I would like to share my latest drawing of Jim Carrey that I just finished. Last week I challenged myself to get better at drawing portraits. I have been drawing for many years but I have not drawn so many portraits and I want to develop my skills. There is always room for improvements and I strive to be a better artist.
This is my drawing of Jim Carrey. Scroll down to see the process, how I drew it and what tools I used
First I start to draw a rough sketch of the basic shapes of her face. For this I use a graphite pen like 2H and press gently. I may have a different method than most artists, I measure the distance between different spots with a ruler to get the proportions right. Many people use the grid method and draw each square separately. I like to shade up the face and see the drawing develop.
The next thing I do is to draw the eyes and mouth. For this I alter between 4B and 6B. Somethimes I start with shading the entire face in a light shade and then go on with making the details. This time I make the opposite and start with the details to make them as good as possible before I start shading. It's fun to try different techniques, in that way I feel like I develop as an artist.
Now I start with the shading and for this I use a 6B graphite pencil. I use a paper stick to blend out the graphite and make the shades smother. You can use a ear swab or a piece of paper if you don't have a paper stick, it works just as well. I also start drawing his hair, just making stripes in the direction which it goes in the reference photo.
I continue to shade and try to build up the realism in the drawing by adding more and more shade with more contrast. Contrast is important to make a drawing look real. Without contrast the portrait looks flat and more like a cartoon. A key thing is patience when you draw, look closely on your reference photo and try to replicate the shades and structure as close as you can.
When I'm satisfied with the shading of his face I start filling in his shirt that is totally black. For this I use a 8B graphite pen to make it as black as I can.
When I have drawn everything I go over the drawing once more to work on small things that I've missed or am not satisfied with. There is always something that could be changed to get a better look at the drawing. I make the hair darker and I also add some light reflections to create the effect of glossy hair in some parts. I do this with an eraser that I have sharpened to make it thin.