148 ideas

Things to Draw Food Lovers Know on Sight, From Toast to Tagine

Deal one dish caught in a state, from a croissant torn in half to a thali, with the shape to get right printed under it.

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Drawn: Thali with small bowls round the rimThali with small bowls round the rimA round platter with dishes in small bowls called katori. Every bowl is an ellipse at the same tilt.

Next step Model a miniature of it in clay

All 148 ideas

Breakfast 25

Avocado toast beside the halved avocado The stone leaves a round hollow in one half. Mash on the toast is rough; the cut fruit is smooth.
Bagel split and spread with cream cheese A ring of dough, boiled then baked, so the crust is smooth and shiny. The hole is a small ellipse.
Boiled egg cut in half lengthways Two ovals, each with a round yolk set a little off centre. Shade the yolk flat and leave the white bare.
Bowl of cereal with the spoon left in One ellipse for the rim, a second inside for the milk line. The spoon handle breaks the rim.
Cafetière half pressed, coffee inside A narrow glass cylinder with a plunger and mesh filter. Reflections run as vertical strips down the glass.
Cinnamon roll seen from above A rolled sheet of dough, so from above it is one spiral. Icing sits in the grooves and drips off one edge.
Croissant torn in half A crescent of laminated dough, so the torn end shows thin curved layers and air pockets. Flakes fall off.

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Breakfast, continued

Eggs Benedict with the yolk just broken Half an English muffin, ham, a poached egg, hollandaise over the top. Let the yolk run down one side only.
English muffin split and toasted Split horizontally, so you see the rough crumb full of holes. Butter melts into the holes first.
French toast dusted with icing sugar Bread soaked in beaten egg and fried, so it browns unevenly. Stipple the sugar, heavier in the middle.
Full English breakfast on an oval plate Bacon, sausages, eggs, tomato, mushrooms, beans, black pudding, toast. Overlap them so none floats.
Glass of orange juice with a striped straw Rim, juice surface and base are three ellipses, flattest at the top. The straw seems to break at the surface.
Hash brown patty, golden at the edges Shredded potato fried golden brown. The edge is ragged with loose strands, and the top is rough, not smooth.
Jar of marmalade with light coming through Made from citrus juice and peel, so strips of peel hang in the jelly. Light glows through the far side.
Omelette folded over on a plate A half-moon with a thick rolled fold and a thin open edge. A little filling shows at the open side.
Porridge with a spiral of honey A matt, lumpy surface with one glossy spiral on it. Let the honey line thicken where it lands.
Rashers of streaky bacon, crisp and wavy Streaky bacon comes from the belly, so fat and lean run in stripes. Draw each rasher as a wavy ribbon.
Smoothie bowl with fruit laid in rows Rows of sliced banana and berries curve with the bowl. Overlap the slices like fallen dominoes.
Soft-boiled egg with toast soldiers Soldiers are thin strips of toast for dipping. Slice the top off the egg and stand it in a cup.
Stack of pancakes with syrup running down Each pancake is a flat ellipse with a soft edge. Syrup pools on top, follows the rim, then drips.
Sunny side up egg in a small frying pan Fried on one side, so the yolk stays whole. Keep the white uneven and put one highlight on the yolk dome.
Toast rack, teapot and cup on a tray A toast rack holds slices upright between partitions. Every rim on the tray is an ellipse at the same tilt.
Toast with one bite gone A rounded square with a scalloped bite out of one corner. A few crumbs below it sell the bite.
Waffle with butter melting into the grid The iron presses a grid of square pockets. Draw the grid in perspective, then round every corner.
Yoghurt parfait layered in a glass A clear glass shows the layers: yoghurt, granola, fruit. Keep the bands uneven and curve them with the glass.

