How To Illustrate An Ornate Pitcher

• Software: Inkscape (or other Vector Graphics software)
• Level: Intermediate
• Subject: Ornate Pitcher (Persian or Arabic style)

It has been quite some time since I posted a vector art tutorial - this should fill the gap. At the end of this tutorial you should be able to create the basic shape of a pitcher - which is quite common in Arabic and Persian culture. This style/genre has had his influence to as far as India due to the silk route. The style has a characteristic to have ornate etchings on household items.

History and cultural influences aside, let us look at how to create an illustration of a pitcher. It will not be quite ornate - but should serve as a base for further explorations. This tutorial would involve quite a few Inkscape Path Operations like Union, Differencec and Intersection- refer to the basic tutorial in required.

Start of by creating a set of circles and rectangles.

Align them over a vertical axis. In Inkscape, choose Object > Align and Distribute… or [Shift]+[Ctrl]+[A], and then choose ‘Center On Vertical Axis‘.

Select the middle rectangle and the two ovals, and perform the Union operation - [Ctrl]+[+] or Path > Union.

Subtract the rectangles from the combined shape, one after another - [Ctrl]+[-] or Path > Difference. Use the ‘Edit Path’ tool from the tool bar or press [F2] and push in the lines of the neck to make it concave.

Use the ‘Bezier curve’ tool from toobar or press [Shift]+[F6] and draw rough shapes for the mouth pipe and the handle.

Use the ‘Edit Path’ tool to shape these as shown above.

Give a bright yellow color to all the shapes.

Also, remember to rearrange the order, by sending back the handle. (Select the handle shape and press [Page Down] couple of times.

To give depth to the illustration, we will give it some shadows. Using the ‘Bezier curve’ tool, draw a rough shape to the right half - here we are assuming a light source from left. Make a copy of the base pitcher shape, and paste it exactly over the original. Tip - use [Ctrl]+[Alt]+[v] instead of just [Ctrl]+[v].

Select the copy of the base shape (I have colored it red - but the step is not necessary) and the rough shadow outline and perform Intersection operation on them. Choose Path > Intersection or [Ctrl]+[*].

Shape the shadow outline using the ‘Edit Path’ tool. Fill the shadow shape with a darker shade (with slight shift in hue) and switch off the outline.

Use the similar approachc to draw a fine hightlight line. Remember to push the highlight below the mouth pipe if it overlaps it.

Fill the handle with the same color as the pitcher base is between it and the light source.

Apply shadow to the mouth pipe partially as you did for the base shape.

To make it look more like a cartoon - apply a thick outline to the full illustration. A simple way to do this, is to select all the shapes, make a copy and paste it exactly over it. After that, apply Union operation on those shapes to make it a single shape. Apply one or two Outset operations - choose Path > Outset or [Ctrl]+[ ) ].

After that - change its fill color to the dark outline color and send it to the back of all the shapes.

Now select all the shapes and group them - Object > Group or [Ctrl]+[G]. This way it will become a single object and you should be able to use it in other artworks.

Or may be make it even more ornate?

Post your artwork in the comment form below.

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