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Root vegetables have soft, lumpy shapes that make them relaxing to sketch, and today the plan is to learn how to draw a sweet potato with a whole root sitting behind and a halved one showing its slice up front. Nothing here is fussy, so it makes a calm place to warm up.

Drawing a Sweet Potato

The whole thing runs across 10 short steps. Start with the rounded outline of the whole root, add the cut half beside it, then bring in the slice, the skin texture, and a bit of shading to finish. Each step adds just a little on top of the last.

The Finished Sweet Potato

Finished colored sweet potato drawing

Working on an uneven organic shape like this trains a looser, more relaxed line. Once this one feels comfortable, the onion walkthrough follows a similar whole and halved setup, and the garlic bulb and clove is another gentle root to try. More produce ideas are gathered on the fruit and vegetable hub.

How the Guide Works: Color Key

The lines in each image are colored so the current step always stands out from earlier work.

  • Grey lines show the base sketch from earlier steps
  • Red lines show what to draw in the current step
  • Black lines are finished details from previous steps

Keep the first marks light so the bumpy outline is easy to reshape. When the forms look right, go over the keeper lines with a pen, erase the pencil underneath, and color with warm orange skin and a paler inside on the cut half.

How to Draw a Sweet Potato Step by Step

Step 01

how to draw a sweet potato - step 01

Step 02

how to draw a sweet potato - step 02

Step 03

how to draw a sweet potato - step 03

Step 04

how to draw a sweet potato - step 04

Step 05

how to draw a sweet potato - step 05

Step 06

how to draw a sweet potato - step 06

Step 07

how to draw a sweet potato - step 07

Step 08

how to draw a sweet potato - step 08

Step 09

how to draw a sweet potato - step 09

Step 10

Finished colored sweet potato drawing

Show Me Your Sweet Potato

That finishes the pair of roots. Once you draw a sweet potato you are happy with, drop it in the comments so I can see how it came out. More vegetables are waiting for you over on the produce hub.

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