How I draw a realistic portrait. Stage 1

At the first stage I used a hard 2Н pencil to create outlines of the future portrait, to place the image on a sheet of paper and to mark position of the main details of the face (mouth, nose, eyes, ear). I also made rough hatching to preliminary mark shape of the shaded parts of the portrait. I marked borders of future highlights on the eyes, nose and lips.

How I draw a realistic portrait. Stage 2

At the second stage I put cross-hatching on each midtone area enhancing shadings where necessary and accentuating some details. It is advisable to choose direction of hatchings which corresponds to the form of the area you are working on to make the image more vivid. The highlighted areas remain untouched.

How I draw a realistic portrait. Stage 3

At the third stage I used a 2B pencil for elaborating shadings and enhancing contrast where necessary in order to create volume of the portrait. I deliberately focused attention on highlights on eyes, lips, a hair curl and jewelry to strengthen feeling of glamorous glitter. At the end I used a hard eraser to lighten small highlights and to create jewelry shimmer.

Drawing the Eye 

Step 1 - The Initial Line Drawing

There are two things that you should carefully observe when starting your drawing of an eye:

1 - The difference in shape between the upper and lower eyelids.

2 - How the upper eyelid covers the top of the iris. (mouse over the image)

 

 

Step 2 - The Eyeball

There are two main elements to consider when drawing the glassy surface of the eye:

1. A bright glint of reflected light should be left as unshaded paper at the start of the tonal drawing. This will become the brightest element in the eye. This reflection is further enhanced by its contrast with the pupil - the darkest element in the eye.

2. The iris contains a variety of tones and flecks which radiate to the centre of the pupil. It is usually darker around its outside edge and lightens towards its centre creating a translucent effect.

 

 

Step 3 - The Eye Socket

The final step is to render the solidity of the eye socket and surrounding area using graduated tone.

The upper eyelid casts a shadow which forms a dark curve across the top of the eyeball. This gradually softens into the shaded areas at each corner of the eye.

Graduated shading is used to cover the outline detail and build up the tone of the eyelids and surrounding area.

Eyebrows and eyelashes are formed by soft, delicate hairs, so draw these lightly and pay particular attention to the direction of their growth.

Drawing the Nose 

Step 1 - The Initial Line Drawing

The nose is formed by a series of curved planes. This makes it difficult to draw as there are very few lines to help us describe its shape.

Start by drawing what you can see, namely the inside and outside edges of the nostrils. Then try to outline the main areas of tone that define the planes of the nose.

Draw these lightly as you want them to disappear under your shading at a later stage in the drawing.

 

 

Step 2 - The Initial Tones

Simplify your shading into three basic tonal areas - dark, medium and light (the white of the paper).

Block in each plane of the nose with its appropriate tone. This should begin to render its three-dimensional form.

 

 

Step 3 - The Final Tones

Carefully refine the strength and subtlety of the tone, softening the lines that join each plane with graduated areas of shading.

You must look more closely at this stage to try to discern the faint variations of shading within each area of tone. It is this close observation that will take your drawing to the next level.

Step 1: Choose An Appropriate Reference Picture          In the first step, you will learn on how to choose a reference picture that’s right for you to draw. Some pictures are harder to draw than others, and many beginners jump into the wrong picture, only to give up and never try again.

In this step, you will learn how to select a fitting reference picture. The best part is, you will draw more quickly and with less frustration once you know what type of pictures to draw. I will also provide you a reference picture of Halle Berry so that you can just print it out immediately.

Step 2: Organize The Position, Outline And Proportions Of The Features

 The position of the features is the most basic element of a good drawing and should be done correctly. Imagine your frustration when, halfway through the shading, you realize that the position of the features was wrong.

Tips for correctly positioning the features

8 illustrations showing the organization of the features

Tips on shading (cross hatching)which  you will use in every realistic pencil   portrait that you draw

Step 3: Eye Drawing – Shading and ShadowsThe eye is the most expressive feature of the face and is key to capturing the likeness of your drawing. Many people start looking your drawing from the eyes then only to other parts.

Indeed, the eyes are often the first part of a portrait that people notice. For this reason, most of the artists pay special emphasis to eyes.

Instructions on how to draw the details of the eyes and eyebrows

34 step-by-step illustrations demonstrating shading of the eyes

Tips on drawing the eyelids, iris, pupils, eyelashes, and the surrounding shadows

Ways to deal with the tiny details of light and shading in the eyes

Step 4: Nose Drawing – Shading and Shadows The nose is one of the EASIEST features to draw because it doesn’t do much in terms of  giving emotional response for your drawing. Finding noses hard to draw? That’s often because people only focus on drawing the other facial features.

Learn the important aspects of drawing the nose

9 step-by-step illustrations for shading the nose

Drawing the nose bridge and nostrils

       

Step 5: Mouth drawing – Shading and Shadows

The mouth is the second most expressive feature of the face. In some cases it communicates emotion more strongly than do the eyes. 

Drawing the mouth correctly often makes or breaks a portrait, the portrait comes alive with a well-drawn and well-shaded mouth. When you draw and shade on the mouth correctly, it suddenly has an energy all its own.

 Learn how to draw the details of the mouth

 Tips for perfectly formed lips

20 step-by-step illustrations for shading the mouth

Learn to draw the lip line

Learn to draw glossy lips

Step 6: Ear Drawing – Shading and Shadows

What I found when I read art books is that most of them skip the part on teaching ears drawing by covering the ears with long hair. And even if they did mention the ears, it’s very quick and doesn’t go into details.

Ears come in many shapes and sizes and are unique to each individual. For drawing ears, you will need to get the spacing between the parts right.

 Learn how to draw the details of the ear

14 step-by-step illustrations for shading the ear

Getting the correct shading tone

Step 7: Hair Drawing – Shading and ShadowsDrawing hair is important. Everything else might be perfect but if the hair looks like a bird’s nest or is flat then it will affect your entire drawing. Yes, drawing hair is complicated and frustrating, and often the results are terrible if only you go about it the right way, and do steps in the correct order.

You can’t draw every single strand that would be on a person’s head. But you do need to add enough distinct strands to give your drawing a clear texture and form of hair. Drawing hair correctly can change the look of your drawing dramatically.