Prove yourself as the best artist for the week

emmaboy23 (69)in Steem Fashion&Style • 3 months ago

Hello wonderful Steemians! It’s such a great feeling to be part of this week’s exciting contest again titled “Prove Yourself as the Best Artist This Week”, organised by @dequeen. For my entry this week, I decided to draw a pencil portrait that truly challenged my patience and precision. Every new challenge on Steemit gives me the opportunity to push my artistic boundaries and express creativity through my pencil, and this drawing is no exception. Every stroke of this piece represents my passion for art and my continuous effort to improve as an artist. Below are the steps I took in creating this drawing.

Drawing items

• A4 paper

• mechanical pencil

• graphite pencil

• charcoal pencil

• HB pencil

• 2B and 4B pencils

• eraser

• sharpener

• black pen

Step-by-step process

Step 1

I started my drawing by first lightly sketching the eyes and nose, then I added details to it. I took my time to make sure the highlights were well-placed, giving the eyes a realistic, reflective look.

Step 2

After doing that, I then focused my attention on the beard, using short, controlled pencil strokes to mimic the texture of facial hair. The shading under the jawline helped in creating a sense of depth, making the portrait look more three-dimensional.

Step 3

Next came the shading phase, which is always my favourite part. I used a combination of 2B, 4B, and 6B pencils to achieve different tonal values. The lighter areas, such as the forehead and cheeks, were softly shaded with 2B to give a smooth skin texture.

Step 4

Next was the hair. The hair was a fun but challenging section. I built the dark tones gradually, using 8B pencils for the deepest areas while keeping some lighter spaces for highlights. To blend the tones smoothly, I used tissue paper and my blending stump, giving it a soft but realistic finish.

Step 5

Next I carefully drew the neck and shoulder and shaded it using my 2B and 4B pencils.

Step 6

After completing all the details, I reviewed the entire drawing, cleaning up smudges and softening rough edges. I also darkened the hair areas slightly to make the portrait pop off the page. Stepping back to see the finished result filled me with satisfaction — it felt like all the hours of work were worth it. Below is my finished work.

My selfie with my drawing

This artwork is more than just a drawing to me; it’s a reflection of growth, discipline, and love for the creative process. Participating in “Prove Yourself as the Best Artist This Week” has been such a motivating experience. It pushed me to give my best and reminded me how powerful simple tools like pencils can be in expressing human emotion.

Thank you all for this wonderful opportunity to share my art. I hope you all enjoy my pencil portrait entry for this week’s challenge, and I look forward to seeing the amazing works from other talented artists!. Bye for now.

Inviting

Cc @dequeen