Using a “boring” drawing practice to find the ✨magic✨ you can’t help making 🎨
Lessons I'm learning by drawing from reference--and then NOT LOOKING on purpose
I didn’t really mean this to be a How-To post, exactly.
Whenever I write anything that comes out even remotely like a how-to, I’m always a little hesitant, because I remember being newer to illustration and looking far too much outside myself for answers and “rules.” I would take a technique I read about, or a specific list of art supplies from one my illustration heroes, and (perhaps in typical Autistic mental rule-making fashion) assume it was the one right way, and try to force myself into their creative process so much that I lost myself entirely.
And that doesn’t help anyone.
We each have a unique way of creating and that’s exactly as it should be—that’s the magic of art—and figuring out what that looks like for ourselves is part of the process.
If you’re new to drawing people, or portraits, please don’t take anything I say here as the one right way. I don’t even have this totally figured out for myself—it’s all an exploration! But I have been learning some things for my own process as I go, and wanted to share in case it’s helpful to you—wherever you are on your own art adventure!
I’ve been returning to an old practice (and trying a few new things), taking lots of notes in my sketchbook as I go, and I’ve noticed some things about:
What makes drawing a particular person (like a portrait) less flat and rigid, with more spark
How bits of your own “style” sneak in through the process—in ways you might not notice when you’re focused on re-creating an image
Both of which are really helpful for creating more confidant, more unique-to-you work. I still can’t quite put my finger on everything, and it all varies day by day with the ebb and flow of creative work, but it’s been helpful to pay attention to.
Soft drawing pencils (for me—but I would say use whatever your go-to is)
NO ERASER1
A sketchbook I don’t feel precious about (or just copy paper pages)
A timer (I just use my phone)
Some reference photos (✨I’ve created some Pinterest boards of portrait and full figure photos you’re welcome to use!2✨)
I like to do a page or two of warm up sketches first
Pick a reference photo
Sketch from reference, in 5 minutes or less, looking as much as I need to
Make notes3
Sketch again, without looking at the reference photo, in 3 minutes or less
Why am I NOT looking at reference the second time?
The problem with the first image I make from a reference photo is that I’m too preoccupied by all the little details. I’m looking too close, and losing the bigger picture. Doing a second image without looking forces you to back up and see the bigger story, which I think is the most important part of visual storytelling—not technical ability or accuracy of details.
So, here we go:
If you’re giving this whole drawing-from-reference-experiment a try, you’ll arrive at that moment where you’re sitting somewhere with a pencil and paper (or drawing implement of choice) with a photo in front of you. You might want to jump in right away, but I think it’s good to take a second to consider:
Why did you pick the photo you did?
Something about it spoke to you, somehow. It might be something small—maybe you like freckles and that person has freckles. Maybe you like their hat, or the effortlessness of their posture, or their hair has interesting texture. Maybe their clothes drape in a way that feels tactile to you; it’s a texture you like. It might be deeper and more meaningful—maybe this person reminds you of someone you love, or you relate to something about their expression. You feel their joy, or sadness.
The really cool thing is this Special Something is completely unique to you. It’ll be directly connected to your creative taste, your ideas, your aesthetic—and in that way, it’ll help you find more of your why behind the things you create, even for little practice experiments like this.
You chose this photo for a reason. What is it?
You don’t have to put it in words, it’s okay. It can just be a feeling. That facial expression, the light, that texture—whatever it is, notice it and hang on to it as you draw.
It’ll get easier the less you look at the original, when you’re not gripping so tightly to all the little details. Before you go back to draw it again, make sure you’re feeling that sense of whatever it is you want to capture, and forget almost everything else—that Special Something is more likely to come through, and I’m willing to bet that’s what will make more of a difference in whether it feels like a success to you (not whether you got the angle of their arm right).
