How to draw lemons

1

Sketch the lemons and leaves

Lightly sketch oval lemons with crossing lines. Add lines from the cut lemon’s centre to its edge, then pointed leaves on thin stems.

2

Draw the outlines

Go over each lemon with a firmer line and add the small bumps at its ends. Sharpen the leaves and draw a centre vein in each. Keep the light lines.

3

Add the cut halves and roundness

Add the rind and segments to the cut lemon. Make the oval halfway down the right side a second cut half. Curve a line in each lemon for roundness.

4

Add skin dots and leaf veins

Dot the lemon skin, especially near the edges. Add branching lines inside the leaves and make the outlines of the cut segments clearer.

5

Clean up and draw the background

Erase the remaining crossing lines. Draw irregular shapes behind the lemons, like overlapping pieces of torn paper.

6

Colour the lemons first

Use yellow for the fruit, leaving white rings and dividing lines in the cut halves. Keep the leaves and background pencil.

7

Colour everything else evenly

No shading yet: dark green leaves and background patches in soft grey, lilac, pink and beige.

8

Add light and shadows

Paint light tops and darker orange undersides. Add shadows under the lemons, light streaks on the leaves and thick strokes in the background.