Realistic drawing can be intimidating, especially when you try to draw an entire face all at once. A smart way to approach realism is by focusing on one feature at a time. This helped me more than anything else in my journey to improving portraits.
Start with Just One Feature
Instead of drawing the whole face, pick one part — an eye, a mouth, or an ear. Practice drawing open eyes, closed eyes, smiling lips, or hair strands on separate pages.
This helped me study light, shape, and detail without feeling overwhelmed.
Practice, Then Combine
Once you’re comfortable drawing individual features like eyes, noses, and lips, start combining them into a full face. This will help you build confidence, improve proportions, and bring all your practice together into one complete portrait.
Why This Method Works
- It trains your eye to see detail
- You learn shading one section at a time
- Mistakes are easier to fix and learn from
Repeat and Grow
Keep drawing those parts over and over. Eventually, you’ll feel ready to tackle an entire portrait — and it won’t feel nearly as scary.
