Recipe illustration : How to make a cocktail

Recently I have come across several recipe illustrations in Pinterest and they all look so fabulous and artistic. Since I am setting up the kitchen in our new apartment I decided to make one for myself. I thought to document the process in a step by step tutorial which will helpful for you to create a lovely colourful Recipe illustration of your favourite food or drink perfect to pep up your kitchen wall.

I opted to create a cocktail recipe illustration and my all time favourite cocktail is Mojito. Nothing says summer like a classic Mojito but trust me I can drink this refreshing cocktail any time of the year. As a known favourite of Ernest Hemingway this irresistibly fresh and punchy drink is my one-way salsa dance to the Caribbean.

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SUPPLIES

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STEPS

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Before you start with the illustration, get the recipe for your favourite food / drink from the internet and keep it handy. Count the number of steps in your recipe and accordingly divide the page into sections as shown above with a pencil. I have left a space in the topmost part of the page for the heading of the recipe. Ensure to get the spacings right before you start drawing.

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Now lets start with the illustration. For every step of the recipe let us create simple elements. I have marked my elements for your reference. For example, I have drawn some mint leaves, lime  wedges and Rum as the principle elements and kind of repeated them over several steps.

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Once you are done with the sketching of the elements , go ahead to add colors one at a time.  For the lime wedges and the leaves I opted for the above three colors : Lemon yellow, Sap Green and Leaf Green as it incorporates a vibrant effect to my painting. Feel free to use any color which you consider bright enough to paint all your elements.

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Here is the closer view of the lemon wedges on the glass. To create a mirror effect, I painted the area behind the glass blurry by adding more water and less paint.

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Its amazing to see the elements filled with color right? It’s really true pictures speak louder than words.

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Now we proceed to handlettering. First let us create the header for the recipe illustration. Please choose a waterproof pen such a Micron as we would later go over the ink with paint and prevent smudging. I wrote “ HOW TO MAKE A…” in block letters followed by “Mojito” in italics.

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To write the steps of the recipe I made some straight lines using a ruler prior to writing as I want the letters to be in line with prefect slant. Feel free to use BLOCK letters if required.

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To make the whole recipe illustration look more appealing, I went over the recipe steps and the header with a gentle brush stroke in lemon yellow.

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Here’s the final version of my Mojito cocktail recipe illustration. So what are you waiting for!! Grab your favourite recipe and create a wonder of your own.

P.S : Try to get an easy recipe with less number of steps.

IMPLEMENTATION SUGGESTION

  • There are countless ways this recipe illustration can be helpful for you:
  • Hang it as a wall decor in your kitchen or beside the dining area.
  • Gift it to someone who loves the particular food or drink.
  • Use it as a gift card for a food lover.

I hope this tutorial has been useful for you. Do create beautiful recipe artwork and don’t forget to share with me on Instagram.

Cheers

Drishti