Learn How To Draw Realistic Portraits From These 20 Books

Learning how to draw realistic portraits seems like an extremely complicated task that requires much knowledge and years of practice.

And while this is partially true, you don’t have to practice for years before you are able to draw good-looking portraits. Unlike the old masters, we can easily access the information we need in order to learn faster.

Plus, we can do it in one of the most effective formats – learning from a book.

We prepared a list of books to help you learn how to draw realistic portraits of your dreams. Whether you’re a beginner or an experienced artist who wants to polish your skill, a child or an adult, the list has a perfect book for everyone.

You can choose one, or a few that you feel will help you the most. Learning from them, you’ll gain enough skill and confidence to achieve the results you aim for.

– 20 BOOKS: HOW TO DRAW REALISTIC PORTRAITS –

1. Lessons in Masterful Portrait Drawing by Mau-Kun Yim

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Lessons in Masterful Portrait Drawing: A Classical Approach to Drawing the Head

Mau-Kun Yim learned to draw as the Old Masters did and believes that to render the essence of life in portrait drawing, one must continue to pursue the old ways. This philosophy and methodology relies on a holistic approach to observation, analysis and critical-thinking honed through time and patience.

$29.99 $22.98

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Mau-Kun Yim, the author of this book, had classical training to learn how to draw as the old masters did. He shares his knowledge and experience in the book, allowing you to learn with the classical approach and philosophy. It requires critical thinking, holistic observation, and patience, but Mau-Kun Yim explains it all in his own distinctive manner.

The book contains a huge gallery of classically executed drawings that serve as examples and inspiration. The learning process will start from the foundations and guide you from volume construction and sketches to the most impressive results. You’ll follow along with the 12 step-by-step tutorials to learn how to draw realistic portraits the classical way.

This book is quite easy to understand and shares many important tips and advice. As a result, it’ll be great for both beginners and more advanced artists.

2. Drawing: Faces & Features by Debra Kauffman Yaun

Drawing: Faces & Features: Learn to draw step by step (How to Draw & Paint)

Faces & Features shows you how to capture the unique characteristics of the human face in graphite pencil, with tips on choosing materials, building with basic shapes, placing proportionate features, defining facial expression, and shading to develop form and realism. With a wealth of detailed step-by-step projects to both re-create and admire, Debra Kauffman Yaun teaches artists how to develop a portrait drawing to its fullest...

$10.95

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This book is a perfect option for beginner artists of any age group. The information is given in a step-by-step lessons format that is easy to comprehend and follow along. It will teach you the difference between the facial structures of people of different ages and how to draw babies, children, teenagers, adults, and the elderly.

It concentrates on drawing people’s portraits with graphite pencils. You’ll discover how to use the pencils to their full potential with layering, shading, and creating textures. Plus, you’ll be able to recreate the given examples and create your own with the exercises given in the book.

Debra Kauffman Yaun, the author of this book, is well known for her “How to Draw & Paint” book series. With these books, she strives to help beginner artists improve in various aspects of art. She teaches aspiring artists how to develop their drawing potential to its fullest in an easy way.

3. The Artist’s Complete Guide to Drawing the Head by William Maughan

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The Artist's Complete Guide to Drawing the Head

In this innovative guide, master art instructor William Maughan demonstrates how to create a realistic human likeness by using the classic and highly accurate modeling technique of chiaroscuro (Italian for “light and dark”) developed by Leonardo da Vinci during the High Renaissance...

$25.99 $19.28

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William Maughan, the master art instructor, has taught advanced classes at Art Center College of Design and the Academy of Art College. He’s a professional in what he does, and knows how to properly teach it to others. In this book, he introduces us to the old chiaroscuro technique, which is Italian for “light and dark”.

The book is great for more advanced artists who want to keep learning and developing their skills further. The author explains how to create stunning realistic likeness by using the classic method developed by Leonardo da Vinci himself during the High Renaissance.

