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Black and white sketches

2.3K views 9 replies 7 participants last post by  just  
#1 ·
Hello, I'm new to Artistforum and I'm also fairly new to art itself too. I've drawn a couple of portraits of people using various graphite pencils, but despite vaguely resembling the subjects, they don't look particularly lifelike. I've been told sketching people is incredibly difficult anyway, and only using black and white only makes things even harder. (Talk about jumping in at the deep end!)

Does anyone have any tips on portraits, using solely black and white as a medium, and possibly any background tips too? I've currently got my portraits on plain white backgrounds, so maybe adding something behind them may make them stand out a bit more?

Any help is appreciated,
Eric
 
#3 ·
I'm not the one to give drawing advice but I do want to welcome you to the forum.

My first, second, third, and forth ++++ drawing of a person barely looked human so if you are getting anything at all close to resemblance in your first few tries you are doing great. I had to learn that lines were a no no also and my portraits have improved since.
 
#8 ·
Shading and by contrast highlighting are the tricks. Unnecessary lines should be avoided. In the photo I attached, you can see lines are kept to a minimum. There is no line on the left side of her face, for example. The shading and highlights work together to carve out the face from the page. No background would add to the affect.
 

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