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How to Draw a Cupcake

You can learn to draw a cupcake step by step and even add a candle on top for fun! A cupcake is a variation of a cylinder. You can do it!!
Prep Time5 minutes
Cook Time20 minutes
Total Time25 minutes
Course: Craft, How to Draw
Cuisine: Craft
Keyword: Art and craft project, DIY learn to draw, family activity, how do you draw a cupcake?, how to draw a birthday cupcake, how to draw a cupcake, how to draw a cupcake step by step, kids craft
Servings: 1 drawing
Author: Shelly
Cost: $1

Equipment

  • Pencil sharpener

Instructions

  • Drawing a cupcake is just a slight variation of drawing a cylinder. 
    Instead of drawing the first two lines parallel, you will draw them at a slight slant. The top of the first two lines will be further apart than the bottom of the two lines. These represent the sides of the cupcake liner.
  • Lightly draw two matching “smile” lines to connect the bottom of the two lines and to connect the top of the two lines.
    Now go over these lightly drawn smile lines with a very small zigzag line. This will create the look of the pleated cupcake paper top and bottom edges.
    Follow this up by drawing a series of lines from the top to the bottom of the cupcake paper. This completes the look of the pleats in the cupcake papers. Zigzag smiles
  • Lightly sketch an arched line up and over the top of the cupcake paper you have drawn. 
    Go over this line again making it a bit “bumpy” because a cupcake is never exactly smooth.
    Draw a similar bumpy smile line right above the top cupcake liner to be the bottom of the frosting.
    Want some sprinkles? I do! Add small circles or small rectangles over the frosting area of the cupcake to be sprinkles! That’s fun, isn’t it?
  • You can leave your cupcake like this or add a birthday candle.
    What shape is a birthday candle? You guessed it, it is a tall and narrow cylinder! 
    Draw two vertical parallel lines that are pretty close together. These two lines will start about ½ inch down into the frosting area of your cupcake and are about the same height as your cupcake paper. You can make yours taller, shorter, or wider if you want to!
    Connect the bottom of the two lines with a small smile line and the top two lines with a matching smile line. 
    Draw an upside-down smile line over the top of the candle to make it look 3D.
    Erase the cupcake line and sprinkles that are showing through your candle.
    Add a short line on the top of the candle to be a wick.
    A tear drop shape on the top of the wick will look like a flame! I added a couple small lines in the flame and over the flame to make it look more like fire.
  • Pretend that there is a light source to the upper right of the paper, and it is shining down towards the lower left. The light hits the right side of the cupcake, leaves the left side shaded and makes a cast shadow on the table to the left.
    Draw shading on the left side of the candle and cupcake by leaning your pencil to the side and gently rubbing the side of the pencil lead on the paper. This leaves a light rubbing mark instead of a sharp line. 
    Use your finger to smudge this a bit to make it look more like a shadow.
    Lastly do some rubbing on the left side of the cupcake to look like the cupcakes shadow on the tabletop. I did draw horizontal lines on either side of the cupcake to represent the edge of a tabletop. You can do that too if you want.
  • If you like to watch videos on YouTube subscribe and/or watch the video here: YouTube link to How to Draw a Cupcake.

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