How to draw, shade, blend realistic skin Part 1 _ Step by Step Portrait Drawing Tutorial

Hi guys .

I'm going to do my best to explain the techniques I used while drawing this portrait .

This drawing took me about five hours in real time .

I know I'm going to get that question .

So I always start with the lightest graphite pencil and that will be the three B I already do the sketch .

And in this tutorial , I will be showing you how to shade and create depth to get a realistic look .

There are different ways to sketch like using grid lines free hand with a ruler or tracing .

When I first started drawing , I used a ruler or my pencil as a guide and I measured everything to be sure the proportions were right .

That could really take some time .

And it also took away my motivation for starting a new drawing for me .

The fun part is shading and bringing my drawing to life .

So now with most of my drawings , I just trace over the basic lines so I can get started when you do that .

It's still important to keep on looking at your reference because you will lose some of the first lines once you start shading after every step I use my blending stump to blend the graphite .

And I also shave with some extra graphite that's on the stump .

Looking at my reference , I pay attention to where the highlights are .

So for that , I use my pencil eraser .

Next I go over the parts that should be darker with the seven B and then I smudge again .

Now the darkest graphite pencil , the nine me and then I smudge again .

I like to draw on small sections .

So that way I can concentrate on one part of the face first .

And I usually start with the eyes .

After drying the nose and the lips , you can always come back to correct a bit or add details .

Of course , you should find out what works best for you .

This is just my way of drawing because I'm using gray vapor .

I really wanted the highlights to pop .

So I decided to use a white charcoal pencil to see how that turns out .

Actually , this is my first drawing on this gray paper .

Normally , I use white smooth paper .

So I'm also trying out different things as I go to see what works and what not .

Half of a nose , I start shading with the 70 with the needed eraser .

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I go over the darkest parts .

Normally the nine B graphite pencil should be dark enough , but I really wanted the colors to stand out on this gray paper .

If you want to know the brand of the pencil I'm using , I have a list of materials in the description box .

Now I'm using a white acrylic marker for the brightest highlights .

If I think a highlight is too bright , I just shade over it with the dirty blending stump for the lips .

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Now you see me shading the skin with a five B and while I do that , I hold the pencil more to the back and I always shade with light pressure , I use a seven B to shave the darker parts and make sure to blend a lot in between the layers with the soft tissue or blending stomp .

Make sure not to start too dark .

You can always build up the layers gradually and make the skin darker as you go .

While drawing a realistic portrait , it's important to pay attention to the shadows and the highlights that really makes the difference .

So for the brightest highlights that really need to stand out , I use the white acrylic marker and for the darkest parts like the pupil of the eye , the nostrils of the nose or in between the lips , I use a black pencil as you can see , I use a blending stone quite often if you don't have one , but you would like to try it out .

You can also make one yourself .

I made a video about how to make one so you can check it out if you haven't already .

As I said before , this drawing took me about five hours , but I usually don't draw more than one hour per day .

After about an hour of drawing , I take a picture so I can see if I'm satisfied with how it looks .

Maybe then I will notice that the shading on the note should be darker or something else .

I make sure to correct those things the next time I start drawing .

So that's when you see me correcting or adding some details afterwards with very light pressure , I shake with the seven B to make the skin a bit darker .

Yes , a lot of shading because I like a smooth effect .

If you don't want your shading to be very smooth , you don't have to shade this much .

I start shading the air with the five B and then I smudge .

Now I'm erasing some of the graphite away where the highlights need to be .

And I will add some white charcoal later on , I will blend that again because I thought it was too white for the darkest parts on the ear .

I use the seven B and the nine B and later the black pencil for the small part of the inside of the ear .

That's how I go back and forth , shading , erasing , darken a bit shading and so on .

Also make sure that while you are shading don't press too hard on your pencil .

If you do , you will not be able to correct easily when you need to or the pencil eraser won't work that well .

When you need to add highlights , gently build up the layers when you want it to be darker and try not to rush if you want to achieve a realistic look .

A lot of patience is the key .

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I wanted to see how the white luminous pencil would turn out and see if I like it better than the white charcoal pencil .

So I went over some parts with it .

The result is actually the same with both of the white pencils .

I went over the graphite with the white pencil and it turned out a little bluish .

So here you see me trying to erase the graphite a bit .

And later on when I'm working on the hair , I will add a bit more detail to the ear in the next tutorial .

I will explain how I do the hair and you will also see me correcting and adding some details to the face .

So make sure you watch the next video too to see the end result .

I hope this video was helpful and Thank you all for watching .