You’ll learn how to analyze light, shadow, and form, how to work with dark pencils and white pencils on toned paper for a full deep range of values. The book also explains how to capture gestures, proportions, facial features, and how to draw with soft pastels.

4. Realistic Portraits in Colored Pencil by Karen Hull

Realistic Portraits in Colored Pencil: Learn to draw lifelike portraits in vibrant colored pencil (Realistic Series)

Named Art Book of the Year by Colored Pencil Magazine
Named One of the 54 Best Colored Pencil Drawing Books of All Time by BookAuthority

Rendering artwork that leaves viewers contemplating whether they might actually be looking at a photograph is no easy task. Introducing Realistic Portraits in Colored Pencil—a comprehensive guidebook that shows artists the secrets and steps to drawing lifelike portraits in this dynamic medium...

$19.99

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Karen Hull is a well-known professional artist and a winner of numerous awards. She works with colored pencils in her own unique style: a combination of photo-realism and dynamic, vivid colors. She has illustrated children’s books, created a range of tutorials for colored pencil drawing, and is a founding member and president of the Coloured Pencil Community of Australasia.

In this book, Karen teaches the reader to draw stunning lifelike portraits with colored pencils. It’s suitable for beginners and for more advanced artists who want to improve their skills. The information in this book is extensive, from the very basics to more advanced techniques. In short, everyone will find something for themselves.

The book has clear, easy-to-follow instructions, many helpful tips, and illustrations that will serve as references and inspirational material. You’ll learn basic and complicated colored pencil techniques, textures, light and shadows, and everything else you need for realistic portraits.

5. Draw Faces in 15 Minutes: Amaze your friends with your portrait skills by Jake Spicer

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Draw Faces in 15 Minutes: How to Get Started in Portrait Drawing

Artist and life drawing expert Jake Spicer takes you through a series of carefully crafted tutorials, from how to put together a basic portrait sketch to developing your portraits and then taking your drawings further. From understanding and constructing the head and shaping the hair, to checking the relationships of the features and achieving a lifelike expression, every aspect of the portrait process is examined, along with advice on which materials to use and how to find a model...

$19.99 $15.95

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This book is great for beginner artists who want to gain confidence and realize they can draw portraits. It won’t give you in-depth classical teaching, but you’ll know how to make stylish portraits that resemble the people you want to capture.

You’ll follow along with a series of carefully crafted instructions from the very basics to developing your skills further. The book discusses how to use your materials, make quick sketches and create finished portrait drawings. Also, you’ll learn how to create realistic facial features ad expressions, how to construct a head, and how to draw realistic hair.

Jake Spicer is the author of several popular drawing instruction books and a teacher at an independent drawing school in England. He runs his own drawing courses and is a co-director of Drawing Circus.

6. You Will Be Able to Draw Faces by the End of This Book by Jake Spicer

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You Will be Able to Draw Faces by the End of This Book

This book is for anybody who wants to become confident in drawing faces whether you are a complete novice or a more experienced artist. From basic facial structures to finer details, the book teaches you the fundamentals of portraiture, and also allows you space to practise on the page...

$19.99 $14.41

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The title of this book, which is also written by Jake Spicer, may sound too ambitious, but if you follow along with all of the book’s instructions and trust in yourself, it will absolutely come true.

With his distinctive art style and his innovative and easy-to-follow teaching methods, Jake Spicer will help you gain confidence and knowledge and teach you how to draw realistic portraits.

The book will guide you through the learning process, from basic facial structures to the smallest details. The author gives many useful tips and tricks, valuable advice, and ways to develop your skill and use your full potential. You can also practice your drawing straight in the book, which helps you battle the fear of a blank page.

7. How to Draw Lifelike Portraits from Photographs by Lee Hammond

172 Reviews

How to Draw Lifelike Portraits from Photographs

If you've always wanted to draw beautiful, realistic-looking portraits of your favorite people, this step-by-step guide shows you how to do it - better and more easily than you ever thought possible.

Lee Hammond quickly teaches you how to add the illustration of three-dimensional highlights and shadows to simple shapes using pencil shading and blending. After you've got the basics down, you'll learn how to use the same techniques to portray every feature of the human face...

