Tips and Techniques
Lets begin by congratulating yourself on taking those next steps in your artistic journey to learn more, grow and develop. Any skill worth having takes time, commitment, drive, confidence, perseverance and lots of PATIENCE!
So I hope your ready to find and awaken those aspects of yourself and learn how to capture life in all its fine and wonderful details.
Realism, photorealism and hyperrealism are all styles of art I love to work in and yes it does require a little amount of skill but a ton of PATIENCE, I will be using this word a lot as we go on as it is so important in this style of work, because without developing patience your not going to improve or be able to draw in a realistic manner.
By taking your time and drawing step by step really focusing on each section you will begin to understand how to draw true to life and that's the key really focusing on life and whats around you, so open your eyes, mind and soul and lets begin...
1. First of all start with your Why.
Why is it you want to improve your artistic skills? Why do you want to be an artist? What inspires you? What positive impact do you want to have on this world? do you want to be a full-time Artist and are you willing to put in the work to make it happen?
These answers will be the strong foundations in order for you to continue, progress, and succeed in your artistic journey so get a pen and paper and write your answers out and put them in a place you will see daily.
2. Start by training your eyes to observe the tiny details in all the objects around you from a flower petal, to the lines of the wood in your furniture, your pets (if you have any), the details in your hands right now.
It’s about spending time on really focusing and taking in all those small details we might miss. This is the key to realistic drawing.
3. Choose a reference photo (a portrait, still life, an animal). It must be a high quality image and you can see the details clearly.
Free stock photos online are great for this. You can zoom in on the photo to practice observing the details. Pick large, good contrast photos with light and dark tones, this gives our drawing more depth and gains more attention.
4. Print out your photo in grayscale rather than black and white if you can. This allows you to see the different yet subtle grey tones. You may want to play about with the contrast and print a few samples.
5. When you are happy with your reference photo, choose a good quality sketch pad. I use Strathmore 300 series Bristol vellum and/or Bristol smooth paper (and have a long ruler to hand). Be sure to wash your hands before touching your paper.
6. Start by lightly drawing a 2cm x 2cm grid (I use a 2B pencil for this) over your reference photo, this will take time but it’s worth it to assist you in capturing the details accurately. I then do exactly the same on my paper using a B mechanical pencil 0.3mm lead. The grids will be the same size.
7. Use a kneaded eraser to really lighten the grid you have just drawn, you will be drawing over this and it will not be seen.
8. Have your reference photo in line with the area you’re about to start drawing.
I start at the bottom left hand corner and work up and across, start where feels right for you. You need to really study the reference photo and the section you are about to draw.
Start with one square at a time and do you best to complete that square before moving onto the next. Be patient.
9. I use a mechanical pencil as I find the point is always sharp and easier to use.
10. Leave highlighted/white sections untouched and draw around them. You can use a kneaded eraser to lift graphite up off the paper. You can also use a mono zero easer pen for creating those fine white lines.
11. If your frustrated or tired remember it is important to take a short break and come back feeling refreshed. This way you’ll make fewer mistakes and remember to cover your work with extra paper when you do to protect it.
12. The key to creating depth and contrast is to always work in layers. The first layer is the detail, the second layer will be blending, then another layer of adding more details and so on.
13. Use a light touch to shade in your areas in circular motions. For darker areas press a little harder , add layers over you lighter shade using a 2B or 3B pencil.
14. Grab some tissue paper and fold it a few times, use one of the corners to blend your layers in, take your time. You can also use a Tortillion blending tool. (see tools page for more)
15. B grade pencils such as 2B, 3B and 4B are great for building up medium tones to get a more realistic look.
16. For those really dark, matte black contrasts I use a black 3B charcoal pencil from Conte a Paris and I blend it using a colour shaper blending tool and a cotton wool bud.
You can use any charcoal to acquire a black tone. If you only use graphite you will always have a grey, shinny finish that will look flat on the page. If you want your work to pop out and look realistic it needs black in it.
17. For details that require more darkness such as pupils and eye lashes I will use a black coloured pencil making sure it is sharp. Any black pencil will do.
18. Remember to blend all hard lines, unless seen clearer in the reference photo. Blending and layering is what’s going to give you that realistic depth you’re looking for.
19. Turn the reference photo upside down to better capture the shapes from time to time.
20. The grid is there to help you in drawing the proportions correctly and working on it section by section.
21. Draw every detail you see. If you form a habit of observing what you’re going to draw for an hour or more this will greatly show in your work. Tones and contrasts make up most of the drawing (as I mentioned layers are important) whilst the details make up the rest.
22. Stepping away from the drawing to look at the larger picture will help you to notice a few details that might need adding or taking away. The eraser pen is great for this, however on rare occasions I have used a white gel pen to really add that glistening detail in the pupils of the eyes on my portraits.
23. Remember the 4 P’s – Patience, Persistence, Perseverance and a Positive attitude.
24. An Artist never stops growing and learning. With time and consistent practice you will see great improvements.
25. Study your drawing after completing it to see if there are any areas that could be improved and make a note of it for next time.
26. The larger your drawing the easier it will be to draw those tiny details. It will take longer, but is really is better sometimes especially for beginners.
27. Keep reading and going over your answers to point 1. This will help reinforce a positive mind-set and to help motivate you when you are tired or lacking motivation.
28. Keep practicing, it is the only way to learn and improve. Even practicing on the same reference photo to see your improvements each time.
29. When you feel confident enough that’s when you can really start playing about with your drawing, such as making the details look even sharper, playing about with contrasts and textures, merging 2 or more separate individuals on one image and changing the background completely.
Click here to view the Tools I use to draw with and my Q&A video going through them all.
Tutorial videos to come soon, so stay tuned!
