These realistic portrait drawings and sketches are a collection of art pieces from super talented artists. If you’re looking for portrait references or inspiration, you’ll definitely find that below.
Along with sharing these portraits, I’ll also be including some of my best tips for drawing realistic portraits.
As always, I’ll be including a link to the artist’s social media account or website. If you enjoy their work, please make sure you support the artist by liking their work on social media, and buying their art.
Try Using Colored Pencils or Pastels
Colored pencils and pastels are great tools to use when adding color to a portrait.
Pastels can be used to blend and shade artwork. They also deliver rich pigment to your art. Colored pencils can help you enhance your drawing and make cleaner lines.
When using pastels, it’s important to use a fixative to keep the color from smudging. I recommend using a workable fixative, so you can still make changes to your portrait if needed.
If you’re new to using pastels or colored pencils, remember to start with lighter colors and add darker colors as you go.
Practice Drawing Different Parts of The Face
Before you start working on your portrait, I recommend that you practice drawing different parts of the face first.
That means take some time out to draw a realistic nose, eyes, mouth, ears, etc. I have some great references that you can check out below:
- 22 Eye Drawing Ideas and Tutorials
- 22 Girl Hair Drawing Ideas and References
- 22 How to Draw Hair Ideas and Step-by-Step Tutorials
Additionally, below you can see a simple lip study that visually shows you how to draw realistic lips.
For more references like this, I highly recommend checking out the artist’s Instagram account. You can find the link in the image credit below the photo.
Don’t Be Afraid to Add Color
Depending on the portrait, adding color can really help your art piece stand out. Check out this colorful Taylor Swift portrait for example.
I just love what the artist did with this drawing. If you’d like to see more colorful celebrity portraits like this one, you can find the artist, Jeraj Jain on Instagram.
Practice Drawing Portraits
If you want to improve your portrait drawings, the best thing you can do is practice. Practice won’t make you perfect because there’s no such thing as perfect, but it can make you great at what you do.
For the best results, I recommend sketching for 30 minutes a day, at least 5 days a week.
If you can sketch daily, that’s even better. And don’t worry about if you can’t sketch for 30 minutes. If all you can spare is 10-15 minutes, that’s better than nothing.
Set aside some time daily for your art, and you will reap the benefits of your hard work.
Experiment with Different Pencils
Don’t be afraid to experiment with different types of pencils. There are so many different types of colored pencils out there, and each one will give you a different result.
So, try out different brands and see which ones you like best. Also, experiment with different techniques to see what works best for you.
Use Real Photos for Reference
A great way to get good at drawing realistic portraits is to use photos of real people for reference. If you don’t have any photos of your own, you can find a ton of reference photos online.
Just make sure that the photo you’re using is high quality, so you can see all the details you need to recreate the portrait.
And when you’re looking at the reference photo, really study it. Look at the shapes of the eyes, nose, and mouth. Notice how the light hits the person’s face. And pay attention to the small details, like eyelashes and eyebrows.
All of these details will come together to help you create a realistic portrait. So take your time, be patient, and keep practicing.
Whether you’re an artist in search of references or just appreciate beautiful artwork, these realistic portrait drawings and sketches are definitely worth a look.
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