How I Draw Realistic Freckles & Skin | Portrait Drawing

When drawing a portrait like this, it's easy to feel overwhelmed by all the little details, especially the soft hair, smooth skin and tiny freckles. But remember, those details only work because of the steps before them. Start simple, focus on the shapes and slowly build the values and shading. If you want to follow along in real time, the full length version is available on my Patreon, where I share step-by-step lessons to help artists of all levels improve. Now, let's get started! And you want to use really light pressure because you want to be able to layer over this. So she's not looking, it's not exactly straight. So both eyes aren't symmetrical, not exactly the same. So when you're drawing the sketch, try to pay attention to that, the shapes. And here you see the crease line because she's looking a bit up. And then this is all dark. Okay, now let's start to darken the charcoal. I'm going to use the 2B medium. And yeah, first the iris. See what a difference, the dark value you can get. And the pencil I just used was the 14B darkest pitch matte graphite pencil. And I'm using the same pressure. So you can go darker with the graphite pencils, but then you need to press harder. And the thing with using harder pressure with graphite pencils, then you won't be able to erase if you need to for highlights or then you won't be able to layer over it. That's the beautiful thing about using charcoal for the darkest parts. It blends really easily. Let's blend this. Let's first use the brush, see how that blends. You can make it just soften that. And now see how you can move the charcoal around. Or yeah, you can blend charcoal, but then I pull it here towards the inside of the iris. You can also use a blending stump. I usually use a blending stump, but you can also use a brush if you want a softer effect. And for this portrait drawing, I want to create that softer effect. So I'm just really going to use more of the charcoal and the powder, like I already said. And let's just blend that onto the eyeball whites. We need some details. Let's see if we can reduce the stump to blend the iris further. Let's use the 14B. So easily, you can just add the darker value with the charcoal and then blend. And you have that beautiful soft effect on the iris. And then the details. And with the eraser, you can then see how those details really make a difference in the iris. Beautiful. And let's see these highlights. We can use the acrylic marker in the last step. So we can try to draw around it, but it's okay. We smudge a bit. And with the charcoal again, 2B, I'm just up here. And let's see with the brush, gently just blending the edges. I just put down. See how that makes it look a bit softer on the edge of the iris. Remember, if you just smudge too far, that's okay. Just use that new eraser. I want to use the Pampastel. And this is the neutral gray shade. I want to use the flat brush. And yeah, with this powder, I'm just going to fill this in. And I like the Pampastel because it has the different values. So I can start lighter. And actually, I need it lighter here. So this is the neutral gray tint. And I also have the neutral gray. But let's start with the tint first. And then we can always darken further, blend further. And let's also just use this. So just like graphite, I build up the layer starting with the lighter value. And then you can slowly go over that with the darker value. And with the graphite pencil, you can create thinner details where you need to. And with the charcoal, you can create the darkest values with the pencil. So now this starts to create depth. And like I said, if you want to be more precise than the brush, then you can just use a pencil. With the shade here, let's darken. And then let's use the darkest. Just use the black for the darkest area here. You can also use the charcoal. But then we can layer over this to really darken. Also just a bit darker here. A bit darker. Now the eye starts to look round. Let's use the tint. Let's use that smaller, the flat brush. No, the round brush. To blend that part like that. Now we have a base. So now we can, let's see. We can darken here some more. So let's just use charcoal 2B. So the iris is quite dark. And you can compare and see that here the lashes are pretty dark. Till here. You see that is lighter here. Here we have the lashes. We want to draw that on the last step. We can darken the eyebrow. Another layer. Yeah, this hair will go on top, but it's not as dark as the eyebrow. Here's this corner. Also quite dark. Once I have the eyes, I think the eyes are the most challenging and the most where I feel like I really need to get the eyes right. And then once we have the eyes, I always feel like, okay, we can continue. And let's blend this. And now I can either use the brush or the blending stump. I want to use the smaller blending stump. You push that charcoal into the paper. Here, darken here a bit. Here in this corner, the eyeball. Let's just add some lashes and then we can move on to the other eye. Then we can always come back. The 2B charcoal. Darken again. So here we have lashes going down. And here we have lashes going up. Here they curve up and a bit more to, yeah, straight. And a bit some down. Let's use that charcoal to darken here. But we can blend that. Just the charcoal pencil again. We can always come back and we can also use the brush with the Pampastel there. And let's use the 14B for this crease really gently. And here we use that