Pencil Drawing Tutorial – Capturing a Playful Expression in Portrait Art

A very good day to you all and all the members of this community, I hope you all are doing alright and everything is going well. Creating pencil art is a timeless way to express creativity and emotion using nothing more than a simple tool and paper. In the drawing below, I chose to depict a young girl with puffed buns making a playful kissy face. This drawing, done using only pencil, was a journey into expressing emotion, texture, and character through simple yet powerful strokes. Here are the steps i used in creating this drawing.

Drawing materials

• A4 paper
• 2B pencil
• HB pencil
• eraser
• sharpener
• cotton wool

Drawing process

step 1

To begin my drawing, i used a light HB pencil, I first sketched the head of the girl and lightly marked the facial guidelines to place the eyes, nose, ears and mouth accurately. Getting the proportion right was very important, especially for capturing the playful emotion in the face.

step 2

Next I used a 4B pencil to create the dark, dense texture of the hair, employing circular scribbles and cross-hatching to build volume and depth.

step 3

Next, I worked on the clothing – a simple tank top.The neckline and straps were detailed with clean, precise lines, showing both form and function. Then I also drew her hands.

step 4

In this step, i began to darken my lines and made them to be bold and visible.

step 5

Here i added shading, For the shoulder and arm, I used contour shading to highlight the curve and structure of her form, while keeping the shadows light to reflect the youthful softness of the character. I added finer details to the eyes and lips,enhancing the shine in her pupils and the curve in her lips and my drawing is now complete.

step 6

Below is my final result and a selfie of i and my drawing.

This pencil drawing tutorial demonstrates how to create an expressive portrait using only a pencil. By focusing on the emotion, texture, and careful shading, I was able to capture the joy and playfulness of a young girl in a simple yet impactful way. Drawing like this not only improves skill but also allows the artist to connect with the personality of the subject through every pencil stroke. Hope you all enjoyed my drawing for today. And I would love to invite @tammanna, @jasimuddin0 and @saintkelvin17

Thank you for your time