Prove yourself as the best artist for the week

Hello wonderful Steemians,

I hope everyone is having a productive and creative week. Today, I am excited to share my entry for the contest "Prove Yourself as the Best Artist This Week" organized by @dequeen. For this challenge, I decided to create a pencil portrait of Jacob Elordi, an actor known for his charming smile and distinctive facial features. Whenever I begin a portrait, I try to focus on more than just copying. My aim is to capture the mood, character, and expression that make the subject unique. Looking at Jacob Elordi's reference image, I was drawn to his relaxed smile and expressive eyes. Below are the steps I took.

Reference image

My drawing

Drawing Materials

• A4 paper

• mechanical pencil

• graphite pencil

• charcoal pencil

• black pen

• eraser

• blending tissue

• sharpener

Step 1

First I outline the face. I use very light pencil strokes because adjustments are usually necessary during the early stages.

Step 2

Next I moved to adding details to the facial features; I started with the eyes because they are often referred to as the soul of a portrait. I carefully shaded the pupils and irises while preserving small highlights to create a realistic appearance. Gradually, the eyes began to bring life to the sketch. Next I worked on the nose and lips and shaded the face as well.

Step 3

After doing that, I then worked on the hair. Instead of shading the entire area with a single tone, I used multiple overlapping pencil strokes to imitate individual strands. By combining dark shadows with lighter highlights, I was able to create texture, volume, and movement.

Step 4

With the face and hair completed, I moved on to the clothing. I lightly shaded the shirt while keeping it less detailed than the face. This ensured that the viewer's attention remained focused on the portrait itself.

Step 5

Then finally, I refined the darkest shadows, cleaned unwanted pencil marks, and strengthened key highlights. At this point, the portrait was complete, and below is my final result.

My selfie with my drawing

Completing this portrait reminded me that great artwork is built through patience, observation, and persistence. Every line and every shade contributes to the final piece, and every drawing teaches a valuable lesson for future projects. Thank you, @dequeen, for organizing this wonderful contest and providing artists with a platform to showcase their creativity. I hope you all enjoy my portrait of Jacob Elordi as much as I enjoyed creating it.

Inviting

@us-andrew

@m-princess

@lirvic

CC @dequeen

Have a wonderful day!