by Alizah Grace

Created on: April 20, 2007   Last Updated: November 03, 2011

Pencil drawings are representational of the artist's vision, memory or imagination. Subjects range from realistic portraits to abstract images. There are five basic guidelines to creating realistic pencil drawings: line (or contour), analytical gesture, positive/negative shape and contour, proportion and volumetric expression. All these seem meaningless until put into context.

One learns by doing, so pick up a pencil and follow the steps like a recipe. Initially, the drawing commences with the contour, creating the exterior edge of objects. Contour lines range from no shadow at all, a clean and open shell, to intensive shading values complete with line textures and combined media. Consider the weight of the line when drawing. In other words, a strong, dark line will jump off the page and a thin, light line will sink into the page.

The next step, analytical gesture, stresses the entirety of the object and space. The purpose here is not to draw exact objects, but to grasp the relationships between them. That is, the shape, placement, scale, proportion and movement of the objects as a whole entity. Here, the eye works quickly to spontaneously judge the characteristics of the objects and paint a mental picture of the objects on the whole.

As a part of analytical gesture,  one focuses on positive/negative shape and contour, emphasizing the spatial relationships between objects. Little drawing tricks help to create illusions that appear real. For instance, in creating the outline of an object, it is common to darken areas around its perimeter rather than establish its silhouette.

The method requires the artist to focus only on negative space, not on the object and the space. Consider the branches of an oak tree. They will be much more realistic if the negative space between them is drawn in, rather than each line.

Accounting for proportion is the next step in creating a realistic drawing. Proportion is the process of sizing objects according to one another so they are in correct relation to the composition as a whole. Measuring is keyfor the actual objects, the negative spacing and the spatial relationships between objects. It is important to delineate what one knows versus what one sees.

Everyone has a general perception of what an apple looks like, whether one is visible or not. However, the apple you might be drawing for a still-life  has unique indentations and coloring that differentiates it from any other. Those are the characteristics that make your drawing realistic.

Now move onto volumetric expression, utilizing a practice called "chiaroscuro." The name is derived from the Italian for "light-dark," a fitting description for its purpose. The gradations of light to dark values in two-dimensional imagery are used to create the illusion of three-dimension.

Renaissance painters contributed greatly to the expansion of this style, where light and shade gradations establish depth, as opposed to line. This process is among a list of other artistic traditions known as "trompe l'oeil" or "fool the eye."  Practice trumps all things, so translate these steps to pencil and paper.

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