Fruit and vegetables 29

Apple peeled in one long spiral The peel hangs as a ribbon, red outside and pale inside. It twists, so both faces show in turn.
Banana half peeled Three or four strips of peel fold down and show their pale inside. The fruit curves; the strips flop.
Bell pepper cut across, seeds inside The cut ring is lumpy, not round, and hollow. Pale ribs cross the space and the seeds cling to them.
Blueberries spilling from a punnet Each berry has a flared crown at one end. Turn the crowns to different angles so the pile looks tumbled.
Bunch of carrots with the green tops on Tapering cones ringed with fine creases. The feathery tops need loose strokes, not single leaves.
Bunch of grapes catching the light Overlapping spheres on a branching stalk. Each grape gets one highlight; those behind go darker.
Butternut squash halved, seeds in the round end A long solid neck and a rounded end. The seeds sit in one compartment at the blossom end, not along the neck.
Chilli pepper curling at the tip A long cone with a bend, a glossy highlight along its length and a small green cap at the stalk.
Coconut cracked in two The shell has three pores at one end, the 'eyes'. Inside, a thin white layer lines a rough brown bowl.
Dragon fruit cut in half The skin is coated in fleshy, pointed scales. Inside, the pulp is speckled evenly with small black seeds.
Fig cut in half, seeds showing A teardrop outline. Inside, soft reddish flesh crowded with small seeds. Stipple them, densest at the middle.
Garlic bulb with two cloves pulled off Papery skin with fine lines running to the tip. The loose cloves are curved wedges, flat on one side.
Globe artichoke, bracts overlapping The part we eat is a flower bud, picked before it blooms. Its bracts overlap like roof tiles, tighter at the top.
Grilled corn on the cob, a few kernels charred Kernels run in rows round the cob. Draw the rows as curved lines, cut them into kernels, then darken a few.
Kiwi fruit cut across the middle Fuzzy light brown skin, green flesh, a pale centre, and rows of tiny black seeds in a ring around it.
Lemon cut into a wedge and a wheel The wheel shows the segments as spokes. The wedge shows the same segments from the side, as stripes.
One crinkled leaf peeled off a Savoy cabbage The leaf is crinkled all over, so shade the puckers: a light bump beside a dark dip. Veins fan from the stem.
Orange cut in half across the segments An orange has about ten segments, each walled by a membrane. They meet at a pale centre like spokes.
Peas in an open pod A row of spheres getting smaller toward both ends. The pod's two halves curve away like a canoe.
Pineapple with its crown of leaves The eyes run in two sets of spirals, often 8 one way and 13 the other. Draw both sets as crossing diagonals.
Pomegranate broken open Seeds sit packed in uneven chambers divided by pale membrane. Give each seed one highlight, no outline.
Pumpkin wedge with the seeds scooped out A thick crescent of flesh with a ribbed skin outside and stringy fibres inside. Pile the seeds beside it.
Red onion cut in half, rings showing Concentric layers, each a thin purple line beside a pale band. They tighten toward the core.
Romanesco broccoli and its spirals Each bud is made of smaller buds, all in logarithmic spirals. Draw the big spiral first, then repeat it small.
Starfruit with three star slices cut off The fruit has five or six ridges down its sides, so each slice is a star. Add a few seeds near the centre.
Strawberry sliced top to bottom Each 'seed' on the outside is really an achene, set in a dimple. Inside, a pale core runs down the middle.
Tomato sliced into rounds on a board Each round shows hollow pockets full of seeds between pale walls. Overlap the rounds in a leaning row.
Two cherries on a joined stalk Two spheres with a dimple where each stalk goes in. One highlight each, on the same side.
Watermelon wedge with seeds Three bands: firm green rind, a thin pale strip, then red flesh. Scatter the seeds in loose arcs.

