Tips to Improve Your Realistic Drawing

1. Make sure you're using a quality reference 

Whether you're using a photograph or drawing from life, it's essential to put in time to
search for a great picture or create a great composition. 

If you're using a reference photograph, make sure it has a great resolution that is
going to allow you to zoom in as needed, and that it shows a great play between
lights and shadows. Do not use an overexposed or underexposed photograph as
reference, as this will not lead to a good three-dimensional looking piece. 

If you're a beginner just starting out, something that is going to be very helpful is
opening up your photograph in a photo-editing software like Photoshop or Gimp and
turning it into black and white/grayscale. This is going to allow you to pinpoint lights,
darks and mid-tones a lot easier.

Being able to discern between different values in your reference is absolutely key to you
being able to recreate them. Make to mistake, value is much more important than color
when creating realism. 

If you're a bit more experienced and are starting to draw from life, check out my
blog post titled Why Drawing from Direct Observation is Essential and 10 Tips to
Improve. In it, I explain why drawing from life is so important in order to progress
our skills even further, and share a few tips to make the process less daunting. 

2. Know and prepare your art supplies

When I first started drawing I used regular printing paper, my pencils from school, and
had no idea about the different types of erasers that existed. While this is perfectly fine
when we're just starting out, and I actually am all for creating art with limited and basic
tools, when you're ready to really improve your work, it's essential to invest in actual
drawing supplies. 

Using tools for the type of artwork you're intending to create is going to ensure that
you're not making the process extra-difficult for yourself and you'll be able to progress
much faster.

All of the following art supplies are products I myself use and consider to be of
excellent quality for the price they're being offered at. 

When I set out to create a drawing that is more on the realistic side, I make sure
to have the following supplies on hand:
-A few different pencil grades (2H or H for the initial sketch, a couple of mid-grade a 2B
or 4B to start placing values gradually, and one darker grade like an 8B for darkest
areas)
-Drawing or sketching paper (smooth paper is going to ensure smooth blending)
-A kneaded eraser or eraser intended for smaller areas
-A regular soft rubber eraser for larger areas
-A blending stump or tortillon to blend smaller areas
-A tissue paper to blend larger areas
-A quality sharpener 
-A scrap piece of regular paper or tracing paper to rest my hand on as I'm working

3. Always start with a light initial sketch, focusing on

largest shapes first
When we're starting with any kind of drawing, it's absolutely essential to learn to
visualize what we're looking at as a combination of simple shapes and to tune out
details.

The proportion and location of these different elements in regards to each other
has to be spot on, before even thinking about moving on to things like shading
and texture. 

It's the absolute worst to spend hours developing details and even creating beautiful,
smooth shading just to step away from our drawings and realize that the
proportions/locations of different elements are off. 

Also, whether you're creating your initial sketch by tracing over a photograph or
freehand, make sure those initial lines are created lightly so that they can be
invisible at the end (we want no visible lines when creating realism). 

4. Keep in mind that in realism, there are no visible

lines
In real life, the shapes we see are created by subtle differences in values, which
are influenced by light and shadow. These shapes are not outlined as they are in
cartoons.

It's essential to stay away from creating any sort of stark-looking lines, whether
it's around our different shapes/planes or in an area we're intending to create a
smooth gradient in. 

This said, we are required to draw lines when we are working on creating some kinds of
texture (hair, eyebrows, eyelashes, etc.). However, even in these cases, the "lines" we
are leaving behind are not uniform from one edge to the other, but have a variety even
within them in terms of thickness or value.

They most likely go from thick to thin or from dark to light, etc., which leads to much less
stark looking lines. 

5. Create gradual, smooth transitions between your

different values
Unless you're working with a photograph (or with a real-life composition) that
shows very dramatic lighting, transitions between lights and darks must be
gradual and smooth.

There should be no stark changes between one to the next and there shouldn't be any
visible lines throughout these transitions either. 

6. Make sure you are creating a very wide variety of

values throughout your drawing
In order for your drawing to really pop out and transmit a sense of realistic three-
dimensionality, you have to develop a huge range of values throughout your
piece.

There have to be very light areas (which will appear almost white at the end),
there have to be very dark areas (which will appear almost black at the end) and
there have to be a ton of mid-values in between.

Practice creating a beautiful balance between lights and darks. 

A lot of beginners make the mistake of not going dark enough where needed. Don't be
afraid to go dark (as long as the values are really there in the reference). This said,
make sure you're never pressing down too hard on your paper because this can
damage it and cause visible scratches that will not be able to be fixed!

For the most part, I like working my way towards the darks gradually. Also, as you're
working, you'll probably find that you're darkening some areas that you were intending
to leave light.

This is where small, detailing erasers come in super handy because they allow you to
go back in and lighten these areas. They also allow you to pull out highlights wherever
needed, which is crucial for realistic looking hair.