How to draw a realistic pencil portrait

YLANAST
/
BRUSHES

LEARN HOW TO DRAW A REALISTIC PENCIL PORTRAIT

Level Up Your Pencil Portraits

LESSON PLAN

Language ENG RU

11

Realistic Portrait Shading & Structure

What you’ll learn:
• How to build the face without measuring ✏️
• Easy shading techniques to add volume
• How to work with light, shadow, and depth

10

Drawing Tom Hiddleston in Three-Quarter View

📏 Perspective & Proportions – learn to construct the head in three-quarter view, capturing volume and anatomical accuracy.
🖌 Hair Dynamics – master natural flow and movement while considering light direction.
🎭 Emotion & Character – enhance the upward gaze, adding depth and expression.

9

Stylized Portrait of Rihanna: Capturing Character Through Drawing

🎭 Stylized Character – Learn to transform a reference into a unique, expressive portrait.
🖌 Shading & Texture – Use strokes to create depth and enhance personality.
✨ Signature Details – Emphasize key facial features and add artistic touches to make the portrait truly stand out.

8

Male Portrait of Tom Hardy: Photorealism & Character

📏 Proportions & Structure – accurately build the male face, emphasizing strong features and anatomical precision.
🖌 Light, Shadow & Texture – master shading for depth, skin texture, stubble, and realistic hair.
👀 Expression & Character – capture intensity, charisma, and personality with precise shading.

7

Photo Drawing: Amanda Seyfried in Realistic Style

📏 Proportions & Construction – learn to accurately transfer facial features, keeping symmetry and anatomical precision.
✨ Photorealism & Skin Texture – master smooth gradients, light, and shadow to create a lifelike effect.
👩 Female Portrait – explore how to capture softness, eye expressiveness, and natural lip shape.

6

Lips: Shine and Texture

💋 Construction & Shapes – understand how lips connect to the face and their anatomical structure.
🎨 Texture & Details – learn to render softness, wrinkles, and natural texture.
✨ Light & Highlights – master shading techniques to make lips look full and realistic.

5

Drawing the Nose: Basics and Details

👃 Construction & Proportions – learn how to place the nose correctly in a portrait, considering its shape and perspective.
🔍 Nose Anatomy – study cartilage, bone structures, and different nose types.
🎨 Shading & Realism – master light, shadow, and skin texture with graphite techniques.

4

The Eye: Step by Step

👁 How to construct eyes anatomically – understand basic shapes, axes, and eye placement in the socket.
🎨 Create depth with light and shadow – master shading and highlights for realism.
✍️ Add details for expression – refine eyelashes, iris textures, and eyelid structure to enhance emotion.

3

Facial Proportions: Fundamentals of Anatomy

📐 How to construct a face – break it into forms, find key proportions.
👁️ Place features accurately – define symmetry, eye width, nose, lips.
🎨 Capture character – understand how proportions affect likeness.

2

General Head Shape: Diagrams and Basics

🔹 How to attach the head to the neck – considering tilt, axes, and balance.
🔸 Key forms and structures – simplified anatomy for easy construction.
⚖️ Create a natural head position – work with volume and dynamics.

1

Shading with Pencil: Secrets of Realism

✏️ How to master shading a face – create smooth gradients and depth using pencil strokes.
✨ Control light and shadow – achieve seamless transitions and precise highlights.
🎨 Capture skin texture – from smoothness to subtle roughness with diverse shading techniques.

BASIC PENCIL

$

99

$

250

BUY NOW

Lifetime access to all content
10 Lessons
A special bonus 500+ Mega Brush Pack included for free
My personal custom 3 brand-new brush sets created for this course
+ 3 bonus brush sets — total 6 packs included
A free color swatch set of skin colors
Downloadable color palettes for every design painted throughout the course
+ 40 additional bonus video lessons
A lesson on how to build a profession from scratch and earn money from art
How to grow as a personal brand on social media

DRAW PORTRAITS THAT ACTUALLY LOOK LIKE THE PEOPLE YOU'RE DRAWING

Do you give up when it comes to drawing portraits? I was the same, until I learned simple tricks to draw people that every beginner can master!

Welcome to "Drawing Realistic Portraits with a Pencil"!

Professional artist Ylanast shares the best techniques and tips she has mastered over the years as a pencil portrait artist, carefully guiding you through the process of turning a blank sheet of paper into a stunning, lifelike portrait.

Ylanast simplifies the entire approach, showing you step by step how to construct a drawing using basic shapes, map out proportions, sketch clean linework, and apply shading to build depth and realism. You’ll learn to blend tones smoothly, create natural textures, and bring out the unique features of your subject.

Under her guidance, you'll see how easy and enjoyable portrait drawing can be! By the end of the course, you’ll gain confidence in your artistic skills. With a solid foundation in pencil shading and facial structure, you’ll be able to create expressive, detailed portraits that truly capture the essence of your subject.

introduction

Materials You'll Need for the Course

WHAT IS THIS CLASS ABOUT?

Have you always wanted to take your realism/semi-realism paintings to the next level? Do you see artists create super realistic portraits and wonder how they do it?

Photo studies are one of the best tools out there to do that and they are used by professionals all the time. They allow you to focus on finding your exact style, learn new painting methods, and develop an understanding of different materials, colors, anatomy, and more.

In this portrait-focused course, you will learn exactly how to properly use pencil to drastically improve your painting skills at a rapid pace!

1. We will learn how to stylize portraits using references as a foundation.
2. You will discover how to modify facial features, proportions, and expressions to create a unique style.
3. This lesson will help you experiment with lines, colors, and creative elements to develop your own artistic approach.

1. Step-by-step drawing process – Learn how to build a portrait from scratch, starting with basic shapes and gradually refining details.
2. Secrets of realism – Understand light, shadows, and facial proportions to create lifelike portraits with ease.
3. Easy approach to drawing faces – Discover simple techniques to make drawing people feel natural and enjoyable, even for beginners.

1. How to Create Eye-Catching Drawings – I will teach you how to draw unique and captivating portraits that grab attention and stand out.
2. Attract Views and Followers – Learn techniques that will help your artwork gain popularity on social media, increasing engagement and growing your audience.
3. Develop Your Own Artistic Style – I have mastered the art of being a unique artist, and in this course, I will show you how to draw in a way that others can’t, making your work truly special.

GET STARTED

Choose a training option

If you can’t pay on this website
Pay on this link
or write to me in direct

Get your lesson

also
You can pay to my paypal:
ylanaylana2@gmail.com

After payment, I will give you a link to register for the course

Who is this online course for?

For anyone interested in pencil portrait drawing and looking to learn or improve their skills.
Anyone who wants to draw stylized pencil portraits with realistic shading and lighting effects.