Techniques for still-life textures

Citrus fruit
FRUIT OFFERS A VARIETY of different
textures, from its outer skin, to the inside
of the peel and the flesh. For citrus fruits,
like this orange, there is a lot of textural
contrast between these components.
The outer skin has a randomly dimpled
texture, whilst the pith inside has a softer
feel, and the flesh is formed of many tiny
juice sacs.
Showing the behaviour of a texture
with indication – such as a few dots for
the dimples where they show most
clearly on the rind – is an effective way to
imply the more complex details. It is
impossible to draw every single dimple or
each individual juice sac, so try to
indicate these by using different marks
for each component instead.

Fruit innards – highlights

These highlights were created using
the point of a round brush and
some white gouache with a little
yellow in it. The lightness helps to Rind
convey a sense of wetness. The skin’s random dimpled
texture was made by
dragging the side of a pencil
over it. The lighter orange
was created by dragging a
fairly dry brush with gouache
on. The last few dimples were
added with a round brush.

Techniques for
still-life textures

Pith
There are stringy structures on the pith
that run roughly lengthways up and
down the orange. Little shadows have
been placed between these to indicate
the texture. Watercolour pencil was
then lightly applied to break up and
soften the surface.

Oil sacs Fruit innards – juice sacs

When viewed at a cross section, it is
possible to see the oil sacs in the peel.
These can be portrayed by ensuring the
boundary between the orange and white
layers is rounded, uneven and bumpy.
The key to drawing these juice sacs is to follow
the direction they align in as they point away
from the peel. The divisions were added with a
watercolour pencil, and the lines are slightly
‘wobbly’ to indicate an organic structure.

Texture follows form

The textures of this onion and garlic bulb follow their
rounded forms, wrapping around from root to dried out
stem. The papery thinness of the skin is conveyed by
broken contour lines and occlusion shadows, such as the
split on the onion, and the different layers on the garlic.

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 Ceramic textures
The highlights on glazed ceramics imply a similar
smooth, shiny surface to metal and glass, but instead
ceramics have their own colours. The rim of the dish
here is still unglazed – the little dots and lack of
highlights show a more matte, porous texture.

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