How to draw a portrait of a person with a pencil

This lesson from a professional artist and you will learn how to draw a female portrait. The lesson is divided into several parts, in which you will see the tools for drawing a portrait and the steps for drawing a face, see drawing hair in detail. Most artists start by drawing a sketch of the face, but this author has a different approach, he first starts drawing the eye and gradually moves to other parts of the girl's face. Click on the images, they all have a large extension.

Tools.

Paper.

I use paper Daler Rowney's Bristol Board 250g/m2 - Exactly the one in the image, only the sizes vary. It is dense and smooth enough that the shading on it looks softer.

Pencils.

I got a Rotring pencil, I don’t know if it is good or bad compared to others, but it suits me. I use pencils with thick leads 0.35mm (the main work on the portrait was done by him), 0.5mm (usually I use it for drawing hair, not detailed, because a 0.35mm pencil can handle it) and 0.7mm pencil.

Electric eraser.

It erases much cleaner than a regular eraser, and it looks more neat. My choice fell on Derwent Electric Eraser.

Klyachka.

I use a nag from Faber-Castell. A very useful tool, due to the fact that it takes any shape you need. I usually use it to highlight highlights in the eyes, highlight some strands of hair and other fine work.

shading.

It is a stick of paper of different thicknesses pointed at both ends, usually used in places where you need to soften the tone.

How to draw eyes.

I usually start drawing a portrait with the eyes, because in relation to it and its size I build a portrait and other parts of the face, I can’t say that I do it perfectly, but I try to do it more accurately with each portrait, training the eye. I mark the pupil, outline the iris and outline the shape and size of the eye.

In the second step, I look for the brightest place on the iris in order to tint the entire iris, do not put pressure on the pencil, try to make solid strokes, as if drawing a ring that gradually expands.

The third step is to start shading, adding veins, etc. The main thing is not to get carried away and not make the eyes too dark.

This is what the finished eye looks like. Do not forget that the eyelid has volume, so never draw eyelashes as if they are coming directly from the eye.

In the same way, we draw the second eye, along the way, marking the lines where the hair will lie. Don't forget to click on the picture to enlarge it.

How to draw a portrait. Draw a face and skin.

When both eyes are drawn, it is already easier to draw the shape of the face and notice if there are distortions somewhere. Along the way, I outline the hair and lines of the strands on the right side of the drawing.

In this step I draw the nose and mouth. Try to hatch neatly, and not anyhow. Follow the direction of the strokes. You can gradually add shadows and halftones

At this step, I complete the mouth, draw in small details, like highlights on the lips (if cosmetics are used). After this stage, I usually try to complete the lines of the face so that there are no distortions. And at the next stage, I finally draw the lines of the face, outline the hair, mark the places where the strands and disheveled hair will lie (and it usually doesn’t happen without them).

Then I start to draw shadows and midtones on the face to give it some volume.

And finally, I draw everything else that is next to the face (hair, elements of clothing, skin of the neck and shoulders, jewelry) so as not to return to it again.

How to draw hair with a pencil.

Drawing hair, I start by outlining how the strands lie down, where they have dark places, where they are light, where the hair reflects light. As a rule, a 0.5mm pencil is connected here, because I don’t do strong detailing in my hair. The exceptions are single hairs that have broken out of the strands and disheveled strands.

Then I stroke, periodically changing the pressure and angle of inclination to make the hair look more diverse. When drawing hair, do not move the pencil back and forth, stroke only in one direction, say from top to bottom, so there is less chance that the hair will differ greatly in tone and stand out strongly from the rest. Change the angle occasionally because the hair doesn't lie so flat.

When the light parts of the hair are done, you can add darker hair, but do not forget to sometimes leave small spaces between them, so the hair will not look like a monotonous mass and you can select individual strands that lie under other strands, or vice versa, above them. And so on, you will most likely be able to draw hair without spending too much effort and time. To lighten some of the hair, use a nag, crumpling it so that it is flat enough to highlight the hair.

The author of the lesson “How to draw a portrait of a person with a pencil” is FromUnderTheCape. Source demiart.ru

You can look at other approaches in drawing a portrait: a female portrait, a male portrait, a portrait of an Asian woman.