stump. And here it's really bright, that highlight. And darken. It will also be darker, but we can once we add that hair part. I really just like to go layer by layer and finish more of the drawing before we come back. You don't have to completely finish one area. Even though I focus on each area at a time. I still like to move on to the another part of the drawing and then come back. And let's use the tint here. I'm going to blend this just down with the eraser. We can erase that highlight with the shade again. Or I think a little darker. You know easily you can just use brushes and the powder. And with the different values you can add those layers. And we're going to continue the blending here. Let's work on the eye first. Look at the difference. How that charcoal really adds that dark. And it's not finished yet, the eye. I'm going to come back. Now I want to continue with this part of the hair. And then this part as well. And then we can slowly move on to more of the details of the eyes. Because here you can see that the hair goes over parts of the eye. So that will be easier to finish more of the eyes. I want to use Pampastel with the brush. Because the hair is also quite soft. So everything is really soft and natural looking in this drawing. So I want to see if we can create that effect with the powder. This is the neutral gray. And again you can also still use graphite. I just enjoy working with the Pampastel and the brush. Creating that soft effect. So I have the neutral gray, then the neutral gray shade. And the neutral gray extra dark. I'm going to work with these darker shades. Starting with the first one. And then we can also add that shading here for the skin. And here as well. And then we can compare values easier. Because I think we can go a bit darker here. But let's just continue. And we can lighten with the eraser. And we can darken with the darker shades. And then we can use the graphite or the charcoal pencil for the details. Again we're going to go step by step, layer by layer. Starting with the lighter one. The neutral gray. So you see how you can easily with the brush just build up values. And you see here that the hair is quite light. We're going to use the eraser for that. Or we can also use the white charcoal pencil. Because you can get thinner strokes with a pencil tip than with the eraser. So we can try out both. Using the extra dark. Let's see here. I think we can even use the black to go darker. Or we can go over this with the charcoal. And it's really dark. Let's use the round brush here. Like for the skin. And here in between. Blending everything. It's also... Or let's use the neutral gray tint. Because here it's a bit lighter. Okay the rest isn't that light. Let's use the neutral gray here. And let's just use this bigger brush to fill this in. Now I go in circular motion with this flat round brush. How that helps to blend everything in. Let's use the flat brush with the neutral gray shade. And slowly darken the hair. Let's darken some more. You see all of those individual hairs. We can use the pencil for that. I'm focusing now on the values that I see. And how the hair is flowing. And just going darker layer by layer. We can still go a bit darker. Let's see if we use the black. But with the brush you can't get it as black. It helps if you use a sponge. But let's just first... So with a sponge. Just like a makeup sponge. Like this. So you can use makeup brushes, makeup sponges. It all helps. And let's see. I think we can get darker. See that? Here we use the brush. And here we're using a sponge. You can really press the powder in more. Get it darker. And you also have Pampastel sponges and tools. So you can also use those. But makeup sponges also work good. Okay, so I have the main darks now. Let's just also add a bit here in the corner. I'm just using the extra to darken the rest. Because the skin is also quite dark. And here it's also a bit darker. We can darken some more. Let's darken first. Maybe with the charcoal 2B. And we can start to define a bit more. Look at the direction that the hair is flowing. It doesn't have to be exactly the same. Just focus on like those blocks of hair. Clumps of hair. Shapes that you see. How the hair flows. And then the eyebrow is also darker. Okay, now let's use the eraser. Again focusing on the direction that you see. So here there's a lighter area. Here a bit lighter. And this is how I create hair. I focus on the main values first. Like I create the mid-tones and then I darken. And then I lighten with the eraser. Or create highlights. And then at last you can use a pencil. Like a graphite pencil for some more individual. Or the charcoal pencil if the graphite isn't dark enough. And yeah. That's how you can go a bit layer by layer. And then I blend always. After each layer I blend. And which you can also try. You see those really thinner strokes? You can just use the pencil. See that? Look for those extra flyaway hairs. But or here. You can do that. But still I want to. Yeah those are the final details for the flyaway hairs. First I want to darken further. And those eraser strokes that you create. You can clean off the brush to be sure. But those eraser strokes that you created. You want them also to be soft. So you want to blend them in again. So you can either use a blending stump. Or just the brush. And just go like this. And that's why I say back and forth. Because I create highlights. I blend. And then sometimes you need to add a bit back. But then you also create the