How to Draw a Baguette (French Bread) Step by Step

by easylinedrawing

This tutorial shows an easy way to draw a baguette, a loaf of French Bread. It consists of six steps with accompanying illustrations.

The baguette in the example has a fairly traditional look, it’s drawn as a long loaf with scoring (slashes) along the top. The drawing is done in a somewhat simplified style with a black outline and flat colors. However, overall the baguette has a fairly realistic shape. Art of this kind can be easy and fun to create making this guide great for beginners.

If you are going to try the tutorial it’s recommended that you start it in pencil. Make light lines that you can easily in case of a mistake. Darken them after you have the baguette fully outlined.

Step 1 – Outline the Baguette’s Shape

Start by outlining the overall shape of the loaf. As already mentioned, make this fairly long and narrow. Make the outline wavy and uneven as the dough tends to warp when it bakes. This will help give the baguette a more natural and realistic look. Also, draw each of it’s end to be narrower looking a bit like they’ve been squeezed (as is common for this kind of bread).

Step 2 – Draw the Scoring (Middle & End Cuts)

After you have the main shape of the loaf outlined, start adding the slashes along it’s top. First, draw the one in the middle. Afterwards, draw the ones on the ends.

Generally, draw the slashes to be slightly wider in the middle and narrower towards each end. In this case the baguette is shown on an angle so the slashes will be partially hidden behind it’s curvature on one side. Give the outlines of the slashes on the visible side pointy ends. Also, similar to the loaf’s outline define each of the slashes with a wavy outline.

Step 3 – Draw the “In Between” Slashes

Once you have the middle and end slashes drawn, add the ones in between them. Draw these with shapes similar to the previous set.

The reason for adding the slashes in such an order is that it makes it easier to evenly space them out. If you simply draw the scoring from one end to the other you might find that the last slash doesn’t quite fit.

Step 4 – Draw the “Cut Lines” Inside the Slashes

Inside the outline of slash draw a wavy “cut line” (as in the example). This will show the area where the dough has been cut and is then pulled apart from in each direction when the bread bakes.

Once done with the above, trace over your drawing with darker pencil lines or a black marker.

Step 5 – Color the Baguette

Color the baguette by making the crust an orange yellow brown. An easy way to do so is to apply these colors layered one over the other with pencil crayons. Alternatively, you can mix the appropriate color paints.

Make the scoring yellow. Simply use a yellow pencil crayon or paint.

Step 6 – Shade the Loaf’s Lower End

For the last part of the drawing show a shadow along the baguette’s lower area. You can do so by going over the previous color with a darker brown. Afterwards, also lightly darken one side of each of the slashes of the scoring using the the cut lines as the dividers. Again, apply some brown over the initial color layer to do so.

The shadow will help the drawing stand out by giving the loaf and scoring a slightly more three dimensional look.

Conclusion

This guide shows an easy way to draw a baguette. It first explains how to create a shape characteristic of such bread and then how to apply some color and shading.

The overall goal is to create artwork that is simple but easily recognizable as French Bread. Hopefully, you’ve had fun doing so if you chose to follow along.

For more similar drawing guides also be sure to try the following: