Free Photorealistic Pencil Drawing Tutorial

Step by step advanced graphite drawing techniques

Warning: May cause severe headaches! Consult a doctor before attempting. Requires moderate to
strenuous concentration (Just kidding! —well, I suppose you can get a whopper of a headache if
you over do it.)
First, purchase a large sheet of watercolor paper, about 80 lb. weight. Because of what you are
about to undertake, the paper will take a beating, so thick watercolor paper will help prevent
crinkling and other damage. Turn the paper and use the back side which should be smoother. If you
are drawing a face, the smooth side may have just the right texture to help you simulate skin.
Purchase some cheap mechanical pencils, the kind that you can buy at the grocery store (see below).

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As you can see, I'm using 0.7 mm lead. I will also use a 4H, HB (#2) pencil and a Kneaded eraser
(also known as putty rubber) for picking up graphite particles. These tools will give you precise
control over what you draw.

Photorealism evolved from Pop Art in the 1960's. It was a reaction against the ubiquitous use of
photography in media and abstract expressionism in art. I happen to enjoy both realistic and abstract
art and don't see a reason to compare. Everything is cool on some level, I suppose. The one thing
realism is particularly good at is reaching a broad audience with the clear message: nature is
beautiful. In photography, even a tragic image can be breathtakingly beautiful. In photorealistic art,
sometimes the same can be achieved, but with an extra human dimension. With this in mind, always
strive for a little tension and conflict. You can save all the drama for your momma, but in art, go
ahead, pour everything out --and in the end perhaps you'll capture something ineffable or at least
your very best.

Okay, let's start:

The human face is probably the most difficult subject to render accurately. It takes years of practice
to develop the skills needed to capture proportions and subtle features that make for a convincing
resemblance of a person. If you're not a portrait artist, you can still use these techniques to draw
other subject matter. A piece of machinery or tree trunk or still-life of any kind can be a beautiful
and impressive work of art. If you feel that you have little artistic talent, you may want to try a
simple exercise to shift your consciousness to the right side of your brain. Take a photograph and
turn it upside down. Then try to draw it. You may be surprised at how well you draw. However, an
artist doesn't necessarily have to be 'right brained.' You also don't need to be left-handed (I'm right
handed).

Ideally, work from a very detailed, high resolution photograph with good contrast. If you have a
graphics editing program, such as Adobe PhotoShop, crank up the levels until all the details are dark
enough to see. Use your computer screen to zoom in on the details. Being able to see a close-up of a
particular facial feature makes it much easier to draw something with photorealistic detail.

The first stage is the hardest part of the drawing. You are solving a difficult problem: how to create
a two dimensional representation of a three dimensional object. This example is particularly
difficult since it is a three-quarter view, and will depend on careful observation.

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With an HB (#2) pencil, very lightly scribble the forms that create the illusion of volume. Draw,
erase, redraw and erase again. The thick watercolor paper will serve you well as you erase many
times. The key is permitting yourself to make a multitude of mistakes until you begin to see
progress. If you look at an old drawing by a renaissance master, you may notice many stray lines,
which reveals the great struggle that sometimes takes place as the drawing is developing.

Remember, this is not a classical drawing. You'll have to betray all your artistic notions about the
creative method. Instead of organically building the composition up as a whole, photorealism
requires that you work mechanically, This early stage of the drawing is the closest you'll come to a
melodic artful approach. It may even look like a gesture drawing, loose scribbles, until something
forms and emerges from the chaos. As you activate the plane with energy, use this time to express
movement and emotion.

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Once you've made the drawing of the face, you've essentially completed the portrait. If you wanted
to, you could frame it and invite others to appreciate the weight and linear continuity of the
composition. It might not look out of place in a museum of modern art hanging next to a drawing by
Alberto Giacometti. So feel free to admire it for a while, appreciating all the interesting lines and
what might look like accidental or random marks.

All right, this is a photorealism tutorial after all. Let's get to it. Here's a close up of the right eye
(image below).

