For this tutorial, you will need: your sketchbook, graphite drawing pencils, blending stumps and eraser pencil.



Step 1: Find a portrait that you want to draw. I like this one because of the differences in lighting and shadows in the picture.

Step 2: Sketch an outline of the shape of the head. Accuracy of the shape of the head is not important right now. If you make any mistakes, they can be easily fixed later on.

Step 3: Draw a line down the center of the face. Draw a horizontal line one-third down from the top of the face. Then draw another horizontal line one inch to one and a half inches down from the previous line. Next, draw three small, horizontal lines equally spaced apart below the last horizontal line. These lines will serve as guides for drawing the eyebrows, eyes, nose and mouth of the face.



Step 4: Following the eye line, sketch the shape of the eyes. They should be level and at least a half inch away from the center line, equally spaced.

Step 5: Sketch out the eyebrows and draw in the iris.

Step 6: Sketch in the rest of the features of the face like the nose, mouth, smile lines, dimples and hair.



Step 7: Sketch in the pupil of the eye. Feel free to draw in circles close to the pupil to mirror light reflecting on the eye.

Step 8: Reshape the face if need be.



Step 9: Fill in the pupil of the eye using the darkest graphite pencil.

Step 10: Start filling in the iris. Use small strokes to fill it in and try to mimic the fibers and filaments of the iris.



Step 11: Start filling in the eyebrows and eyelashes. Use the blending stump to add shading to the top of the eye.

Step 12: Draw faint outlines of the shaded areas of the face. I find this makes it easier to shade in the face than just free-handing it.

Step 13: Start shading in the face using graphite pencils. Try to use an intensity of graphite that matches the lightness or darkness of the shadows in the picture you are referencing.




Step 14: As you draw, the graphite on the paper may start to smudge. Feel free to go over any markings that need touching up.

Step 15: Start filling in the hair. Use varying strokes to mirror realistic hair. Feel free to play with using light sources as well.



Step 16: Fill in any other details you may have missed or need to fix to finish.