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2. A high-resolution reference photo is best for any realistic pencil portrait. The photo below is a good example.
Although the true likeness was achieved later, a grid helped the artist enlarge the photo while retaining proportion. A 1cm. digital grid was placed over the photo and printed. Then a grid was drawn faintly on the paper using the same number of squares. Next, the portrait was tranferred bit by bit onto the paper and the pencil grid removed with a "putty rubber" or Bluetack (often more effective) leaving the paper completely clean.
(See 2cm. Grid on Pet Portrait)
Primary Rendering - Hair
3. Finally the artist touched up to produce the preliminary line drawing. A grid doesn't guarantee accuracy, however - a "good eye" is still needed. Because our brains are programmed to recognise facial details, errors always stand out in portraiture.
Left, you can see the first rendering of the hair in the portrait, which the artist has blended with a cotton bud.
Primary blended pencil layer on cheek
4. The artist carried on adding details to the portrait using both 2B and 9B pencil, smoothing and then highlighting with the putty rubber to achieve maximum tonal range (a.k.a. "values".)
With a close-up pencil portrait, the artist can include lots of detailed drawing.
Of course such fine details are inessential for skilled drawing or an accurate portrait, but their reproduction is an enjoyable challenge for the realist artist.
Final Drawing - Hair
5. To achieve the smoothness of the skin, the artist criss-crossed light strokes of a blunt pencil and then blended, firstly with tissue. Further pencil layers were smoothed with cotton buds. Again the rubber took off the soft pencil to highlight and was moulded into a fine point for minute areas.
This blending and highlighting process is central to realistic pencil portrait drawing.
Creating the Pencil Portrait
Drawing Eyes in Pencil
(Quick Notes)
1. Eyes are central to a portrait, so it's worth spending time on them.
2. The artist must consider the eye as a sphere with shadows on it. A soft pencil is best for these subtle touches.
3. In most portraits the whites will not appear pure white.
4. A putty rubber can help the artist lighten areas of the whites and iris.
5. As with all pencil drawing, a wide tonal range is essential.
6. Sketching eyes from life is the best way for an artist to gain a feel for their structure.
Life Sketch
About Portrait Sketching
A portrait sketch retains an air of spontaneity. Visible pencil lines show how the artist has worked, and are part of the appeal. The artist almost "feels" his way around the subject, without hiding the process.
Pencil sketching is best practised from life, but portraits may also be worked from photos. An artist may use any reasonable paper and medium to soft pencil.
If an artist intends selling sketched portraits, the facial likeness is important. If pencil sketching is for fun or practice, then this factor is secondary to overall interpretation of form and light. The portrait below is a pencil sketch of mine from 1996. It portrays the pose well (there is a sense of weight) and I like the minimalistic approach to the hands:
Portrait Sketch
This closeup from a more recent portrait demonstrates the loose technique. Click for full-sized portrait.
Pencil Sketch - Eye
The following pencil portrait by my father shows the real beauty of this simple art form.
Note the various straight pencil lines on the face and hair and contrast them with the delicate treatment of the mouth: these are the impulsive subjective responses of the artist (here a true master) to his subject.
Pencil Portrait - Joan c. 1960
Closeup
Other Portrait Tutorials
A pencil portrait makes a beautiful gift!
Contact the Artist to commission a portrait in pencil or coloured pencil or to ask questions about pencil portraiture.
The artist works from your pet, family or wedding photos. Please see the main pages for pencil portrait pricing and FAQs.
The artist will always respond to questions about pencil drawing, although regular correspondance cannot be entered into.
Pencilsketch.co.uk
Pet Portraits; Family, Wedding & Children's Pencil Portraits; Realism, Sketches, Nudes, Figurative Art by UK Pencil Artist.
This Artist Uses
Secondary pencil layers before blending
Initial pencil lines on hand
6. A light grey background in this pencil portrait gives a subtle effect of depth. The arms (cut off in the photo) were improvised into the portrait by the artist to achieve the best 8 x 10" composition.
The artist would like to thank the baby's parents for allowing their pencil portrait to be featured!
Realistic Pencil Portrait in Progress
1. For a realistic pencil portrait, a smooth Bristol paper helps the artist with detailing and allows the pencil to blend. Soft pencils are best for varying tone and can be removed at the touch of a rubber. Here, the artist used a Derwent 9B pencil, plus a 2B pencil for details. The wide pencil pictured below is useful for dark areas and sketching.
For the best photo-to-portrait, the artist needs to look for a good composition amongst the images available (usually cropping is needed).
A classic composition for all kinds of pictures is the triangle, noticable in these pencil portraits:
Note the repeating parallels in this pencil portrait:
Vertically: the chains and pole; the trees; the man's legs / body; the dress's folds; the hair and shadow left of veil. Horizontally: the horizon / fence; the joined arms; the shadows and bottom of dress.
These create a good composition by tying the images together within the format:
(Click to enlarge)
Although a perfect photo is not always to hand, modern technology makes taking selections of photos easy. So an artist can often find a good composition to enhance the end result of any pencil portrait.
