16 Breakfast Drawing Step by Step Lessons for Avocado Toast, Croissant Sandwiches and Blueberry Pancakes

52

Table of Contents

1. Avocado Toast With Poached Egg
2. Croissant Sandwich With Egg Bacon And Tomato
3. Blueberry Pancake Stack
4. Granola Bowl With Berries
5. Eggs Benedict
6. Cinnamon Roll Tray
7. French Toast With Berries
8. Breakfast Burrito
9. Shakshuka Skillet
10. Chia Pudding Jar
11. Iced Latte And Croissant
12. Stuffed French Crepe
13. Breakfast Charcuterie Board
14. Sunlit Brunch Table For Two
15. Farmers Market Breakfast Spread
16. Window Side Breakfast Nook
17. Frequently Asked Questions

Breakfast drawing is my favorite kind of painting because the subject is already sitting on your table, steaming and glossy and begging to be sketched before it gets cold. I love how a single plate can hold every color a painter wants: buttery yellow, berry red, deep golden brown, that fresh bright green of a smashed avocado.

Below you get sixteen brunch plates, each one its own worksheet that walks you from the first pencil lines to the last shine of syrup or yolk. Pick whatever you are craving today, pour something warm to drink, and paint along at your own table.

Avocado Toast With Poached Egg

Start with a light pencil sketch of the toast triangle, the mound of avocado and the soft poached egg sitting on top. Lay a pale raw sienna wash over the bread first, letting it stay patchy so the crust has life. Once dry, brush sap green over the avocado in one loose layer.

Paint the egg white with the thinnest wash of pale yellow, keeping most of the shape bare paper. Add burnt sienna along the crust edges and deeper olive shadows into the avocado ridges once everything is dry, then finish with gel pen dots for the yolk shine and salt flecks. Keep your avocado brushstrokes going in one direction so the texture reads as mashed, not smeared.

Croissant Sandwich With Egg Bacon And Tomato

Sketch the croissant split open with the egg, bacon and tomato slice layered inside, keeping the pencil lines light so they vanish under paint. Wash the whole pastry in yellow ochre first, letting the color pool a little near the folds for natural shading. Add the tomato in cadmium red and a soft pink wash over the bacon.

Drop golden yellow into the egg center while the white stays bare paper around it. Once everything is dry, paint burnt umber into the deepest croissant folds and along the bacon’s crisped edges, then finish with white gel pen flecks for the flaky shine. Vary your ochre tones so the croissant never looks flat.

Blueberry Pancake Stack

Draw the pancake stack lightly in pencil, letting each layer peek out slightly wider than the one above with a few berries and syrup drips. Wash every pancake in pale yellow ochre first, then once dry, dot in each blueberry with ultramarine mixed with a touch of violet.

Paint the syrup running down the stack in warm burnt sienna, pulling the color thin at the edges so it looks wet. Add burnt umber in short dry brush strokes around each pancake rim for that toasted griddle look, then finish with gel pen highlights on the syrup and the melting butter pat. Leave small white gaps between pancakes so the stack reads as separate layers.

Granola Bowl With Berries

Sketch the bowl shape first, then the soft mound of yogurt with granola clusters and berries scattered across the top. Wash the yogurt in the palest ivory so it still reads as white next to the paper, then once dry, dab raw sienna over the granola in small clustered strokes rather than one flat layer.

Add the strawberry halves in cadmium red and the blueberries in ultramarine, keeping each berry its own clean shape. Drop a little payne’s gray shadow inside the bowl rim for depth, then finish with gel pen drizzle lines for honey and a few shine dots on the berries. Vary the size of your granola strokes so the texture feels crunchy.

Eggs Benedict

Sketch the toasted muffin halves with the ham slice, poached egg and sauce draped over the top, keeping the sauce edges soft and irregular in pencil. Wash the muffin in yellow ochre first and let it dry before adding a gentle pink layer over the ham.

