6 Essential Tips for Realistic Drawing

Are you impressed by artists who are able to achieve high levels of realism in their work and wish you could also get to that point, someday? 

Interested in bringing realistic form and three-dimensionality to your drawings so that they can really pop out? Have you gained some confidence creating line sketches, and are ready to start adding realistic light and shading effects?

Even though I consider myself much more of a sketcher and a painter than a realistic drawer per se, I think it's essential to make time for these kinds of studies. 

I also think that it's important for aspiring artists to devote time to achieving believable drawings/paintings because this is what's going to lead them to develop great observational skills and grasp fundamental art topics such as proportion, value, perspective, form, etc.

In today's blog post, I'll be sharing a video time-lapse of a portrait I drew using regular pencils, as well my top six tips to apply when attempting to create a realistic drawing of any type of subject (whether it be a face, animal, arrangement of objects, etc.).

By understanding and practicing the six key points I'll be sharing below, beginner artists will start making much faster progress and will soon be creating impressive, more professional-looking drawings. 

I want to make something clear. To achieve realism, we need references. These references are going to allow us to observe what subjects actually look like in real life. If we don't use references, we are going to be working from what we think subjects look like.

References provide us details and remind us of tiny intricacies that we would have otherwise not thought about. And when attempting to achieve realism, it's ALL about observing the subtleties and being able to recreate them accordingly. 

References can take the form of photographs or compositions we have arranged to draw from life (otherwise called working from direct observation).

Drawing from direct observation is essential for artists that have gained a certain level of skill using photographic references, as it provides a more challenging opportunity to further our artistic development.

As I've mentioned in other blog posts and YouTube videos, drawing is the basis for everything else in art. I believe all artists, no matter how skilled they've already become or what particular medium they've chosen to gain mastery in, should continue making time to sharpen their drawing/observational skills throughout their journeys. 

​Personally, I make sure to schedule in time for it on a weekly basis, even though what I sell are my paintings!