$28.59

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Perfectly suitable for beginners with no previous experience, this book will teach you how to turn photographs into stunningly realistic portraits. You’ll be able to capture portraits of your loved ones using their photograph, but without tracing the picture.

You’ll learn how to analyze the model’s features on the photo so that you’ll be able to draw them from any angle. The book also features a lot of useful basic information for beginner artists, such as adding depth to your drawing or blending your pencils.

The book is written by Lee Hammond, a professional artist and art instructor well known for her art books. She is a teacher at her own studio and gives lectures all across the US. She’s also a certified police composite artist who worked for famous crime-related TV shows.

8. Draw Real People! by Lee Hammond

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334 Reviews

Draw Real People! (Discover Drawing)

Having trouble drawing a nose that looks like a nose? In this step-by-step guide, Lee Hammond will teach you how to draw realistic-looking portraits of your favorite people—more easily than you ever thought possible. Really!
The secret is in the blending: With pencil and paper, Lee shows you how to create gradual, smooth shadings of light and dark to replicate the subtle contours of skin…and how to use these simple shading techniques to make any shape look three-dimensional...

$15.99 $14.87

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This is another book by a professional portrait artist and illustrator, Lee Hammond. It’s a perfect instructional book for beginner artists of all ages, and it’s ridiculously easy to follow along. It contains step-by-step tutorials on creating realistic human portraits, as well as drawing foundations.

The book will teach you to achieve realistic portraits with graphite pencils using simple yet powerful blending techniques. It will help you create realistically soft shadows and transitions, just like the facial contours are. You’ll also learn how to draw each facial feature and how to put them together. You will be able to draw your favorite people in no time, and they’ll be perfectly recognizable on your drawings.

9. The Art of Drawing & Painting Portraits by Tim Chambers, Ken Goldman, Peggi Habets, and Lance Richlin

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The Art of Drawing & Painting Portraits: Create realistic heads, faces & features in pencil, pastel, watercolor, oil & acrylic (Collector's Series)

With instructions and step-by-step projects for creating an array of portaits, this all-inclusive book covers everything about portraiture in the most popular drawing and painting media. Ideal for beginning artists who would like to experiment with different media, The Art of Drawing & Painting Portraits teaches the artist how to create beautiful and realistic portraits in pencil, pastel, watercolor, oil, and acrylic...

$19.95 $16.24

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This book is for those who are fascinated by the idea of drawing portraits in various materials. It features popular mediums such as pencils, pastels, watercolors, acrylic, and oil paints. It’s suitable for complete beginners because it features step-by-step projects followed by extensive instructions. So, if you’d like to try out various drawing and painting mediums, the book is for you.

It covers everything you’d ever need to know about creating portraits and presents it in a way that is easy to understand. You’ll learn the tips and tricks, tools, and techniques for different mediums and drawing styles. There is some basic information on anatomy, facial expressions, and drawing different ethnicities as well.

The four authors of this book are well-known professional artists who share their knowledge in the field they work in.

10. Facial Expressions: A Visual Reference for Artists by Mark Simon

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799 Reviews

Facial Expressions: A Visual Reference for Artists

All artists are tired of persuading their nearest and dearest to look sad…look glad…look mad…madder…no, even madder…okay, hold it. For those artists (and their long-suffering friends), here is the best book ever. Facial Expressions includes more than 2,500 photographs of 50 faces—men and women of a variety of ages, shapes, sizes, and ethnicities—each demonstrating a wide range of emotions and shown from multiple angles and actions...

$23.99 $22.05

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In the Internet and technology era, we can easily live without actual people posing for our drawings. But it’s still useful to have an assorted gallery of facial expressions references that is easily accessible and easy to navigate through. It’ll save you a lot of research time, and you can begin practicing ASAP.

This book will come in handy for artists of every experience level, from beginners to professional portrait artists, no matter what material they work with and what style they prefer. It features over 2500 photographs of 50 faces of different ethnicities, shapes, sizes, and ages, and each of these faces demonstrates a variety of emotions at different angles.

