A paintbrush leaning in a small jar

Practice a simple jar ellipse and one leaning brush. A few bristle divisions and local overlap shadows add enough detail to explain the objects.

A way into the drawing

1. Draw the jar’s ellipses

   Start with an oval opening and curve the sides down to a smaller base ellipse. Keep the two ellipses at a similar angle.

2. Lean the brush through the opening

   Draw a long handle at an angle, hiding its lower part behind the front rim. Add the short ferrule and pointed bristle shape above it.

3. Limit the bristle details

   Use a few broad divisions in the bristles and two ferrule bands. Add a little gray inside the jar opening and beneath the ferrule.

A small thing to tryDraw the full brush lightly first, then hide the section behind the front rim to make the overlap convincing.