Sweets and baking 32

Baklava cut into diamonds Thin sheets of filo layered with chopped nuts and soaked in syrup. The cut edge is many fine lines.
Birthday cake with the candles lit The flames are the brightest thing, so darken around them. Each flame lights the icing just below it.
Boiled sweets tipped out of a glass jar Shapes seen through glass soften and shift at the jar's edges. The sweets outside it stay crisp and bright.
Candyfloss on a stick Spun sugar has no hard edge. Build the cloud from loose circling strokes and leave the outline broken.
Cannoli with filling at both ends A tube of fried pastry, blistered on the outside, with ricotta filling showing at each open end.
Chocolate bar with one square snapped off A grid of raised squares, each with bevelled edges. The break is rough and the foil is torn back.
Chocolate chip cookie broken in half A rough circle with a cracked top. At the break the crumb is pale, and one melted chip stretches across.
Churros with a pot of chocolate Piped through a star-shaped nozzle, so ridges run the whole length. Draw the ridges as long parallel lines.
Croquembouche tower of choux puffs Choux puffs stacked in a cone, held by caramel threads. Draw the cone first, then pack the spheres.
Cupcake with its paper case peeled back The paper case is pleated, so its lines fan out from the base. Peeled back, it leaves ridges in the sponge.
Dango, three on a skewer Round dumplings, served three to five on a skewer. Three equal circles just touching, the stick through all.
Éclair with chocolate icing Choux dough piped into an oblong, filled with cream and iced on top. The icing gets one long highlight.
Gingerbread house with icing snow Flat slabs joined with icing, which also makes the snow and roof tiles. Sweets go on as plain shapes.
Honeycomb toffee snapped in half A rigid, sponge-like inside full of holes of every size. Draw the big holes first, then fill the gaps.
Ice lolly with a bite out of one corner A rounded block on a flat stick. The bite shows a grainy inside, and one drip hangs from the bottom edge.
Knickerbocker glory with a long spoon A layered sundae in a big, tall cone of a glass. Layers bend at the glass edges; the long spoon leans out.
Lattice-top apple pie, one slice lifted out The top is woven from crosswise strips, over then under. Filling shows in the square gaps between them.
Lemon meringue pie with browned peaks A pastry base, a band of lemon curd, then meringue pulled into peaks. Only the tips of the peaks brown.
Lollipop with a spiral swirl A flat disc with one spiral from centre to edge. Put a glint across the spiral, not along it.
Marshmallows toasting on a stick Short cylinders with soft corners. Browning starts on the side near the heat and fades round the form.
Moulded jelly turned out on a plate Set in a decorative mould, so it keeps the ridges. Translucent: the far edge shows through and the base glows.
Pavlova piled with cream and fruit A round block of meringue with a crisp, cracked crust and a soft inside. Cream and fruit heap on top.
Ring doughnut with icing and one bite gone A torus: the hole is a small ellipse, set high. Icing ends in a wavy line partway down the side.
Slice of Battenberg cake In cross section it shows a pink and yellow check, and the whole cake is wrapped in a band of marzipan.
Slice of cheesecake with a biscuit base A smooth pale wedge on a thin, dark, crumbly base. The point of the wedge slumps a little.
Square of tiramisu dusted with cocoa Layers of coffee-soaked ladyfingers and pale cream, topped with cocoa. The cut face shows the stripes.
Stroopwafel resting on a mug Two thin baked layers held together by a syrup filling, pressed with a fine grid. It sits on the mug as a lid.
Swiss roll cut to show the spiral A rolled sponge, so the cut end is a spiral of cake and filling. Keep the spiral's bands an even width.
Tower of five macarons Two smooth shells, each with a ruffled 'foot' at its base, and filling between. Stack them a little off true.
Two-scoop cone, the top scoop sliding off The cone is a wafer: hatch it with crossing diagonals that curve round the form. One drip runs down it.
Victoria sponge with one slice cut out Two sponge layers with a band of filling between. The gap shows the crumb: stipple it and leave the top plain.
Wrapped sweet with twisted ends An oval with a fan of creased wrapper at each end. The twist is where the creases bunch up.

