18 Japanese Food Drawing Step by Step Lessons for Ramen, Sushi and Bento

Table of Contents

1. Before You Start
2. Ramen Bowl With Egg
3. Sushi Platter
4. Bento Box
5. Onigiri on a Leaf
6. Dango Skewer
7. Matcha With Wagashi
8. Tempura Plate
9. Takoyaki Skewer Plate
10. Miso Soup Bowl
11. Sushi Roll Close Up
12. Udon Noodle Bowl
13. Sashimi Plate
14. Inari Sushi Pair
15. Katsu Curry Plate
16. Onigiri Trio Scene
17. Chawanmushi Cup
18. Mochi Plate
19. Onsen Tamago Egg
20. Frequently Asked Questions

Japanese food drawing is the kind of project I reach for when I want something small, satisfying and done by dinner. A bowl of ramen, a neat little bento, a cup of matcha with its wagashi on the side: each one is a tiny still life with its own warm broth tones, fresh greens and soft pinks, and none of them ask for more than an afternoon.

Below you get eighteen of these dishes, each broken into stages from the first pencil outline to the last dab of shine, with a swatch beside every stage so you always know which gouache to load next. Pick the one that makes you hungry and paint along.

Before You Start

• Sketch everything in light pencil first, pressing just hard enough to see the line, since gouache covers it but a heavy line will still show through pale washes.
• Keep a scrap of paper beside you to test each gouache mix before it touches the real page, especially the pinks and browns that look different wet than dry.
• Load your brush so the paint sits like thick cream, not milk, because gouache dries flat and matte only when it goes on fairly dry rather than puddly.
• Paint the lightest, widest areas first (broth, rice, bowls) and save the darkest accents and outlines for last so mistakes stay easy to cover.
• Let each layer dry fully before adding the next one on top, which usually takes just a minute or two, or you will drag muddy color into clean shapes.
• Use a fine brush or a dip pen with ink for the final outlines so every dumpling, noodle and chopstick keeps a crisp, cheerful edge.

Ramen Bowl With Egg

Start this one with a light pencil bowl shape, a few loose noodle curves rising from the broth, and the half egg sitting on top. Keep the noodles simple, three or four lazy loops are plenty, this is not about anatomical accuracy in wheat strands.

Wash the broth area with a thin, cream colored gouache mix so it stays a little translucent, almost milky. Once that is dry to the touch, block in the noodles with a flat beige and the bowl’s outside wall with a matching but slightly deeper tone so the rim reads clearly.

Paint the egg white in pale pink and drop in a rounder, warmer yellow for the yolk, letting them sit as clean flat shapes rather than blending the edges. Add the scallion rings in spring green and a pink swirl of naruto fish cake for a pop of color.

Finish with a fine pen outline around every shape, which is what turns loose color blocks into a crisp little bowl, then dot white gouache for steam curls above the broth. If your green looks dull, warm it with a touch of yellow before it dries.

Sushi Platter

Sketch three or four sushi shapes side by side, a couple of nigiri ovals and one or two cucumber roll rounds, sitting on a simple rectangle plate. Keep the rice mounds a little irregular, perfectly smooth ovals look stiff next to real sushi.

Once the pencil is light and clean, wash a flat white or off white gouache over all the rice shapes as your base layer. Let that dry fully before you add the salmon in a soft coral pink and the tuna in a deeper, almost dusty rose, each as one flat shape sitting on its rice.

For the roll, paint the cucumber filling in pale green and wrap a dark green band of nori around the rice edge. Fill the plate itself with warm beige and add a small puddle of soy sauce brown in one corner for extra interest.

Outline everything in fine black ink last, including a few tiny dashes on the rice grains for texture, then finish with small white gouache dots for shine on the fish. If your nori band smudges, wait an extra minute before outlining it.

Bento Box

Draw the bento box as a simple rectangle divided into three or four sections, then sketch a rounded mound of rice, a few meat pieces, a sliced egg roll and some vegetables inside the compartments. Keep every shape soft and slightly rounded for that cute, tidy lunchbox look.

Trace the whole pencil layout in fine black ink before any color goes down, since a bento has many small separate pieces and the ink keeps them organized once the gouache arrives. Let the ink dry completely, a couple of minutes is usually enough.

Wash the rice section in flat white, then once dry, paint the glazed meat pieces in a rich soy brown and the rolled egg in golden yellow. Add broccoli in green and carrot rounds in orange, keeping each vegetable as its own small flat shape.

Finish the box itself in a pale warm wood tone around the food, then add white gouache highlights along the rice and the shiny glaze on the meat. If the compartments blur together, a slightly darker brown line along the dividers fixes it instantly.