Mark Simon, the author of this book, surely knows a lot about facial expressions and references since he owns an animation house and a storyboard house. He’s been a professional artist for over 40 years, and his animation shorts have won multiple awards.

11. Colored Pencil Painting Portraits by Alyona Nickelsen

Colored Pencil Painting Portraits: Master a Revolutionary Method for Rendering Depth and Imitating Life

Colored pencil painter Alyona Nickelsen reveals how to use the medium to push the limits of realistic portraiture.

Colored Pencil Painting Portraits provides straightforward solutions to the problems that artists face in creating lifelike images, and will prime readers on the intricacies of color, texture, shadow, and light as they interplay with the human form…

$13.99

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Alyona Nickelsen is a famous colored pencil painter whose works have been exhibited in many shows in the US and around the world. She is a member of several influential artistic societies and won numerous awards.

In this book, she teaches you how to create stunning lifelike portraits with colored pencils and how to add depth to your pencil works. You’ll learn how to overcome typical artist problems in creating lifelike images, how to deal with color, light, and shadow, and how to apply it to portraits. The author will provide you guidance on posing and lighting, explain how tools and materials work, and how to plan and compose your works.

The book has step-by-step demonstrations, covers portraits of people of all ages and skin tones, and will be great for both beginners and advanced pencil artists.

12. Drawing the Head for Artists: Techniques for Mastering Expressive Portraiture by Oliver Sin

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Drawing the Head for Artists: Techniques for Mastering Expressive Portraiture (Volume 2) (For Artists, 2)

Drawing the Head for Artists is the definitive modern guide to drawing the human head and portrait, featuring the classic mediums and methods of the Old Masters.
Written by celebrated portrait artist and veteran studio instructor Oliver Sin, this richly informative and beautifully illustrated volume leads readers step-by-step through his method, from establishing a point of view to applying the timeless principles for creating an accurate and expressive likeness...

$26.99 $21.86

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This book is a richly informative guide on drawing human heads and portraits. It’s beautifully illustrated, and its step-by-step format makes it beginner-friendly as well. You’ll learn how to develop an artistic point of view and create an accurate likeness in your works.

The book will guide you through the learning process, explaining the techniques for creating dimension and depth in your works. It contains the basic information about drawing as well: what is value, negative space, how to use your art materials and blend them.

Oliver Sin got his education as an illustrator, worked as a videogame concept artist, and is now a professor at the Academy of Art University. He teaches fine arts and 2D animation, and his works were featured as TIME magazine covers.

13. How to Draw Faces: Learn to Draw People from Complete Scratch by Jasmina Susak

1,530 Reviews

How to Draw Faces: Learn to Draw People from Complete Scratch

Learn how to draw proportional, realistic portraits in this easy to follow, step-by-step tutorial! Learn from an experienced artist and art teacher, Jasmina Susak, who will guide you in drawing process from complete scratch to the finished portrait.Not only will you learn how to draw facial features and skin, but hair too in this highly detailed tutorial.This tutorial was made for intermediate artists…

$6.99

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Jasmina Susak is an experienced artist and art teacher who specializes in realistic drawings. In this book, she will teach you how to draw realistic portraits, sharing her own experience, useful tips and tricks. The book is good for beginners because it guides you from scratch to a finished realistic portrait step by step. Yet, thanks to certain advanced ideas, it will be great for intermediate-level artists too.

It will give you the information you need to create realistic drawings and will share the secrets behind this process. You’ll learn how to draw skin, hair, different facial features, getting your art skills to a whole new level.

The tutorial given in the book is very detailed, and you will always know what you’re doing and why. You’ll gain a lot of artistic confidence along the way and apply a lot of wonderful advice to your work.