Paint the hollandaise sauce in a creamy pale yellow wash, letting it pool thicker where it drips down the sides. Once dry, deepen the muffin crust and ham folds with burnt sienna, then add gel pen for the glossy sauce shine and a scatter of chive flecks on top. Keep the sauce wash loose so it looks poured rather than painted on.

Cinnamon Roll Tray

Sketch a tray of three or four rolls nestled close together, each one slightly different in size so the tray feels full and homemade. Wash every roll in pale yellow ochre, then once dry, spiral burnt sienna in loose curved lines to mark the cinnamon swirl inside each one.

Paint a thin ivory wash across the tops for the icing, letting the gaps between rolls stay unpainted so each shape stays distinct. Deepen the crisped edges and tray corners with burnt umber, then finish with gel pen drips running down the icing and a few shine dots. Let your swirl lines curve rather than spiral too tightly, it reads more natural that way.

French Toast With Berries

Sketch the stacked slices with a scatter of berries and a light dusting across the top, keeping the stack slightly uneven so it looks hand cut. Wash each slice in yellow ochre, then paint the strawberries in cadmium red and blackberries in violet once that layer dries.

Pool burnt sienna syrup at the base of the stack and let it bleed softly into the plate area. Add burnt umber along the caramelized edges of each slice, then finish with a gel pen dusting of powdered sugar and a few syrup shine marks. Press the gel pen lightly for the sugar so the dots stay small and scattered.

Breakfast Burrito

Sketch the burrito folded tight with one end sliced open to show the scrambled egg, cheese and avocado inside. Wash the tortilla in raw sienna, keeping it pale enough to show the grill marks you add later. Paint the egg in golden yellow and any avocado bits in sap green at the cut end.

Dot cadmium red salsa and a soft pale yellow cheese wash through the filling, then once dry, add burnt sienna grill marks in short parallel strokes across the tortilla. Finish with gel pen for the melted cheese shine and a few steam lines rising above the cut. Keep the grill marks slightly curved to follow the tortilla’s roundness.

Shakshuka Skillet

Sketch the skillet first, round and heavy looking, then the sauce with three or four eggs nestled into it. Wash the sauce in burnt sienna, letting it pool thicker near the pan edges. Once dry, paint each egg white in the palest ivory, keeping the shapes soft and slightly overlapping.

Drop golden yellow into each yolk center while the white edges stay damp for a gentle blend. Add cadmium red pepper flecks across the sauce and a dark payne’s gray rim around the skillet, then finish with gel pen for the glossy sauce shine and scattered herb flecks. Keep the eggs slightly different sizes so the pan looks freshly cracked.

Chia Pudding Jar

Sketch the glass jar lightly, then mark where the pudding layer ends and the fruit topping begins. Wash the pudding area in pale ivory first, and once dry, speckle tiny payne’s gray dots through it for the chia seed texture.

Paint the mango layer in cadmium orange and the berries in violet across the top of the jar. Deepen the jar outline and the shadow under the glass rim with payne’s gray, then finish with gel pen for a bright streak of glass highlight down one side and a little shine on the fruit. Keep your chia dots small and irregular rather than evenly spaced.

Iced Latte And Croissant

Sketch the tall glass with its swirl of coffee over milk, then the croissant sitting beside it on the plate. Wash the croissant and the glass’s milky lower half in yellow ochre, keeping the glass wash pale and translucent.

Once dry, paint burnt umber across the top half of the drink where the coffee sits over the milk, letting the two blend slightly at the swirl line. Add a few payne’s gray ice cubes floating inside, then deepen the croissant folds with burnt sienna. Finish with gel pen for condensation drips on the glass and shine on the pastry. Keep the coffee and milk line slightly wavy for a natural pour.

Stuffed French Crepe

Sketch the crepe folded into quarters with cream and berries peeking from the open edge. Wash the whole crepe in yellow ochre first, keeping it thin enough to show the paper through in places since crepes are delicate. Paint the cream filling in pale ivory and let it dry before adding the berries.

