Pencil drawing tutorial - "skin and bones"

Greetings and a wonderful day to you all, it's @emmaboy23 here once again to show you all one of my lastest drawing I made. Recently I've been making drawing and I enjoyed every moment of it, but today I wanted to create an image that would make viewers pause and reflect, not only on aesthetics but on the fleeting nature of life. To bring this idea to reality, I chose a face split into half—one side depicting a living person with soft, realistic details, and the other revealing the underlying skull, stripped of flesh but rich in its own quiet story. With only a pencil in hand, I set out to merge two worlds within one face: the vibrant expression of life and the silent permanence of death. Here's how I made this drawing.

Drawing materials

• A4 paper
• 2B pencil
• HB pencil
• eraser
• sharpener
• black pen.

step by step guide

step 1

I started with a light outline, sketching the face in symmetry. Precision was important, especially since both sides needed to align perfectly. I drew the eyes, nose and mouth of both sides of the face.

step 2

Next i seamlessly connected the non living side, yet distinctly different in texture and . I used heavier shading to bring depth to the eye socket and nasal cavity, while keeping the surrounding lines crisp. I also drew the hair while at it.

step 3

After doing that, Here, I focused on sharp lines, deep shadows, and dark contrasts to create the hollow, empty sockets and the defined teeth. The skull had to appear as though it was seamlessly connected to the living side, yet distinctly different in texture and tone.

step 4

The right side—the human half—required delicate shading to bring out the softness of skin, the subtle curve of the lips, and the calm gaze of the eye. I layered light strokes, building tones gradually to ensure the features felt lifelike yet not overworked. Then i wrote my username at the top of my drawing.

step 5

Finally at the last step, i then applied details where necessary and added more darker lines to enhance the look and finally here's my final result

Here's a selfie of i and my drawing

As I finished my drawing, I realized this piece was as much about self-reflection as it was about anatomy. Creating it reminded me that art has the power to bridge opposites—to capture beauty and fragility, permanence and change, in a single image. This drawing is more than an image—it is my creative interpretation of the duality we all carry within us: the vibrant presence of life and the inevitable truth of what remains. Hope you all liked my drawing and feel free to drop your thoughts on the comment section, have a nice day.

Inviting
@caringmanasseh
@tammanna
@shawlin

THANKS FOR YOUR TIME ON MY POST