Tag: how to draw a person

3 graphite pencil techniques for portrait drawing that work: tools and techniques

head study from Indian Girl by Palmer_veronica winters artist
Head study, graphite pencil drawing from a sculpture of “Indian Girl” by Palmer Available

Graphite pencil drawing is a fundamental skill necessary to master for every realist artist. In this article, I’d like to share several most useful tools and techniques for portrait drawing I use the most often. Keep in mind that that these graphite pencil techniques for beginners are applicable to any kind of pencil/charcoal drawing including graphite pencil drawing realistic landscapes, still lifes, faces, fur, etc.

#1 Graphite pencil blending techniques: use paper stumps correctly

Graphite pencil blending techniques: paper stumps help artists blend both graphite pencils and charcoal. Never use the paper stumps for colored pencil blending! They will ruin the surface.
This mood board shows a graphite pencil sketch and a very quick pen sketch to develop the concept drawing for my oil painting titled Faith.
This is a page from my Creative Techniques book that shows you basic graphite pencil blending and shading techniques. In the first step I block in the darks and leave out spaces for the lights. Both lights and darks become the two extremes between which I create a range of tones at a later stage.
graphite pencil erasing techniques
This step-by-step charcoal drawing demonstration shows the same graphite pencil shading and erasing techniques. Blending with paper stumps unifies the surface, blending everything to a medium gray tone (step 2-3). Therefore, I strengthen the darkest areas immediately after that. Various sizes of paper stumps give me the precision I need doing graphite pencil blending.
graphite pencil drawing realistic faces
Graphite pencil drawing realistic faces: in this quick sketch I show how to look at the light and map out the anatomy of the face preparing you to draw realistic faces in pencil, charcoal, pastels.
This is a very quick graphite pencil sketch showing the initial block in and quick graphite pencil blending.

Graphite pencil blending and shading techniques in portrait drawing are the same as in still life drawing shown above. I begin shading the drawing by placing the darkest darks first. I often draw on the Strathmore Bristol vellum paper that’s smooth and thick but still has some tooth to adhere the pencil to. Once I’m done massing out the shapes in a soft, 4B graphite pencil, I use the blending stumps to blend the large areas. In the left picture I blended everything with a paper stump. If you draw in vine charcoal, a soft brush works really well to do charcoal blending. It’s important to do graphite pencil blending in the “right” direction not to overwork the surface.

Drawing Paper

koh-i-noor drawing paper review

I’m amazed by the quality of this paper.  It’s quickly becoming my favorite because Koh-I-Noor in & out pages are thick, smooth, and versatile. I love how easy it is to layer both graphite and colored pencil on it that hardly needs any blending! Also, I can place my drawings back into the pad for a beautiful presentation. I’ve drawn on Koh-I-Noor Bristol vellum, Bristol smooth, Colored Pencil and Black Drawing drawing papers so far. All of them are fantastic! While Koh-I-Noor Black Drawing has thin pages, the rest of them are thick, and all are smooth with a different degree of light texture present to grab the pencil. Give them a try!

#2 Graphite pencil erasing techniques: kneaded eraser & Tombow Mono Zero eraser

Kat with a shell, detail, graphite on paper

In the second step, I usually lift out the highlights with the kneaded eraser to create small spots of light seen on skin. This is the most useful graphite pencil erasing technique. Any brand of a kneaded eraser works about the same.  The kneaded eraser lifts out the pigment without any residue to make soft edges around the highlights. These lights look natural and realistic. I often lift out more graphite pencil than I need to to come back to it with refined pencil shading around the highlights.

General’s kneaded eraser

Graphite pencil drawing realistic textures:

Tombow Mono zero eraser is a great eraser that erases tiny graphite marks. You can create incredible textures and details. This eraser helps in graphite pencil drawing of realistic textures, such as thin strands of hair or tiny highlights in the pearls or lights on the face and eyelashes. This eraser works great in colored pencil drawing as well when I try to erase hard to reach, tiny areas in my drawings. I buy these on Amazon. So if you decide to give zero eraser a try, order two or three of them at once, you won’t regret it!

Tombow eraser

Drawing realistic textures in graphite pencil: Once I’ve developed a range of tones, I work on specific textures seen in the reference photo. In this drawing of Khaleesi you see the texture of clothing that I’ve done with rubbings. I placed a pumice stone under my paper and shaded over it with a soft pencil where the clothing should be. This rubbing gave me the initial texture I worked around in pencil to develop it further. I also did some lifting out with both kneaded eraser and the zero eraser on her necklace and hair.

To make texture in the jewelry on her neck, I used some magic tape. I placed it over the shaded area, made short strokes on the tape with a ballpoint pen and lifted it out to reveal this unique texture.

figurative art, portrait drawing, Khaleesi
Emilia Clarke as Khaleesi, 9×12″ | graphite on Koh-I-Noor Bristol vellum drawing paper available | There is something about the character that attracts you when you watch a movie. I think it happens because you find a part of yourself present in that person. Khaleesi has fragile beauty of course, but she also grows to become fierce and powerful woman. Drawing is an essential building block to any representational art form. Pencil drawing is something I practice as much as I can because it improves and informs me of shapes, colors and composition.
Drawing detail: hands with a shell | I often use the kneaded eraser to make soft lift outs, create subtle edges, and to clean up without leaving grease and residue on paper.

#3 Graphite pencil shading techniques: values & layering

Value scale

Every color has its own value scale going from the darkest dark to white. Some dark colors have a much wider value range as opposed to the light colors. (Think of ultramarine as a dark color and yellow as a light one).
You control your values while you keep graphite pencil shading. You need to create a range of tones from very light to very dark to make your portrait three-dimensional. Usually, students complete their drawing with a very limited range of tones. That’s why everything looks “average grey” or “too flat.”
Convert your color image into a black-and-white picture on your computer, and you’ll understand how dark the shadows should be. Then step back from your finished pencil drawing to compare it to your black-and-white reference.

portrait drawing
Self-portrait facing 41, graphite study for warrior, 9×12, available | Graphite pencil shading techniques includes simple repetition of shading to achieve dark values in portrait drawing.

I layer the graphite pencil by erasing, enhancing the dark values, and refining the details. I work on subtle transitions of tone with harder pencils, especially if it’s a skin tone. I usually shade with 2-4H graphite pencils gently transitioning from medium to light tone.

Final fixative:

When graphite pencil shading is complete, I use a final fixative, spraying my drawing outdoors. I strongly recommend using professional-grade fixatives, like the Grumbacher matte final fixative for dry media or Sennelier HC10. It gives a very nice and even finish to my artwork that’s impossible to achieve with cheaper brands like Krylon. Spray art in low-humidity, at room temperature.

Final fixative for dry media

How often do you draw in graphite pencil? Drawing in pencil is a fantastic way to train your eye and hand to see values and gain precision necessary to build technical skills in realistic pencil drawing. When you become confident drawing in graphite pencil, begin drawing in color.

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