Paint the strawberries in cadmium red and a few blackberries in violet spilling from the fold. Once everything is dry, add burnt sienna along the thinnest lacy edges of the crepe, then finish with gel pen drizzle lines and berry shine. Keep your crepe wash the thinnest of the whole set, it should look almost see through at the edges.

Breakfast Charcuterie Board

Sketch the board loosely from above, grouping grapes, berry clusters, cheese wedges and a small pastry or two across its surface. Ink the whole sketch in fine black line once you are happy with the arrangement, then erase the pencil. Wash the board itself in raw sienna, keeping the grain direction in mind as you brush.

Paint the grapes and figs in violet and the berries in cadmium red, then wash the cheese wedges and pastries in pale ivory. Finish with burnt umber shadows along the wood grain and under each food group, plus gel pen shine on the glossiest fruit. If you love arranging small scenes like this, the picnic drawing lessons make a nice companion page.

Sunlit Brunch Table For Two

Sketch a simple table from a slightly high angle, two coffee cups, cutlery and a shared plate of something golden between them. Ink the line work once the composition feels balanced, then lift the pencil. Wash the tablecloth in raw sienna, letting the color pool softly near the cup bases.

Paint the coffee inside each cup in burnt umber and the shared plate’s food in golden yellow with a touch of sap green for garnish. Add payne’s gray shadows under the cups and plate, then finish with gel pen highlights on the cup rims and any shiny spots. This one pairs well with the quieter mood of the cozy library illustrations if you want a slow morning series.

Farmers Market Breakfast Spread

Sketch a loaf of bread leaning in a basket with a jam jar and a few loose berries or plums scattered nearby. Ink the whole scene in fine line once the layout feels natural, then erase the pencil underneath. Wash the bread and basket weave in raw sienna, keeping the basket strokes short to suggest woven texture.

Paint the jam in cadmium red and any plums or figs in violet, then once dry, deepen the bread crust and basket shadow with burnt sienna. Finish with gel pen shine on the jam jar glass and a few highlight dots on the fruit. For more small still life scenes in this spirit, the fruit basket drawing ideas are worth a look too.

Window Side Breakfast Nook

Sketch a cozy window seat scene, a small tray with tea and toast, a plant on the sill and soft morning light coming through the glass. Ink the scene in fine line once the composition sits well, then erase the pencil guide underneath.

Wash the window glass in pale cerulean blue for that early morning feel, then wash the tray, toast and teapot in warm yellow ochre. Paint the sill plant in sap green, then add payne’s gray shadows along the window frame and gel pen shine on the teapot and glass to finish. If window scenes like this appeal to you, the village scene drawing ideas have a similar cozy feel worth exploring.

What to Do Next

Pick whichever plate is calling to you today, set up your paints beside your sketchbook, and work through the stages in order rather than rushing to the finish. Save this page for your next slow brunch morning and work through the rest of the list one plate at a time.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the best paper for breakfast drawing in watercolor?

A cold press watercolor paper of at least 140 pound weight works best. It handles the repeated washes these food subjects need without buckling or pilling under your brush.

How do I keep my watercolor food looking fresh and not muddy?

Let each layer dry fully before adding the next one. Breakfast scenes rely on clean golden and red tones, and painting wet over wet too often is what turns them gray and dull.

Do I need to ink my breakfast drawings before painting?

Only the small scenes in this set use fine ink line work. Single plates and objects can go straight from pencil into paint for a softer, more casual brunch sketch feel.

What colors should I always keep mixed for brunch painting?

Yellow ochre and burnt sienna cover nearly every golden crust, pastry and toast surface here. Keep those two warm tones premixed and ready, since they appear in almost every lesson.

How do I paint realistic shine on eggs and syrup?

Leave small bare paper patches while painting and add the glossiest highlights last with a white gel pen. Painting the shine too early gets covered by later washes and loses its sparkle.