How to Draw Realistic Faces, Draw Real Faces

Artist: finalprodigy / October 31, 2010
How to Draw Realistic Faces, Draw Real Faces

Step 1.


Here is a little tip sheet I drew up. Hope you can read my handwriting! This is more of a guide on what to study if you want to improve on your face drawings. You will have to study anatomy, lighting, and everything else on your own time and in your    

Step 2.


Starting your faces off as "eggs" or ovals is usually the best way to go. Divide them down the middle horizontally and vertically to make adding the features easier. Notice how the placement and size of features changes depending on who you are drawi   

Step 3.


Don't worry this isn't the end of the tutorial! I just wanted to give you an idea of what the previous step could lead to.

Step 4.


Alright time to draw a realistic face! Start off with the basic forms. In this case an oval head and some simple hand forms. Don't worry about details yet.

Step 5.


Sketch in the main features and and develop the hands a bit more. Notice the basic idea of the hair. Imagine that you are drawing out each hair one by one. DO NOT just scribble in the basic values of the hair and call it done.

Step 6.


Now we can start adding detail to the face. Darken the pupils and make the eyes, nose, and mouth "pop" out. Don't worry too much about shading yet though. Just remember where your light source is (top right) and hint at the corresponding shadows (mai   

Step 7.


Start adding detail to the hands and hair. Everything should be better defined by the end of this step. Still not worrying too much about shading. Just hint at the the shadows.

Step 8.


Now you can start a bit of shading and add some more values to the drawing. You want to add the shading in the same way that you developed the shading, from the face out.

Step 9.


Here is a close up of the face. Watch out for that shadow on the left side of her face. Note that the is some reflected light there. Don't take that for granted. Also, use this close up to examine what makes her eyes so prominent. Don't forget about    

Step 10.


Now you can darken her pullover with the darkest value you can make. I used a China Marker and a 4B pencil to accomplish this. Add some finishing touches to the hair and hands as well. It is up to you how much time you want to spend on detail. This t   

Step 11.


And there we have our finished portrait! I hope this was helpful/informative!

Comments (1)
Passion4art · 1 year ago
This is the perfect mom portrait I need to do for my mom's birthday. I am not a big fan of tattoos but I can always draw them on paper.
  reply
Details
Artist: finalprodigy
Date Added: October 31, 2010
Steps: 11
Favorited: 17 (view)
Views: 1 in last hour, 8 in last day, 78 in last week, 120762 total
Comments: 0
Tags: draw realistic animals, how to draw realistic, draw realistic, how to draw real, how to sketch, sketching in pencil
Description: I remember a time when I used to marvel and wonder at realistic drawings of faces. It always looked more daunting that it really is. Even though this is an advanced tutorial, I am sure that anyone can learn something from it!

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