Onigiri on a Leaf

Sketch a simple triangle for the onigiri, rounding the corners slightly so it looks hand pressed rather than geometric, with a band across the bottom for the nori wrap. Add a broad leaf shape beneath it as a little serving plate, the kind you would find under a rice ball at a picnic.

Paint the rice triangle in flat white gouache first, keeping the edges clean. Once dry, add the dark nori band low on the triangle, leaving the white rice visible above it as the main shape.

Wash the leaf in a soft leaf green, letting it stay a touch lighter than the nori so the two dark tones do not compete. Add a tiny peek of pink or orange filling right where the rice seam shows, just a small triangle of color.

Outline everything in fine black ink, including a few vein lines on the leaf, then dot white gouache across the rice for a little shine and texture. If your nori band looks too flat, a second thin coat once dry deepens it nicely, and pairs well with the simpler shapes in this food doodles collection if you want more quick bites to draw next.

Dango Skewer

Draw three soft circles stacked in a vertical line, slightly flattened at the top and bottom where they would touch a skewer, with a thin stick running through the center. Keep the circles a little uneven in size, real dango are never perfectly matched.

Paint the top dumpling in a soft pink, letting it dry before moving on, then the middle one in flat white and the bottom one in a pale fresh green. Working one color per dumpling keeps the wet paint from bleeding between shapes.

Once all three are dry, paint the skewer stick in warm brown, letting it run cleanly through the centers of each dumpling. A thin brush keeps this stick looking delicate rather than clumsy.

Outline each dumpling and the stick in fine black ink, then add a single white gouache highlight dot near the top of each ball for shine. If your colors bled together, a slightly thicker ink line at the seams hides the overlap completely.

Matcha With Wagashi

Sketch a simple round cup and saucer, then draw a small rounded wagashi sweet sitting just beside it, maybe with a soft layered or folded shape like a little dome. Keep both shapes gently rounded, nothing here should feel sharp or geometric.

Trace the pencil lines in fine black ink before any paint, since the cup, saucer and sweet are each quite small and ink keeps their edges clean under the gouache. Let the ink fully dry first.

Fill the inside of the cup with a deep, slightly thick matcha green, letting the brushstrokes stay visible for texture. Once dry, wash the outer cup and saucer in a soft cream so the green pops against it.

Paint the wagashi in soft pink and pale green blocks, whichever layered pattern you sketched, then add a warm brown shadow beneath both the cup and the sweet to ground them on the saucer. Finish with a small white gouache swirl across the matcha’s surface for that whisked foam look, and if the green dries too flat for your taste, a second thin layer deepens it beautifully.

Tempura Plate

Sketch three simple tempura shapes, maybe a shrimp tail curl, an oval piece and a longer vegetable slice, resting beside a small round dipping bowl. Keep the batter edges a little bumpy and irregular rather than smooth.

Wash all three pieces in a flat golden yellow first, covering them evenly. Once that layer is dry, dry brush darker gold dots and short streaks across the batter to suggest that crisp, uneven fried texture without overworking it.

Fill the small dipping bowl with a soft brown sauce wash, keeping the bowl’s rim visible as a thin unpainted ring. Then wash the plate itself in pale beige around everything, giving the composition a calm, settled base.

Outline every shape in fine black ink, then flick small white gouache highlights onto the crispiest looking edges of the batter for shine. If the gold looks too flat even after the dry brush step, add one more round of darker dots once everything is fully dry.

Takoyaki Skewer Plate

Draw four round balls grouped loosely together on a small plate, keeping their sizes slightly different so the group feels casual and hand made rather than lined up in a grid. Takoyaki are never perfectly uniform, and that is part of the charm.

Wash all four in a flat golden brown first, letting that dry completely since every later layer sits right on top of it. A hairdryer on low or just a patient minute works fine.

Drizzle thin brown sauce lines in loose zigzags across the tops of the balls, then once those are dry, cross them with thinner white mayo lines going the other direction. This layering is what makes takoyaki instantly recognizable.

Scatter a few tiny pale green scallion flecks across the top, then outline each ball in fine black ink. Finish with one or two white gouache shine dots on the highest curve of each ball. If the sauce and mayo lines blur, thin your white gouache so it sits on top crisply instead of dragging through the wet brown.

Miso Soup Bowl

Sketch a small, slightly wide bowl shape and fill the inside loosely with a few square tofu shapes and some curling seaweed lines floating in the broth. Keep the squares a little uneven, since real tofu cubes rarely cut perfectly straight.

Wash the whole broth area in a warm golden brown, letting it stay slightly translucent so the bowl feels full of liquid rather than solid. This is the layer to get nice and even before anything else goes on top.