*I find it best not to draw celebrities or other people I actually know for these exercises. It’s hard not to be perfectionist when you’re trying to capture such a recognizable person. Maybe save those for when you’re nicely warmed up after trying this with photos of people you don’t recognize.*
Drawing people from reference, or for portraits, is a balancing act of similarity (making it look like the person) and style (your own visual flavor), which is tricky. I think it’s all-too-easy to fall into the trap of trying to get it to look exactly like the person at the expense of your style—or maybe you’re not sure what your style is.
That’s okay. Honestly, everyone (including your favorite, super successfully published illustrator) is always in the process of figuring that out. “Style” changes over time—and it should.
BUT you can use reference to help discover more of your natural style, too.
Keep redrawing the same image multiple times, NOT looking at the original between, and you’ll start forgetting details. Were there buttons here? How long was their hair? What kind of chair were they sitting on?
I like to do this timed, to add a sense of urgency. It helps cut out the overthinking, and keep you from wondering how you want to draw something, and instead makes you just draw it, quickly.
Keep pushing even further and try drawing more of their environment (whether or not it was originally pictured) and you’ll start discovering lots of little things you can’t help but do—that’s your style.
I think it’s helpful to note them afterward. Did you really like the way that shoe came out? The way you drew their hair? The angle of their jaw? Keep what you like and maybe try messing around different ways to stylize what you don’t.
This is related to the one above, where I talked about trying to capture the feeling of what you wanted to capture from the photo in the first place. You can take this a step further, and act out the photo before you draw it—this is especially helpful if you’re doing a full figure photo it’s a strange or tricky pose. Embodying it yourself can help to make sense of it, when you’re trying to remember it later. It can also help you to embody the feeling of the person you’re going to draw, and I find this can really help you capture them better.
**Try to really feel whatever the person is feeling, and make the expression that feels natural to you for that feeling (without looking at the original), and THEN take a look at yourself in a mirror. Everyone makes different faces, but sometimes this can help you pinpoint what facial feature(s) really communicate that particular vibe or feeling more effectively, and you can emphasize those in your drawing.
Drawing people is not always easy. Some days it’s extra hard. I spent pages and pages trying to get this one right, and I still didn’t ever fully nail it.
BUT
If you get stuck, it does really help to back way up, loose the details, and draw it tiny—like thumbnail size. What are the basic shapes and lines?
This isn’t a magic formula. Even if I do multiple drawings, and stop looking at reference after the first attempt, it doesn’t always work—and the final drawing I do isn’t always the best one. Sometimes the first one is actually better.
Sometimes, the further I get away from the reference, the less I feel like I’m getting it, and through taking notes on what’s working and what isn’t, I realize I need to allow myself to look at the reference while I draw—but only for specific things so I don’t focus too much on little details again.
It’s okay to break the rules as long as you know why you’re breaking them, I think. That way you can continue to be intentional about what you keep, and what you don’t. Just be careful not to let yourself get sucked back into overworking the details if you let yourself look again!
That’s all I can squeeze in here for now. Thanks for learning along with me, and I hope some of this was helpful!
It’s funny, isn’t it, how it takes so much work and practice to get our work to appear effortless and relaxed?
I’d love to hear from you, too—how do you find/keep that magic spark in your work? Do you have any creative practices you’re exploring?
If you try any of these experiments out and want to share, I’d love to see!
I find this is important so I don’t get too caught up in tweaking things, instead of getting something down quickly. I could tweak all day if I let myself—so I don’t let myself.
I wasn’t sure how best to credit all the photos I’ve used, and it can be really hard to track down actual sources from Pinterest, so I’ve linked the Pinterest images in the captions below each example. These all presumably belong to someone, and I’m only using them here for practice—no copyright infringement intended. If one of these belongs to you and you’d prefer I give credit another way or remove it from the post entirely, please just let me know! The Pinterest boards I’ve shared here are meant for practice, too. If you use my Pinterest boards for your reference, and plan to create anything for profit from photos on them, please make sure to ask permission first and/or give credit to the owners of the photos appropriately.
Hopefully you can read my scribbly notes in my sketchbook photos!