How to draw a cartoon broccoli loaded with vitamins!

In this lesson, you will learn to draw a cartoon broccoli that looks delicious and visually appealing. I will show you a few simple tips to help you create a vegetable with a 3D aspect using only 2D tools. Although it is usually not the favorite food of most kids, you can find a whole variety of vitamins inside this vegetable. Whether you need some vitamin C, fibers, vitamin K or even a little bit of proteins, you can enjoy a lot of benefits from eating broccoli. Ready? Let's see how we can illustrate the image found below in just a few simple basic steps ...

Working on the stalk

First, let's work on the bottom part of our subject ... the stalk. This one is made from several stems drawn using irregular lines. These lines are made from pointed ends. You can also draw a few leaves as shown in the picture below. Notice how the bottom of the vegetable is made from three different curved lines.

drawing the florets

On top of the stems, you can draw several small florets made from short curved lines. Some of these florets can be slightly larger while others are smaller and partially hidden. That's about it for the drawing aspect of this tutorial. Broccoli are definitely not that hard to illustrate, but adding realistic effects can be more challenging.

adding colors using gradients

You won't be surprised to learn that you need to use a lot of green colors to enhance this illustration. The florets must be darker than the stems and stalk. Using gradients is definitely a good idea. You can already create some volume by adding two different variations of the same color inside each shape. Notice how stems on the back are also slightly darker. Cool! This lesson on how to draw a broccoli is going great! :)

creating simple shadows

One simple thing we can do to create more depth is draw a few basic shadows. These new additions must be filled with a dark green color. However, using only dark shapes is not a good idea. Indeed, shadows should be subtle and soft to be relevant and effective. That's why it's a good idea to use transparency and play with the opacity of all shadows added in this step.

Shadows are mostly added on the top of the stems (just below the florets) and on the bottom of the stalk. You can draw more shapes elsewhere if you want to, but keep in mind that simplicity is better.

drawing simple textures using lines

Inside the florets, you can draw some texture using several short curved lines. More lines can also be drawn on the stalk as shown in the image below. All these new additions can be filled with a dark green color (but not too dark. We are looking for a subtle result).

good job drawing this cute cartoon broccoli

That's it for this lesson on how to draw a cute cartoon broccoli. Of course, feel free to draw more shadows, digital effects, highlights or textures on your image if you want to. You can also try more versions using various outlines, strokes or even remove those and work exclusively with shapes. Just be creative!

Above, you can see all steps required to draw this broccoli clipart properly. Are you looking to draw more vegetables, fruits or any other kinds of food? No problem! You are invited to work with more lessons featuring delicious cartoon food here. Enjoy! :)