highlights in layers. Giving a more natural effect. It helps to darken in layers. When I darken somewhere. And then you look back. Then you see. Oh you can darken there as well. Darken this part. But now it's getting too dark. Here just this middle part. Let's see. Or not. Or maybe the rest still needs to be darker. I'm going to leave it for now. And I can always lighten if I need to. I wanted to use the eraser there. Yeah let's just do that. Just here. You can see how I just dab. And then we need to soften. Clean off the brush. Otherwise you'll darken it again. Maybe I already did. I think we have the same as we had. But this is how you can lighten an area. Dab with the kneaded eraser. Gently clean off the brush. Always blend after you erase. After you add a layer. Always blend. Go over that part again. Let's use the stump here. To blend. Possibly a bit darker. And then we have that. Let's see. I'm going to use the white charcoal. So you see how you can get a really sharp tip. Yeah the tip gets a bit dirty. This is a good charcoal pencil. And some are different. So you can try how yours works. And there's also pastel white. Which you can try. For those finest lines. This is great. Because here you see some sharper. Normally hair is quite soft. But here I see some sharper hairs. So that's why I wanted to use that white charcoal. This works great. See that? And if it's too sharp you can use the brush. And then gently soften the edges. If you need to. So I'm going to use the 14B again. And create some more. So you see those highlights? There is some detail. So let's just draw some detail. Let's start with the neutral gray. Here. And just a lighter. And then with the tint. Blend here. And then we can add those freckles. Let's just use the shade. And darken here. There you can always darken if you need to. Let's draw the freckles. And then blend them in. Let's use the 4B first maybe. And let's just create all of those spots. Starting here. And here. And you can see that she has freckles. But also some darker pigmented areas. So just look at all of the spots. And it doesn't have to be exactly the same. Like I always say. Some can be bigger or smaller. You don't have to measure anything. Just add some of these freckles. And it's always best to start lighter. And then you can darken gradually. Like I always do. Let's use the 14B there. And the extra dark. And flat brush 4B. And then we can blend over this with the powder brush. And the round powder brush. And then you can darken a few where you need to. So you see that some are lighter. Some are darker. Okay let's use the initial tint again. And go over this. You see we can go a bit darker. Flat brush. Some areas are darker. Let's see how this thing goes. Here this part just next to the hair. Darker. Okay we need to darken the freckles. Use the 6B now. Again focusing on the freckles. And then the ones that are lighter. Just leaving them. Or use lighter pressure. Some are smaller. Some are bigger. So just focus on that. Smaller, bigger, lighter, darker. And blend this. And let's darken here so that I can draw that hair. Which has the darkest look in between there. And let's blend that a bit with the brush. But also a bit here with the shade. Okay and blend this further with the brush. And with the eraser. For the, yeah for the lighter ones. And then for those thinner. The thinnest ones we can use the charcoal white. Clean the eraser. Okay so the nose. I'm going to start with the darker part first. Let's just use the 14B. I want to define the edges first and the nostril. And then we can work on the skin with the powder and the brush. Creating the values. Charcoal. Fold this in. And then we can use the brush. And then blend this down. And we can also use the charcoal for this edge. Just here. The shadow edge there. And then blend this to the left. Starting with the lighter values. And then going one value darker every time. And then we have those. Here we have a highlight. And here we have a highlight. It's a bit more difficult to, yeah, go around that. So we can also create that with the eraser. I think that's better. So you will just look at this nostril. And then compare like a bit higher and a bit more to the left. That's where you see that highlight on the nose. And then here as well. So I've got a really nice beautiful light effect. That's why I like using Pampastel. Because of the different values. With graphite powder you have one value. With charcoal you have just one value. Yeah and you can build up the layers with less powder. With charcoal for example. And then you have lighter. And then you can go over that to darken and darken. But yeah, I think this gives me a lot of control. And it's a preference. So that's why I always say you can use any powder that you like. I know that some create their own graphite powder from sticks. Or their own charcoal powder from sticks. That's all up to the artist. What you prefer and what you like. And you don't have to use powder. You can also use the graphite pencils. Like I also often do. Just hold the pencil more to the side. So that you shade with the lead. And then use a soft tissue to blend. So you see now I'm slowly darken. But now before we add too much darker value. Let's add that highlight. And here around that highlight it's also a bit lighter. So I just compare to other points in my drawing. If you look at the eye. You go to the left. That's where you see the highlight. And here you see this part. Of the nose wing. And that's where I see that the