It's a Tomato Thing

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MINI LESSON: CUPS (6 of 8)

Now we tackle handles! NOTE: I don't start trying to figure out where the handle is until I've completely established/drawn the rest of the cup (from the first few lessons). I've taken some pictures here of several different cups, at different angles. Then I've drawn lines to indicate the boundaries of each handle shape (top, bottom, left and right-most part of each).

In order to figure out where each boundary is, I elongate the lines in my head (I can also use the edges of my viewfinder for this) and compare it to other major cup landmarks. For example, in the top-left cup, the top of the handle starts just a little below the top of the cup, but the bottom of the handle starts about halfway between that line and the bottom of the cup. In the bottom-left cup, on the other hand, while the top of the handle also starts just below the top of the cup, the bottom starts well above half the height of the whole cup, and even above the bottom of the ellipse. The right-most side of that same handle (bottom-left cup), is only a little ways to the right of the cup (compared to the width of the entire cup). But look at the bottom-right cup - see how the right side of the handle just about lines up with the right side of the cup? If you ever need to measure to find out just how wide/tall something is compared to something else (a ratio), you can use the measuring technique I explained in lesson two.

Once I have established the boundaries of the handle in my drawing, I can find angles (this is especially important for more complex views, like this one to the right). First I find the angle of the top of the handle A, and how it attaches to the cup (this is usually parallel to how the bottom of the handle attaches). Then I find B, the angle that connects the top and bottom of the handle, on whatever side I can see. Then I find the angles that indicate how the top and bottom of the handle are extending from the cup, C's. Then, in the middle of all this, if I can see one, I find the negative space, D.

After that it's just a matter of connecting the "dots" and curving some sides. It looks A LOT more complicated than it really is. And by the way, this is how I draw everything, not just cups. Once you get better at it, you don't have to draw quite so many lines - you do it mostly in your head. The more you practice the easier it gets, so don't beat yourself up if your first ones are terrible (mine were!).