Fast food and snacks 26

Bag of crisps torn open The bag is a pillow with crimped ends. Crisps are thin curved ovals. Make up your own pack design.
Burrito in foil, half unwrapped A sealed cylinder of flour tortilla. The foil is all small, sharp facets: light ones beside dark ones.
Carton of fries with a few fallen out Long square-cut sticks at slightly different angles. The carton is a tapered box with a scooped front.
Cheeseburger with every layer showing Stack the layers as flattened ellipses. The cheese melts over the patty, so one corner droops down.
Chicken nuggets and a pot of dip Breaded lumps, no two the same shape. Stipple the crumb and dunk one nugget halfway into the pot.
Club sandwich cut in quarters Three slices of toast, two layers of filling, cut diagonally and pinned with sticks. Show the cut faces.
Corn dog on a stick with ketchup A sausage on a stick in thick cornmeal batter: one smooth rounded form. Squiggle the ketchup down it.
Diner tray with burger, fries and a shake Three heights on one tray. Overlap them, set the ellipses at one eye level and cast one shared shadow.
Fish and chips in paper Battered fish has a bubbled, uneven crust. Wrap the paper as a loose cone and add a lemon wedge.
Fizzy drink with ice in a clear cup Ice cubes crowd the surface and bubbles cling to the sides. Everything seen through the cup is paler.
Fried chicken drumstick with a crisp crust The crust is craggy, so the outline is bumpy all the way round. The bone end is smooth and pale.
Grilled cheese sandwich pulled apart Browned bread with cheese melted between. Pull the halves apart and let the cheese sag in strands.
Hard-shell taco packed full The shell is a corn tortilla fried into a U shape. The filling heaps above the rim and a little falls out.
Hot dog loaded with onions and relish A sausage in the slit of a part-sliced bun. Pile the toppings unevenly so some spill over one side.
Jacket potato split open, butter melting A rough oval skin split in a cross. The inside is pale and broken up; the butter is a softening cube.
Milkshake with whipped cream and a cherry A tall glass, wider at the top. Cream sits in a piped swirl and the straw leans against the rim.
Paper coffee cup with a lid and sleeve A tapered cylinder. The lid is wider than the cup, and the sleeve's edges curve with the cup's ellipses.
Pizza box open with one slice left A flat square box, lid hinged up behind. One triangle left inside, and greasy rings where others sat.
Pizza slice drooping at the tip A triangle with a thick rounded crust. The tip sags under the topping and one string of cheese trails.
Plate of nachos with melted cheese Tortilla chips are triangles, slightly curled. Pile them at all angles and drape the cheese across several.
Popcorn spilling from a striped box Popped kernels come in two shapes: butterfly, with wings, and mushroom, like a ball. Mix both.
Soft pretzel with coarse salt A strip of dough with its ends twisted and pressed back onto the loop. Mark where one strand crosses over.
Stack of onion rings Battered rings of onion, so each is a bumpy torus. Stack them off centre so the holes do not line up.
Sub sandwich, filling on show A long roll split lengthwise. Fold the sliced filling in ruffles so it spills over the lower half.
Takeaway noodle box with chopsticks A folded paperboard pail with a wire handle. The flaps open into four planes; noodles hang in loops.
Whole pizza at an angle, one slice lifted The pie is an ellipse, and every topping on it flattens the same way. The lifted slice sags at the tip.

World dishes 36

Baguette sticking out of a paper bag A long, thin loaf with a row of diagonal cuts on top. The bag creases where a hand would grip it.
Banh mi cut to show the filling A short baguette with a thin crisp crust, split lengthwise and filled. Show the crust cracking at the cut.
Bento box with every section filled A lidded box, often divided into sections. Draw the dividers first, then give each section one texture.
Bibimbap with its toppings in sections Warm rice topped with seasoned vegetables, chilli paste and often an egg. Set each topping as its own wedge.
Borscht with a spoon of sour cream Beetroot gives the soup its red colour. The sour cream sits as a white island and bleeds pink at its edge.
Bowl of hummus with a pool of oil Swirl a groove with the back of a spoon, then fill it: olive oil, a few whole chickpeas, a dusting of paprika.
Bowl of pho with herbs on the side Broth, rice noodles, herbs and meat, usually beef. Let the noodles show just under the broth surface.
Dim sum in stacked bamboo steamers Round bamboo steamers stack like drums. Woven sides are short crossing strokes; lift one lid for steam.
Dosa rolled into a long tube A thin batter bread of rice and black gram, served folded or rolled. Rolled, it is one long hollow cylinder.
Empanada with a crimped edge Dough folded over a filling makes a half-moon turnover. The sealed edge is a rope of small twists.
Falafel in a pitta pocket Deep-fried balls of ground chickpeas or fava beans. Rough and dark outside; break one open to show inside.
Farfalle, fusilli and penne, one of each Farfalle means butterflies, fusilli are corkscrews, and penne are tubes with both ends cut at an angle.
Fortune cookie cracked open A crisp folded wafer with a slip of paper inside. Write your own fortune on the slip.
Gyoza with a pleated edge A crescent dumpling with a row of pleats along its sealed edge. Pan-fried ones have a flat browned base.
Injera with stews spooned on top A sour flatbread like a large pancake, slightly spongy. Stews sit on it in separate mounds, no bowls.
Jollof rice with fried plantain Rice cooked with tomatoes in one pot, which colours every grain. Ghanaian jollof typically comes with plantain.
Maki roll cut into six A roll is often sliced in six or eight. Each is a dark ring of nori, white rice, a bright centre.
Onigiri wrapped in a strip of nori A rice ball, usually triangular or cylindrical. The nori is a flat dark band folded under the base.
Pad thai with a lime wedge Stir-fried rice noodles with crushed peanuts and a lime wedge on the side. Tangle the noodles in loops.
Paella in its wide shallow pan The dish is named after the pan: wide, shallow, two side handles. From a low angle it is a very flat ellipse.
Pierogi with fried onions Dough folded over a filling into a half circle, with a pinched edge. Boiled, so they are smooth and pale.
Pizza Margherita seen from above Tomato, mozzarella and fresh basil leaves inside a raised rim, the cornicione. Keep the rim uneven.
Poutine: fries, cheese curds and gravy Fries and cheese curds under hot brown gravy. Curds are pale lumps; gravy is glossy and pools at the base.
Ramen with nori, pork and a halved egg Typical toppings are sliced pork, nori, bamboo shoots and scallions. Fan them so the noodles still show.
Scone split, with jam and clotted cream A cream tea is tea, scones, clotted cream and jam. Spoon the cream thick enough to stand in peaks.
Shakshuka in a skillet Eggs poached in tomato-and-pepper sauce. The whites set in ragged islands with a yolk in each.
Slice of lasagne with the layers showing Wide flat pasta sheets stacked with filling between. The layers sag and ooze, so no line stays straight.
Soft tacos on a plate with lime wedges Each tortilla is folded round its filling and eaten by hand. Lean them on each other so they stay shut.
Spaghetti twirled round a fork The twirl is a loose ball of parallel curves with stray ends escaping. Strands sag between fork and plate.
Square ravioli with a fluted edge Ravioli are commonly square. A pillow in the middle, a flat sealed border, and a zigzag cut edge.
Tagine with its cone lid lifted A shallow round clay dish with a tall cone-shaped cover. Lift the cover and let steam rise from the stew.
Takoyaki in a paper tray Ball-shaped snacks brushed with sauce and mayonnaise, topped with curling shavings of dried bonito.
Tamale half unwrapped from its husk Corn dough steamed in a corn husk. The husk has long parallel ribs and peels back in stiff, dry curls.
Thali with small bowls round the rim A round platter with dishes in small bowls called katori. Every bowl is an ellipse at the same tilt.
Three samosas and a pot of chutney The name comes from a word for 'triangular pastry'. Make each a plump pyramid with one sealed seam.
Two pieces of nigiri sushi on a board Seafood laid on a hand-pressed block of rice. The topping drapes over both ends; the rice is grainy.

