How to Draw A Cartoon Candle with stunning effects

Learn how to draw a cartoon candle made from realistic effects using all the power a vector application can offer! If you are familiar with these software, then you know that modern vector applications are capable of creating stunning effects effortlessly and quickly. This is the case for this simple tutorial.

Although the drawing seems complex and visually impressive, creating a similar illustration is in fact quite easy. If you don't own a vector software and want to create fun images like this one, go for it! You won't regret it! I used Xara (affordable and easy to use) to create this illustration.

Step 1

First, draw the candle and the flame using only basic shapes and lines. The candle can be filled with a dark orange color and the flame is white. The wick is colored in green simply to make this one readable. We will change the color of this element later in this drawing tutorial.

Step 2

Next, use the gradient fill tool to add a second color to the candle. In this case, the bottom of the object is slightly darker. Using transparency, you can also partially hide the top of the candle (the darker area just below the wick). This will help create a subtle translucent object.

Step 3

Create another shape on top of the original one (as seen below with the pink outline). Make this new shape brighter and blur the outline. You can see the final result in step number four.

Step 4

Once again, create another shape on the candle. This one can be slightly darker and the outline can be blurred. On the bottom of the candle, draw a large black rectangle. This rectangle must be black. Then, use transparency to partially hide the top of this new shape. Just look at the previous step to see the difference.

Step 5

This is the result so far. It's now time to add more effects around the flame to create a more realistic cartoon illustration.

Step 6

On the bottom of the flame, draw a small (and dark) circular shape as shown below. Use transparency to make the effect subtle. Below the flame and on top of the candle, draw a large yellow shape. Make sure this new shape is slightly transparent and that the outline is completely blurred.

Step 7

You can see in this step the result once all shapes are blurred and filled with some transparency.

Step 8

Behind the object, draw a large circular shape filled with a bright orange color. Use transparency (a circular fill) to hide the outline of this shape. Draw a large oval shape filled with a bright yellow color and repeat the same technique to create a blur effect.

Step 9

Once again, this is the result once both shapes are filled with the appropriated effects.

Step 10

For this final step, draw a large rectangle filled with a bright orange color. Notice the position of this new shape on the image below. Then, draw a small white circle behind the flame. In both cases, use transparency to make these shapes more subtle and make sure the outlines are blurred.