Q&A for How to Draw with Realistic Shading

Keep drawing whenever you can, it's the only way. Continue to look up techniques like the one on this page and practice them with easy shapes. If you focus and hone your practice time into working your individual skills you will improve much faster.

That knowledge will come with practice and repeated trial and error. Try to note where the light is coming from and start from there.

There are certain tools for pencil shading that you can get at any local art store, but the cheapest tool is your finger. Just lightly smudge the lines with your finger in the direction that you want the shading to appear.

A cube or cylinder would be the easiest shape to start with. A circle is also easy as well.

You usually need to use 4B and 3B pencils. They're best for shading and blending. Use a kneaded eraser as well. You can find these materials at art stores and sometimes craft stores. A regular #2 pencil will do in a pinch, it is not ideal.

Not too dark, otherwise it will prevent the image of looking like it is actually standing out of the page. You want the shading to be the main feature of interest.

Both H and HB pencils are suitable for creating these drawings when developing your understanding of portraiture.

You can use your finger or a napkin or tissue. Don’t use printer paper, because it can scratch your art.

HB pencils have harder graphite that is less prone to smearing, while B grade pencils smear more easily. It depends on your art style and whether you prefer smeared or unsmeared shading.

To make a tiger's coat and whiskers look realistic, use a variety of colors. For the whiskers, incorporate white and gray. For the coat, use gray and black for the stripes, and orange and yellow-orange for the rest of the fur.

Use a reference photo of hair up close and add lots of color based on that image.