Hi my Steemit friends!! Are you doing great? :) Today I'd like to invite you to draw an APPLE with me 🍎 !! Thanks @helene for giving me the opportunity to share my drawing with you by holding the Drawing Challenge:) This is the second time I've joint this great contest:) This time, the theme is FRUIT. If you're interested, please don't hesitate to join!

親愛的Steemit朋友們大家好！你們還好嗎？:) 今天，我想邀請大家跟我一起畫蘋果🍎！感謝 @helene舉辦Drawing Challenge，給了我這個機會與大家分享我的作品:) 這已經是我第二次參與其中了。這次的主題是水果。有興趣的朋友記得參加哦！

Why Apple?【為何選擇蘋果？】

The apple is a kind of fruit that has high cultural significance. Therefore, it enjoys rich symbolism. For example,

• In the legend of King Arthur, the apple is associated with powerful forces of 'creation', 'death' and 'rebirth'. In Arthurian legend, the apple gave its name to the magical island, Avalon, meaning 'apple' in the Welsh word 'afal' .

• In Norse mythology, apple trees represent 'beauty' and 'rebirth'. Goddess Idun was the guardian of the golden apples that preserved the eternal youth of the Aesir, which means 'immortality'.

AND, we've all heard of the saying 'an apple a day keeps the doctor away' ;p So, it's definitely a healthy fruit !!

蘋果具有豐富的文化內涵，所以它也有多樣的象徵意義。舉例說:

• 在阿瑟王傳說中，蘋果代表了"創造"，"重生"及"死亡"這些強大的力量。在此傳說中，蘋果(apple)的名字來自Avalon這個具有魔力的島嶼。而'Avalon'這個名字來自威爾士文的'afal', 蘋果之意。

• 在北歐神話中，蘋果樹是"美麗"與"重生"的代名詞。而美麗的Idun女神，則掌管著保佑Aesir族(意為"永生")長生不老的金蘋果樹。

而且，相信大家都聽過"一天一蘋果，醫生遠離我"這句話吧？;pp 所以，蘋果是種很健康的水果哦！！

Goddess Idun 女神Idun (Source)

Material Used: Water Colours【材料：水彩】

We need a sketch book, a pencil, watercolour brushes, a palette, and paper towel. Of course, water and water colours are the most important!! I chose PENTEL Water Colours for the apple:) I like it because it provides you an extra LARGE white colour, which is the colour I usually run out of.

我們需要一個圖畫本、一支鉛筆、(兩支)水彩掃、一個調色盤和紙巾。當然，水和水彩是最重要的！我選擇了PENTEL牌的水彩，因為它裏面有兩支巨大的白色水彩，而這是我用得最快的顏色。

Step 1: Create the outline of the apple【第一步：勾勒出蘋果的輪廓】

Could you see anything in this photo? Haha, after drawing the outline, I erased it with a rubber. I only need a hint of where I should draw.

你能看到線條嗎？哈哈，這麼淺是因爲我用橡皮把輪廓擦掉了。我只需要極淺的線條，提醒我應該在哪下筆。

Step 2: Add layers【第二步：加層】

The first few layers should be pale. The colours should appear milky and light. I chose yellow to be the FIRST layer. You may choose not to fill up the whole apple:)

頭幾層應該是很淡很淺的。我用了黃色做第一層。你可以選擇不把空間填滿:)

The SECOND layer is light red. It depends on the colour of the apple you're drawing.

第二層是淺紅。這取決於你畫的蘋果的顏色。

And, add darker layers.

然後，加上深色層。

Remember to add contrasts and shadows to make it more lively :)

不要忘記加上對比和陰影，讓它顯得更生動哦:)

Depending on the type of apple you're drawing, you may choose to add stripes onto your drawing.