14. How to Draw with Photorealism: Drawing and Shading Techniques by Jasmina Susak

How to Draw with Photorealism: Drawing and Shading Techniques – Beginner to Advanced

This book will help you improve your drawing and shading skills. You will learn how to apply pencils for a realistic, professional result correctly. The famous pencil artist and art teacher, Jasmina Susak, will demonstrate for you the techniques of drawing lifelike portraits and 3-dimensional objects. No matter what your experience level is, you can draw by following these easy step-by-step demonstrations…

$12.99

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This is another great book by the professional, realistic drawing artist and art teacher, Jasmina Susak. This time she concentrates not only on how to draw realistic portraits but on different objects as well. It will be great for beginner artists to practice shading, volume, capturing different objects, and using your pencil to full potential.

Knowing how to work with your materials and how to create three-dimensional realistic objects on paper is a crucial skill for any beginner artist. You’ll be able to draw anything by following the step-by-step instructions in this book, learning the shapes and lighting.

The book includes portrait drawing as well, and you’ll learn how to apply these skills when capturing photorealistic faces and facial features. It will teach you how to draw facial skin, different types of hair, and many other things. It features over 200 high-quality illustrations for inspiration and reference.

15. How to Draw and Find Your Style by Karen Campbell

How to Draw and Find Your Style!: Discover the Secret to Unleashing Your Personal Artistic Style While Learning How to Draw Fabulous Female Faces and Hands! (Karen Campbell's Official Drawing Guide)

From realistic to sketchy, fashion to scribbly, whimsical to edgy, this comprehensive 260 page guide by experienced mixed media artist Karen Campbell, teaches artists of all levels, everything they need to know about how to accurately draw gorgeous female faces, features and hands in many fun styles, so that they can find the one that’s right for them…

$24.99

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If you’re not fixed on the idea of learning the classical or hyperrealistic style, and you want to experiment a bit and find your own path, this book will be a great companion. It’s suitable for artists of all levels and will help you develop your own original art style.

The book includes 37 step-by-step drawing exercises, teaching you how to draw facial features, the face itself, all of this in different art mediums and styles. You will also learn how to draw hands, which is considered very tricky by many artists.

The author, Karen Campbell, is a business owner, professional multi-media artist, and founder of an online school where she teaches lots of creative courses. Along with this one, she created ten well-known and loved art instruction books.

16. Drawing Realistic Pencil Portraits Step by Step: Basic Techniques for the Head and Face by Justin Maas

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Drawing Realistic Pencil Portraits Step by Step: Basic Techniques for the Head and Face

'As long as humans have been alive, we have drawn.' ~Justin Maas.
Drawing is the most essential of all visual arts. Everyone, from sculptors to painters, draws in one form or another. It is also the simplest and most affordable form of artistic expression. All you need is a pencil and paper to make something magical…

$24.99 $19.46

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Justin Maas is a famous Canadian artist and art teacher who works in realism. He received multiple awards for his work, and he is featured in private collections around the world. You may have seen his works on the packaging of Strathmore Artists Papers.

The book is great for both beginners and more advanced artists. It gives a full crash course in drawing basics, such as lines, value, lighting, colors, and anatomy.

In this book, you’ll find a whole gallery of additional portraits, both monochrome and in full color, which you can use as references and examples. It teaches how to work with reference photos and live models, and it has step-by-step lessons that show how to draw facial features and hair. It also describes the methods for building portraits, including the author’s own method.

17. The Big Book of Realistic Drawing Secrets by Carrie Stuart Parks and Rick Parks

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The Big Book of Realistic Drawing Secrets: Easy Techniques for drawing people, animals, flowers and nature

This is the book that can teach anyone to draw (yes, even you!)
If you're not getting the kind of true-to-life results you want in your drawings (or if you can't even draw a straight line), Carrie and Rick Parks can help. As award-winning teachers, they have a proven game plan for helping artists of all levels overcome common problems and see immediate improvement in their work. As professional composite artists, they know the tricks and tools for achieving incredibly lifelike results…

$24.99 $14.39

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If you have absolutely no experience in drawing, this book will help you get there. Carrie Stuart Parks and Rick Parks, award-winning art teachers, created this book for aspiring artists of all ages and experience levels to help them gain better skills. The book contains step-by-step demonstrations dedicated to drawing various things, including people, faces, and facial features.

