Pratik's ball and pencil sketches

If this is a new challenge for you, and you have little experience of portrait drawing then I have put together a few short pencil drawing techniques exercises for you to practice before you delve any further into your step by step drawing tutorial.

These exercises are very basic, easy to follow and can be accomplished in a short period of time. No more than half hour.

But each exercise is very important, and I suggest if you are serious about learning to draw portraits you not only complete each one, but that you practice each one over and over until you have found a way of drawing that you are comfortable with.

Finding Your Own Pencil Drawing Technique

Every pencil artist has their own way of doing things. We will all tell you contradicting methods of doing certaintechniques, and different rules to abide by and what you should and shouldn’t be doing.

The truth is though, there are no rules. Just our own experiences of good practice. What I might suggest works for me, in time you may find a different, more comfortable way of doing for yourself.

A good pencil portrait or a good drawing is just that. Nobody is interested in how you got to the finished piece (unless they want to learn). The finished portrait is what is important.

So, What’s The First Lesson…?

Be Yourself.

Sure, the pencil drawing techniques I am going to show you are a very good place to start, and are skills you will use no matter how you develop in your learning to draw challenge; but, as you do gain confidence,don’t be scared to try your own ways out. There is no right or wrong, and this is the only way you will truly learn your own style of pencil drawing.

And, don’t let anybody tell you “You are doing it wrong!”. Because you are not. There are no Artist Gods or Messiahs, or anybody who knows better than everyone else. Just different artists with different methods!

So, tear a sheet of crisp paper out of your new drawing pad, grab your pencil and let’s go for it…