It's been said before that art is a discipline of awareness. The most important activity that we'll be
involved in for the rest of the drawing is observation. To put it simply, notice, notice, notice,
interesting shapes. The more interesting the shapes seem, the more you may want to exaggerate
slightly so others will notice them. It may seem silly, but the greatest joy in drawing can be falling
in love with shapes. Shapes are formed by positive and negative space. Tiny details are like hidden
treasures that you look for and find, drawing circles around them like word search puzzles. Below, I
start off with an exquisite find: a rectangle and a couple of lines within the iris. Also notice that I've
begun using the mechanical pencil for darker lines.

Here are some cross-hatch lines to create the eyebrow (below). I'm shining a bright lamp on the
drawing so you can see the direction the lines are going --so there is some glare.

Because this is a graphite drawing, try to work in one area, slowly expanding to others, being
careful not smear the graphite with your hand or wrist.

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Now listen very carefully Baby Puppy. You're about to perform a magic trick. Take the 4H pencil,
which is a hard lead, and draw some lines with firm pressure. You'll be pushing hard enough to
actually dig grooves into the paper. These will serve to create lighter areas that the dark mechanical
pencil lead will not be able to penetrate. This effect will be similar to the negative space in
fingerprints..

Now for the graphite technique you'll be using most in this drawing. With a slightly worn
mechanical pencil lead (just scribble on something for a moment), use the dullest part of the point to
shade with tiny ovals. The ovals should be built up gradually, so that the shading goes from light to
dark like a photograph developing in a dark room over time. Go slow, be patient. Use the grain of
the paper to aid you in creating the illusion of skin texture. You have to decide when you've reached
a shade that makes the best use of the paper texture and the graphite technique.

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As you shade over the eyelid, you'll notice the grooves that you've created with the 4H will now
begin to stand out (see below). These are the beginnings of wrinkles that you'll soften and add more
detail to later. The skin around the eyelid is extremely soft and thin. With a youthful looking person,
the eyelid wrinkles don't usually make the person look old. Most people are accustomed to seeing
wrinkly eyelids, and won't question your rendering of wrinkles..

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Back to shape finding. I zoomed in on the eye and noticed more interesting shapes. These are
reflections of lights and objects. They will help me to shade the eye, like drawing within the lines of
a coloring book. And who said you had to grow up?

Next, we add eyelashes by creating careful strokes with the mechanical pencil. You will want to
apply firm pressure, so be careful not to slip, since a kneaded eraser will not remove impressions in
the paper.

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Using the mechanical pencil for darks and the HB for light, shade the rest of the eye (below).

Prepare the lower lid by digging down firmly with the HB pencil. This will create the same effect as
the darker lead not entering the grooves in the paper. The lower lid is not as wrinkly as the upper
lid.

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Shade the lower lid with the mechanical pencil (draw over the grooves created with the HB).
Continue to darken the eyes.
Being careful not to smudge the drawing, shade the forehead with the same tiny ovals.

Gradually build up the side of the face with shading (see below). Be patient and sensitive.

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Over the left eye, shade the forehead, combining the 4H (light pressure) with the mechanical pencil
oval technique.

Since she is wearing a hat, it will creates shadows on the forehead. Take your time and make
gradual transitions from dark to light with your shading. Since I'm right handed, I'll be drawing
generally from upper-left to lower-right. If you're left handed, you'll do the opposite.
The lamp I'm using will be on my left so that my hand doesn't create a shadow over the area I'm
trying to draw. In this photograph the light source is different only for the sake of the camera.

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Although the shading in the forehead is finished (below), I will go back later and even out the
spotty areas with the kneaded eraser, redrawing some parts if I erase too much. I've shaded enough
to draw the left eyebrow with firm pressure (with the mechanical pencil). Do not draw the hairs
over white paper. Make sure you've shaded underneath first. Take your time and draw each hair
with great care (hey that rhymes!).