With this book, you’ll see improvement in your work almost immediately. You’ll know how to put depth and personality into your portraits and how to make them look realistic, how to create textures, and what techniques to use.

The book covers other essential knowledge as well, which makes it perfect for beginner artists. It will help you learn the secrets to confident, realistic drawings.

18. Drawing and Sketching Portraits: How to Draw Realistic Portraits for Beginners by Jacquelyn Descanso

Drawing and Sketching Portraits: How to Draw Realistic Portraits for Beginners

This generously illustrated book provides step-by-step lessons and exercises to help you learn how to draw people today!
Have you always wished you could draw portraits and faces? Get a head start on learning how with this book. Don't worry about talent--talent is overrated. Anyone can learn how to draw people! There are some wonderful techniques to get you off to a great start. Plus, you'll have a lot of fun in the process. You will learn many methods that artists have been using for centuries...

$10.14

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This book is a good option for beginner artists because it’s presented in an easily comprehensible format that you can easily follow along. It contains over 60 original illustrations with step-by-step tutorials on how to draw them and similar things as well.

The book will give you information about useful techniques and tricks that will boost your learning speed and make your experience more easy and pleasant. It’s an excellent proof that everyone can learn how to draw faces, no matter the age or experience level, because the learning methods will work on everyone.

The author of this book, Jacquelyn Descanso, is a professional artist who studied at Otis College of Art and Design. She also teaches private lessons at her own art studio and writes art instruction books, putting her love for teaching into them.

19. Secrets to Drawing Realistic Faces by Carrie Stuart Parks

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Secrets to Drawing Realistic Faces

Draw amazingly accurate portraits starting today!
Even if you're an absolute beginner, you can render strikingly realistic faces and self-portraits! Instructor and FBI-trained artist Carrie Stuart Parks makes it simple with foolproof step-by-step instructions that are fun and easy to follow...

$23.99 $16.26

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Carrie Stuart Parks is a professional forensic artist, writer, and teacher, who dedicates a lot of her time to fine arts. She created this book, full of step-by-step instructions, to teach beginner artists how to draw realistic portraits quickly and accurately.

In this book, you’ll find information about proportions, shapes, composition, value, shading, and highlighting – everything you need to create a portrait and give it depth. You’ll be able to draw the trickiest details and facial features and realistic hair as well. And, most importantly, your drawings will be as precise as police sketches, and the people you draw will be easily recognizable!

20. Portrait Drawing for Kids: A Step-by-Step Guide to Drawing Faces by Angela Rizza

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Portrait Drawing for Kids: A Step-by-Step Guide to Drawing Faces (Drawing Books for Kids Ages 9 to 12)

Broken down into simple, step-by-step instructions, this book will teach you every aspect of portraiture, from features of the face, to capturing emotions, to techniques like shading and highlighting. This drawing for kids book will help you take your artistic talents to the next level―beginning with a sharpened pencil...

$10.99 $7.99

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Learning how to draw realistic portraits can be done at any age, and this book can prove it. The book’s author, Angela Rizza, knows how to capture young readers’ attention by creating drawings that appeal to her inner child. Her work is greatly influenced by the stories she read growing up and the American wildlife around her.

This book will give the young artist the necessary set of skills for capturing people with a recognizable likeness. The information is broken down into easy step-by-step instructions that everyone should be able to follow along, which makes the book perfect for beginners, not just kids.

You’ll learn how to draw facial features, capture emotions, shade and highlight, create a self-portrait, choose and use your art instruments, and more. It also offers inspirational activities to do on your own so that you can develop your imagination further.

All of these books have useful information and understandable instructions in them, and each one is ready to teach you how to draw realistic portraits even with no experience.

Yes, you will get better and better with practice, but the journey doesn’t have to be slow and fruitless.

So arm yourself with some knowledge sources and enjoy drawing portraits of whoever you would like to capture!