Once dry, paint the tofu cubes in flat white, floating them at different depths in the broth. Add dark green curls of wakame seaweed weaving between the cubes, keeping each curl a simple loose stroke rather than a tight shape.

Wash the bowl’s outer wall in a soft cream, then outline everything in fine black ink. Finish with small white gouache dots drifting upward from the bowl’s surface for steam. If the broth looks too opaque, thin the brown wash next time with a touch more water before it goes down.

Sushi Roll Close Up

Draw four cross section circles in a neat row, each one a ring of rice with a dark band around the edge and a small filling shape in the center. Varying the fillings slightly across the four slices keeps the row visually interesting.

Paint the rice ring of each slice in flat white first, letting it dry before the next layer. Then wrap each one in a dark nori band around the outer edge, keeping the band even in width across all four.

Fill the centers with alternating pink salmon and pale green avocado, or mix in cucumber if you like, each filling as one simple flat shape rather than a detailed slice of fish. Wash the plate beneath the row in a soft beige to settle the composition.

Outline every ring and filling in fine black ink, adding tiny dash marks on the rice for grain texture, then dot white gouache sparingly for shine on the rice surface. If the nori bands look uneven, a steady hand and a thinner brush on the second pass evens them out.

Udon Noodle Bowl

Sketch a wide, shallow bowl and fill it with a few thick curving noodle shapes, much fatter and fewer than ramen noodles, plus a small tempura piece resting on top and a scatter of scallion rings. Udon noodles are chunky and soft looking, so keep every curve generous.

Wash the visible broth areas in a pale warm beige first, letting the white noodle shapes stay as untouched paper for now. Once that broth layer dries, paint the noodles themselves in a flat, slightly thick white so they read as solid and substantial.

Add the tempura piece on top in golden brown, keeping its edges a little bumpy, and scatter fresh green scallion rings across the broth surface in small flat circles. Each topping should sit clearly on its own without blending into the broth beneath it.

Finish with fine black outlines around every noodle, the tempura and the scallions, then dot white gouache steam curls rising above the bowl. If your noodles look too thin and ramen like, widen them with a second white layer before outlining.

Sashimi Plate

Draw five simple rectangular slices fanned slightly in a row, each one a bit uneven in width, resting on a small shiso leaf shape with a jagged edge. Fanning the slices rather than lining them straight gives the plate movement.

Paint the tuna slices in a deep, rich red first, then once dry, add the salmon slices in a softer, warmer pink beside them. Keeping these two fish colors separated by drying time stops them from mixing into a muddy middle tone.

Wash the shiso leaf in fresh green beneath the slices, letting a little leaf edge peek out past the fish for shape. Fill the rest of the plate in pale beige so the fish colors stand out clearly against it.

Outline every slice in fine black ink along with a few vein lines on the leaf, then add short white gouache sheen streaks diagonally across each piece of fish for that glossy sashimi look. If the red and pink still blend, separate them with a thin outline before the final ink pass.

Inari Sushi Pair

Sketch two soft pouch shapes side by side, each with a gathered, slightly wrinkled opening at the top where rice peeks through. Keep the pouches rounded and a little lumpy, this is a homely, comforting shape rather than a neat one.

Wash both pouches in a flat golden brown, letting the color sit evenly across the fried tofu skin. Once dry, add fine darker brown lines following the natural folds and creases of the pouch, which is what gives this simple shape its texture.

Paint the rice peeking from each opening in flat white, keeping it a soft rounded mound rather than sharp edged. Add a scatter of tiny black sesame seed dots across the rice once that white layer is dry.

Outline both pouches in fine black ink, then add short white gouache shine streaks along a few of the deeper folds for a little gloss. If the folds look too busy, stick to three or four main lines per pouch rather than covering the whole surface.

Katsu Curry Plate

Sketch a rounded mound of rice on one side of the plate, a pool of curry sauce beside it, and a few sliced katsu cutlet pieces laid across or near the curry. Keep the katsu slices rectangular with slightly rough edges to suggest the breading.

Paint the rice mound in flat white first and let it dry completely, since the curry sauce next to it is a much wetter, darker wash that could bleed into damp white paint. Once safe, wash the curry area in a warm golden brown, letting it pool thicker near the rice edge.

Paint the katsu slices in golden yellow, then once dry, dry brush darker gold dots and short streaks across their tops for that crisp breaded texture, the same technique used for tempura but a touch heavier here.

Outline everything in fine black ink, then dot white gouache steam curls rising from the curry. If the curry sauce dries too pale, add a second thin coat once dry rather than fighting a dark mix on the first pass.