How it works

Here are 148 things to draw, food only, each in a state: torn, sliced, melting, half unwrapped. The hint names the shape to get right and, where there is one, a fact checked against Wikipedia, such as the ten or so segments in an orange. Pair a course with a level, or print the deal as a tick list.

Read the full guide

A dish in a state beats a dish on a plate

Whole food is a lump. Cut it, bite it or melt it and you get an inside, an edge and a story. Toast with one bite gone has a scalloped corner and crumbs. Orange cut in half across the segments is a wheel of about ten spokes. Pineapple with its crown of leaves has eyes in two sets of spirals, often 8 one way and 13 the other.

Five groups by course, three by level

The groups sort by course: Breakfast, Fruit and vegetables, Sweets and baking, Fast food and snacks, and 36 World dishes. The 48 in Easy are easy to draw food: a few ellipses and one texture, such as Maki roll cut into six. The 31 hard ones add glass, foil or steam. Course and level combine, so Sweets and baking plus Easy holds nine.

Plates, bowls and cups are ellipses. Keep every ellipse on one table at the same tilt, and flatten them as they near eye level.
Draw texture only where light turns to shadow. A waffle of forty careful squares looks flatter than six squares and a hint.
For a three-course ladder, choose Easy and draw one dish, then Medium, then Hard.

Questions and answers

Which cute foods are easiest to draw?

Good first picks are Dango, three on a skewer, which is three circles and a line, and Chocolate bar with one square snapped off, which is a grid with one rough edge. Both read without any shading, and 46 more are in Easy.

Which detail makes a dish recognisable?

Usually the one the cook cannot avoid. Churros get their ridges from a star-shaped nozzle, a paella pan has two side handles, and a pineapple's eyes run in two sets of spirals. Get that detail right and the rest of the drawing can stay loose. Each hint names it for you.

What should I draw food with?

Pencil handles bread, pastry and anything matt. Glossy food, such as icing, syrup and egg yolk, needs one hard white highlight, so leave the paper bare there or add it with a gel pen. Coloured pencil or watercolour suits cut fruit, where colour does most of the work.