Pencil Drawing Portrait
This pencil drawing portrait was a labor of love for me. It was also very challenging and a lot of fun! Below I’ve inserted photos of the pencil drawing taken while I was working on this one.
When I first saw the photo I used as a reference photo for this one posted on my niece (in-law) Michelle’s FaceBook page, I knew instantly that I wanted to draw it.
When my nephew, Jesse, hinted that the photo would make a good reference photo for a pencil drawing portrait… well, that cinched the deal and the rest is history now 🙂
The process I use to draw pencil portraits is a layering process. I “build” the drawing using layers of graphite.
I start with my lightest pencil and gradually build layers using darker and darker pencils to apply graphite layers, getting darker where needed with each layer. Shaded areas are darkened with my darkest graphite pencil.
Pencil Drawing Portrait Process Photos
To get started, I lightly outline and mark areas – such as where the eyes, nose and lips are – on the paper based on the reference photo.
I work on portions of the drawing usually starting in the top, left corner to avoid smudging the drawing with my right (drawing) hand as I work.
With each session and layer, more of the drawing details emerge as shown in the following photos:
In this pencil drawing portrait, once I had Michelle close to “finished”, I started on baby Daniel and started the same layering process again on him as shown below.
When I feel I’ve done the best I can to make the drawing look as realistic as I possibly can, I carefully clean the remaining white or lighter areas for a final time using an artist’s eraser. Last, I spray the pencil drawing portrait with a Final Fixatif to protect the portrait permanently.
All that’s left to do at this point is to mat and frame the portrait!
Click here to commission a pencil drawing portrait by Barb Schacher.