你可以選擇為你的蘋果加上條紋，不過也是取決於蘋果的種類。

Step 3: Make it imperfect!!【第三步：讓它變得不完美】

LOLLL I'm not implying that the apple was perfect before this step XD But why would I want it imperfect?
Because I wanna convey a message to you: although (s)he is the apple of your eye, (s)he can't be perfect. Even a perfectionist can by no means be perfect. If you truly love him/her, you should learn to love his/her imperfections, too :):)

LOLLL我不是想說在這一步之前我的蘋果是完美的XD 但是，為什麼我會想讓它看起來不完美呢？
因為，我想帶出一個信息: 即使某人是你"眼中的蘋果" (摯愛、掌上明珠)，她/他也不會是完美的。這是任何完美主義者都無法達到的境界。如果你真的珍惜她/他，你也應該包容她/她的不完美:):)

There's another reason. As beautiful and sacred the apple is, it also represents SIN. As we all know, in the story of Genesis, apples are the symbol of 'temptation', 'sin', as well as the 'fall of man'. A good reason to make it imperfect!! I do it by adding yellow green and yellow ochre on the highlight area of the apple.

另外一個原因是:雖然蘋果代表了美麗與神聖，它也是罪惡的代名詞。在創世紀的故事中，蘋果象徵了"誘惑"、"罪惡"及"人類的墮落"。這難道不是讓它變得不完美的原因嗎？在這裏，我選擇在蘋果的亮部加上了黃綠和黃赭色。

Interesting Fact 1: Did you know why the 'Adam's apple' is called the Adam's Apple? As you may guess, it came from the story of Adam and Eve. When Adam ate the apple (the forbidden fruit), the piece got stuck in his throat and made a lump. So, everyman has an 'Adam's apple' in his throat!! 趣味小知識一: 你知道英文中"亞當的蘋果" (喉結)是怎麼來的嗎？我想大家都猜到了，它來自亞當和夏娃的故事。亞當吃下蘋果(禁果)時十分緊張害怕，所以有一塊蘋果不小心噎在了喉嚨裏，成了一個結。所以，每位男士都有一個"亞當的蘋果"了！

The original sin 原罪, Pieter Paul Rubens (Source)

Interesting Fact 2: Have you ever heard of the idiom 'comparing apples and oranges'? It refers to the difference between 2 incomparable items. For example, the famous American author Stephen King says: 'Books and movies are like apples and oranges. They both are fruit, but taste completely different.' So, don't ask me if Harry Potter novels are better than movies. It's like comparing apples and oranges!!趣味小知識二: 大家有沒有聽過英文的俗語'comparing apples and oranges拿蘋果和橙比'？其實，它的意思是比較兩個沒有可比性的事務。比如說，著名的美國作家Stephen King說過: "書和電影有如蘋果和橙。它們都是水果，但有著完全不同的味道。"所以，不要問我《哈利波特》的書好看還是電影好看，這根本就是拿蘋果跟橙比！

Lastly, here's the STEP-BY-STEP process of my drawing. Hope you like it:):)

最後，讓我們看看我的繪畫過程吧！希望大家喜歡:):)

Once again, my apple :):)

再一次，我的蘋果:):)

I've NEVER learnt drawing, but I enjoying drawing veryyyy much. Although color pencils are my favourite, I chose to use water colour this time because I like challenges. The amount of water largely decides the quality of your work. Anyway, drawing takes time. To achieve excellence, you have to do a lot of practice:) There's still much room for improvement for my drawing skills. However, I believe that if you're willing to put effort on whatever you want to achieve, you're gonna succeed:) Thank you for reading and hope you like my apple!! ❤️

Flower of this purple dye,
Hit with Cupid’s archery,
Sink in apple of his eye.
-A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Shakespeare

我從來沒有學過畫畫，但我熱愛繪畫。雖然彩色鉛筆是我的最愛，但這次我選擇了水彩，因為我喜歡挑戰:):) 在水彩畫中，水份的掌握是十分重要的。 畫畫是一門需時的愛好：一幅作品不僅會消磨你許多個下午的時光，它的成功與否，還取決於你之前有否認真地練習。雖然我的繪畫技術還有很大的改善空間，但我相信，「只要有恆心，鐵杵磨成針。」謝謝大家的閱讀，希望大家喜歡我的蘋果！！❤️

Flower of this purple dye,
Hit with Cupid’s archery,
Sink in apple of his eye.
-仲夏夜之夢, 莎士比亞

If you're interested, you may see my previous post on drawing rose with colour pencils:)
Drawing Challenge #2 - Rosy Rose - Draw with Susan🌹【羞答答的玫瑰靜悄悄地開 - 跟Susan一起畫玫瑰】

Please follow me @susanlo! Thanks a lot for your support! ❤️

請追蹤我 @susanlo！謝謝你的支持!❤️