highlight stops. This is the 6B. With the flat brush I'm going to use the shade. And then slowly where I see that it's darker. You have that highlight. Then you have a mid-tone. And then you have the shade. Darken the nose wing with the charcoal. You can also use the brush. It's just easier to be more precise with the pencil. Let's blend this. And also go up. Also go over the nostril to darken again. And blend the lower part. So the nostrils usually has a sharper edge at the top. But then blend it at the lower part. Starting with the 4B. For the freckles. And then we can darken a layer. Because some are still lighter. Just focusing on where do I see the freckles. How big. Which shape. So they're not circles. Like just asymmetrical shapes. So whenever you're drawing freckles on a portrait. It's always important to blend them in. And create them in layers. Don't go for the correct dark value right away. Start lighter. And start with the lightest value of the freckle. Create all of the freckles with those lighter values. Then blend. Then darken some of them. Then blend again. And then darken again if you need to. Always blend them in with the skin. Now let's use the neutral gray and the neutral gray shade. I think with the shade we can darken here. Here it's also a bit darker. And here we can also darken. It's not all darker. So I'm just going like dabbing. We can lighten the highlight again. Just dab. And around it it's also lighter. But here I'm just going to create like a very thin edge. And then go like this. And then in between like the same I did here. We have a few lighter spots. So create thin, thinner shape. And just carefully dab. Okay. Clean the brush. And then blend. And now we can darken some freckles. So you see how we have more of the nose now. And now you look back at this part. It already looks better. And then also the eyes. At first I thought the eyes looked a bit creepy. Especially because she's looking up. And you see that waterline. I still think I want to blend the lashes a bit more in. Especially these. But we need to still create the skin. So I keep on looking back at certain areas. And I think okay I want to correct that. But it helps to move on to next parts. Areas of the drawing. And then look back. That's my tip for you. Because sometimes I feel like lost in an area. Or I think I'm not satisfied. Or what I do if I'm not satisfied. Like with the eyes. Before I take a picture. And just really look at them. And analyze them on my phone. So with a smaller size. And then I squint my eyes. So that I just focus on the shapes. And see what looks different. I'm going to use graphite. Because this is a smaller area. And then I think I'm going to use charcoal. Because the inside is darker. It's just as dark as the nostrils. You see that? The inside of the mouth. So you will follow like the contour. Of the shape of the lips. To create form. Okay and then normally I use soft tissue. Or the blending stump. Let's just try to use the brush. To blend this. So I want to make sure that this outline. Is the same value as the lips. Let's use the charcoal. And blend the middle one. Or darken the middle one actually. And then we can blend this. Okay let's just use the neutral gray. And add this to the lips. Blend the top line. So that it's blended. But this will also actually blend in with the skin here. Okay so I think one value. Just a bit darker. With the shade. So that the lips are just a bit darker. Than the value on the skin. Not too dark. Just a bit. Because I wanted the lips a bit lighter. Okay we have the lips. Now we can focus on the crease line. And darken the inside again actually. With the charcoal. So you see I can also. Just use really light pressure with charcoal. And then when we blend that in. It also gets a bit lighter. Okay so I'm adding a bit of value here. To the highlight. Because it's not just one. You see a bit of some creases on the highlight as well. So that. And the eraser. Stick eraser. On this top part. We want that the brightest. And all the charcoal down. So you see the top part of the lower lip. Needs to be just a bit darker. See how that helps. To create more of a roundness. And then also the top part. Or the lower part. Of the top lip. Also usually just a bit darker. Okay and soften that charcoal line. And also like I said. The lips don't have to be perfectly smooth. So. Just adding some highlights here as well. They're like following the direction of the lip. See that contour. So just these texture lines. Okay I zoomed out. And I'm thinking do I need the acrylic marker. For those brightest highlights. I don't think I do. I'm going to use a charcoal. Just darken some parts here. Of the eyebrow. So you can stand up. Or step away for a moment to come back. So let's remove. Or let's clean this off first. And because you're using mixed media. Like graphite, charcoal. Even though you're just only using graphite by the way. You can use a fixative spray. Just to keep your drawing from smudging. But now we're also using charcoal and pan pastel. So it's. Yeah you can use a fix. I have this one. But you can use any one. I would just look for a matte fixative spray. And that's it for this portrait. I hope you enjoyed watching it come together. And found some helpful tips along the way. Let me know if you have any questions. And if you'd like to draw along with me in real time. The full length version is available inside my membership. With step-by-step drawing lessons. Thanks for watching. And I'll see you in the next one.