The Key to Realistic Drawings

The key to realistic drawings falls rather heavily on one key element. Sure, you should be able to capture a likeness with some competence. That’s a given. But creating a line drawing is one thing. Creating a fully rendered realistic drawing is another thing entirely.

That key element is value.

Value, or shading, is what gives drawings (or paintings, or digital drawings) that quality of realism. Value gives a sense of depth and form. I’ll be discussing things from the drawing on paper perspective but apply the tips to whatever medium you prefer.

Proper value turns the same flat, grey circle into a sphere no matter what medium you’re using. (Image Credit: Myra Naito)

In the digital image above, I started off with a plain grey circle. It’s just a flat, ordinary shape. But as I added highlights and shadows (value) to it, it becomes a sphere. A realistic form. It’s the same circle in both images. One only has one value and the other has plenty. Makes a huge difference, doesn’t it?

Don’t get hung up on getting the exact color either. That’s not the issue.

It doesn’t matter if your artwork is in black and white or full color. If you want the sense of realism, you have to master value. I could draw a giraffe entirely blue. If I have my values correct, your eye will believe it. It will look more realistic than an artist who struggles getting the exact colors but doesn’t push the values enough. It’s common for most beginners to be too timid and not go dark enough. Their drawings end up flat and washed out like the circle above. The trick is to start off lightly and build up gradually.

To illustrate the power of value in creating realistic drawings, I’m using an absolute favorite drawing I did for a very close friend’s birthday gift. In the left image, the drawing is accurate proportionally and in terms of the cat’s likeness (and Buddha’s). But it’s very obviously lacking depth and is completely washed out. I would not call it done by a long shot.

By simply increasing the dark values, the drawing develops more depth and dimension. (Credit: Myra Naito, mnaitodesigns.com)

You can see the drawing come to life as values are added. With a full range of values, it ends up being not just realistic, but a much more dramatic piece. If you’re afraid of going too dark (or aren’t sure how dark to go), use a value chart to compare your drawing to your reference.

Don’t rush things here.

Go too dark too soon and you’ll have a hell of a time trying to lighten things back up once you’ve flattened out the surface of the paper. Be patient!

If you’re not quite at this point yet and still trying to get the basics of drawing down, check out How Artists See and also this FREE class: How to Draw-The Very Basics