Pencil drawing tutorial - portrait of a boy lost in thought

emmaboy23 (67)🇳🇬 | Club 5050in STEEM FOR BETTERLIFE • 3 days ago

Hello, my wonderful Steemit friends! It's me again, @emmaboy23, and I hope you all are doing well and everything is perfectly okay. It’s always a pleasure to share my art journey with you all, and today, I’m bringing something truly special, a pencil drawing that captures the beauty of stillness and thought. This artwork came from a simple idea: to portray the calm, reflective mood of a person lost in quiet imagination. This particular portrait was born from that very stillness, a moment when emotions were too deep for words but perfect for a pencil to express. Without further ado, here are the steps I took in creating this drawing.

Drawing items

• A4 paper

• mechanical pencil

• graphite pencil

• HB pencil

• 2B and 4B pencils

• black pen

• eraser

• sharpener

Step-by-Step Creation

Step 1

When I began this drawing, I had a clear vision in mind: I wanted to portray a young face resting on their hands, lost in thought, as if daydreaming about something beyond the frame. The first stage was the eyes and nose. The eyes hold the soul of the drawing. I shaded them with patience, layer by layer, until they reflected that distant, thoughtful gaze I had imagined.

Step 2

Next I lightly sketched the mouth and also the fist gently resting on the cheek. I took my time, making sure they rested naturally, pressing just enough to show a slight compression of the cheeks.

Step 3

Once that structure was right, I moved on to shaping the face, paying attention to the eyes, nose, and lips while also adding shade to the facial features. I wanted every detail to speak with emotion.

Step 4

For the hair, I used fine strokes to follow the natural flow, giving it movement and texture. It took time, but I loved watching it take shape, strand by strand.

Step 5

At this step, I then drew his shoulder and neck. Around the shoulder and neck, I blended the pencil gently to create smooth transitions. The shadows from the hands pressing against the face brought out the realism, and the soft gradation gave the portrait its emotional warmth. Then I added small freckles across the cheeks and nose.

Step 6

Finally, I deepened the darker areas around the lips and under the chin, adjusted the highlights, and softened any harsh lines. Once everything felt balanced, I stepped back and looked at my work. What I saw wasn’t just a portrait but a moment of quiet reflection captured in pencil. Then my drawing was complete.

A selfie of me and my drawing

When I looked at the finished piece, I felt a wave of peace. It was as if I had captured a pause in time, a person lost in their thoughts, unaware of being seen. That’s the beauty I always chase in my art—not perfection, but emotion. Thank you all for joining me on this artistic path. Until next time—keep creating, feeling, and sharing your art with the world.

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