Erase the center of the big gaps between the oranges to create a transparent look.

Now you have a candied fruit!

6. Toppings

i. Whipped cream

Whipped cream are a common addition to any sweets, whether it’s tarts or cakes or even drinks! They come in different shapes depending on the tools used to add them onto the dessert. Since we already tackled scooped ice cream in the previous section, here we’ll have a classic piped whipped cream.

 

First, roughly draw the cream area.

Next, draw diagonal lines around it and divide them into rectangles.

Create a new layer and put on you base color.

With whipped cream, it’s important to remember the placement of lights and shadows.

The outer edges will get the most light and the part underneath it would be the darkest. Place the colors where they should be and then [Blend] them together.

Using a clipped layer, follow the sketch you made before to place the shadows.

Blend the edges.

Use the sketch again to add another layer of shadows.

Blend them again.

Finally add some white highlights at the corner to make it look glossy.

ii. Syrup

For sauces, there is one thing to consider before drawing: does the syrup contain cream or not?

 

This is important to think because the addition of cream into a syrup can change the texture and color of the syrup.

 

For example, syrups are usually a solution of sugar and water. Both of those things are translucent. However, cream is opaque, so adding cream to the syrup would make it cloudy instead of transparent.

 

For this, let’s take the bread we drew earlier. On the left, I will draw a clear translucent red syrup and on the right will be a creamy chocolate syrup.

 

First, the base color. For the red syrup, I’m lowering the opacity of the layer to emulate the transparency of the syrup.

Because syrups and sauces are liquid, they will naturally follow the shape of the item they’re on. So in this case, it’s important to note where the deep holes of the bread are and add shadows where the syrups cover them.

 

Syrups are rather thick, the holes won’t be as deep as the ones on the bread. Using a [Watercolor Brush], pick a color that’s darker than the base color and lightly add on the grooves.

Next, choose a lighter color that’s not white and paint it on the areas near the grooves and on the places with a wide surface area.

Blend the edges to create a smooth surface.

Finally, add a few white lines on the parts with the large highlights to create a glossy finish.

- Conclusion

There are still a lot of different sweets and desserts that I didn’t touch on in this tutorial, however a lot of these techniques are still applicable to them. For example, the technique for tart shells can be used for cookies and the technique for both bread and syrup can be used to draw donuts.

 

There are a bunch of sweets out there to experiment with and a lot of different combinations to choose from, so feel free to have fun and draw all the mouth-watering sweets you want!