Onigiri Trio Scene

Arrange three onigiri shapes together on a small board, varying their forms a little, maybe one triangle, one round and one slightly oval, so the group feels like a real little spread rather than three copies of one shape.

Ink the whole pencil layout before any paint touches the page, since three separate rice shapes with their own nori bands need clean borders to stay readable once the color goes down. Let the ink dry fully.

Wash all three in flat white for the rice, then once dry, wrap a dark nori band around the base of each one. Add a different small filling peek at each onigiri’s seam, pink, orange and green work nicely together and keep the trio visually varied.

Paint the board beneath them in a warm wood brown, then finish with white gouache dots scattered across the rice for shine and texture. If the three onigiri start to look too similar, shift the angle or size of the nori band slightly on one, and if you enjoy small grouped scenes like this, the layouts in this picnic drawing collection offer more ideas worth trying.

Chawanmushi Cup

Draw a small rounded cup, the kind with a lid resting half open or set aside, revealing a smooth custard surface with one small ingredient peeking through, a mushroom slice or snow pea works nicely and stays simple to draw.

Wash the visible custard in a very pale, soft yellow, keeping the surface looking smooth and gentle rather than textured. Once dry, paint the small peeking ingredient in soft green, keeping it tiny and simple since it is just an accent.

Paint the cup’s outer body in flat white, then once that layer dries, add a warm red-brown band around the rim and the edge of the lid, which is the traditional look of this kind of lacquered cup.

Outline every part in fine black ink, then finish with a few white gouache steam dots curling above the open lid. If the custard color looks too strong, thin your yellow wash further next time since chawanmushi should look pale and delicate rather than bold.

Mochi Plate

Sketch three soft round shapes on a small plate, each one slightly flattened on top like a real mochi, with gentle folds or creases where the dough gathers. Keep the circles a little irregular since perfectly round mochi look more like candy than something hand shaped.

Paint each mochi in its own color, pale pink, soft green and warm cream, working one at a time so the wet gouache never touches its neighbor. This is the easiest subject in the set to keep clean since each shape stands alone.

Once all three are dry, dry brush a light dusting of white gouache dots across the tops, suggesting the powdery coating mochi are often rolled in. Keep this layer light and scattered rather than solid.

Outline each mochi in fine black ink, then add one soft curved white gouache highlight along the top of each for shine. If the colors look too saturated, mochi are meant to look pale and soft, so thin your gouache with a touch more water before the first wash.

Onsen Tamago Egg

Draw a small cup or shallow bowl holding a soft, loosely shaped egg sitting in a little pool of broth, with the yolk visible as a round warm center. Keep the egg white’s edge a little wobbly, since onsen eggs are famously soft and barely holding their shape.

Wash the broth around the egg in a pale golden dashi color, letting it stay thin so the cup beneath shows through slightly. Once dry, paint the egg white in soft white gouache, leaving the center open for the yolk.

Fill the yolk area with a warm orange yellow, letting it pool a little wider in the center than a hard boiled egg would, since this yolk is meant to look soft and barely set. Add a few tiny green scallion flecks across the broth for garnish.

Outline the cup and egg in fine black ink, then add a single white gouache gloss streak across the yolk for shine. If the yolk looks too firm and round, soften its edge with a slightly uneven outline instead of a perfect circle.

What to Do Next

Pick whichever dish sounds the most delicious right now, lay out your gouache and a scrap sheet for testing, and paint one bowl, plate or cup from pencil to shine. Keep the sheet nearby as you go so every stage, color and note stays right where you need it.

Frequently Asked Questions

What paint works best for japanese food drawing with flat matte color?

Gouache works best because it dries flat and matte rather than glossy, which keeps every dish looking clean and graphic. Load the brush fairly dry, like thick cream, and let each color block dry fully before adding the next layer on top.

Do I need to know how to draw food realistically first?

No, these lessons work from simple rounded shapes like circles, triangles and soft rectangles rather than realistic rendering. Keep your pencil lines light and relaxed, since the charm of this style comes from flat color and clean outlines, not precise detail.

Why add the black outline after the color instead of before?

Painting color first and outlining after keeps every edge crisp even if a wash spreads slightly past your pencil line. A fine black pen or ink drawn right on top of the dry gouache hides small wobbles and ties the whole picture together.

How do I stop two colors bleeding into each other on one dish?

Let each color dry completely before painting the shape right next to it, which usually takes only a minute or two with gouache. Working one small area at a time, like one dumpling or one sushi slice, keeps the whole sheet controlled and tidy.

What is the easiest dish here for a first attempt?

The dango skewer and the mochi plate are the simplest, since both are just a few plain rounded shapes in solid flat colors. They are a good warm up before tackling a busier scene like the bento box or the rice cooker steam scene.