How to Draw a Bowl of Soup

Finished vegetable soup drawing in a deep bowl with light shading.

Soup is one of the most familiar dishes in the world, and it can look very different depending on the ingredients and the way it is served.

In this tutorial, we will show you how to draw a bowl of soup. We chose vegetable soup, but you can easily change the ingredients and depict almost any kind you like.

How to draw soup step by step

Step 1: Sketch the bowl opening

First, draw a horizontal oval to indicate the upper edge of the bowl. Try to make this geometric shape smooth and symmetrical.

Sketching the upper edge of the soup bowl as a horizontal oval.

Step 2: Draw the inner edge

Inside the oval, draw another smooth curved line parallel to its upper edge. This line marks the inner edge of the bowl and begins to show its depth. Try to repeat the curvature of the outer contour as accurately as possible.

Drawing the curved inner edge inside the soup bowl.

Step 3: Complete the deep bowl

Continue drawing the bowl by adding a large, smooth semicircle below the oval. This lower contour should connect with the sides and make the bowl look deep. If you want to draw a flatter bowl or saucer, simply make this curve noticeably shallower.

Completing the deep soup bowl with a broad curved lower contour.

Step 4: Add the vegetable soup

Now it is time to draw the soup itself. We chose vegetable soup, so add pieces of vegetables of different shapes and sizes inside the bowl. You can depict another kind of soup instead; for example, use a few soft wavy lines for a cream soup or add pieces of mushrooms and croutons.

Adding pieces of vegetables across the surface of the soup.

Step 5: Add shadows to the bowl

The soup drawing is almost complete, and now we need to add some shadows to make the bowl look more three-dimensional. Apply light hatching to the right side of the outer and inner parts of the bowl. Then add a soft cast shadow on the table to show that the bowl rests on a flat surface. You can also create highlights with smooth strokes.

Finishing the soup drawing with light shading and a cast shadow.

As we mentioned above, you can use this drawing as a basis for many different kinds of soup. Change the ingredients, make the liquid lighter or darker, or use another type of dish.

The bowl itself is also worth practicing separately, since this simple form appears very often in drawings of food and still lifes.

If you want to practice a similar form in more detail, try to draw a plate separately. You can also add other dishes to the composition and draw a sandwich next to the soup to create a more complete food drawing.