Again, we will be digging hard into the paper with a 4H pencil (see below). This will create larger
pores and wrinkles to be revealed by the dark soft lead of the mechanical pencil going over the 4H
marks.

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This part of the face is reflecting light, so you are trying to simulate a complex effect, a highlight on
porous skin with tiny wrinkles. Use the grain of the paper, the pencil graphite and the kneaded
eraser (all working together) to render this until you're satisfied with the result.

You may even want to draw thin lines around the pores with the 4H pencil to create more contrast
and detail.

Dig hard with the 4H pencil to prepare the shading of the eyelid.

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Shade the eyelid and draw the eyelashes with the mechanical pencil and begin shading the iris and
pupil. Notice the complexity of shapes within the eye. Do not assume that anything is symmetrical.
Observe nature. Study the symphony of patterns.

Again, I used the 4H pencil to press grooves into the paper before shading with the mechanical
pencil. Then I shaded with the darker lead (mechanical pencil) and added eyelashes. The whites of

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the eyes are not white, but in a slight shadow (4H pencil).

Begin shading the nose with soft graphite ovals. Notice the shadow of the nose on the right side of
the face (her right). Please excuse the glare of the lamp over the left eye.

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Apply hard pressure with the 4H pencil to create long highlighted hairs. Although the subject has
dark hair, the highlights will look natural and not like gray hairs. The key is to create the
impressions in the paper first and then later go over them with the darker, softer lead of the
mechanical pencil. This effect works really well with blondes who have fly-away hairs visible in
front of dark backgrounds.

To create hair, draw long lines with firm pressure with the mechanical pencil. Notice the highlight
hairs appearing.

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Continue to use the oval technique for the skin, and the dark lines for the hair. Carefully shade the
ear, sensitive to the subtle shapes visible in the skin. Think about the cartilage, fat and skin that
causes the skin to contour and catch light.

Although the paper is glaring because of the light, you can get an idea of how the hair is drawn
using both the HB pencil and the mechanical pencil. Notice the highlight on the nose and the
general direction the drawing is still taking, upper-left to lower-right. Again, this will help to keep
your wrist and hand from smudging the drawing.

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Below is a detail of the hair showing the effect of soft lead over the impressions left by an HB
pencil. Continue to darken.

I've create a highlight on the cheek with very light shading transitioning out into darker shading
with the mechanical pencil.

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Here's a close-up of the mouth. I've turned up the contrast so you can better see the lines and
shading. Notice there are no straight lines in nature. All contours are melodic. Try to imagine these
shapes as islands on the horizon. Squint your eyes and see an archipelago in the pacific.

With the 4H pencil, push hard against the paper to create wrinkles.

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Now shade with the soft lead of the mechanical pencil. Continue to discover interesting shapes and
patterns. Notice that part of the lip looks a little like an E.K.G. rhythm strip. Also notice the little
nicks around the edge of the lip and how there are dramatic differences between the lights and
shadows. The teeth are not white, but in the shadow of the lower lip.

Here's an even closer view of the detail (below).

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Add in some dark wrinkle lines with the mechanical pencil (below).

Shading the lower lip (below).

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Shade the rest of the face. Observe the light reflecting off jawline (below).
(Note: this photo is slightly distorted)

Here's an extreme close-up (below) so you can better see the graphite oval technique.

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The hair is almost finished.

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Closer view of the hair (below).

After spending quite some time darkening the hair and patting down the face with a kneaded eraser,
the skin still looks a little spotty (below). At this point one has to decide if they want to move
beyond photorealism into hyperrealism. My personal taste is that the drawing should still look like a
drawing. I leave a hint of the shoulder with a single line, and shade the hat with simple diagonal
lines. As for the blotchy skin, I can smooth away for days in the chasing after perfection, but I think
that the human quality is worth the unevenness.

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How long did it take to draw this face? If I add up the hours, perhaps one full day. If you liked this
tutorial or would like to share anything you've done, you can find me on facebook.

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