Pencil Portraits

For the past two years I have focused on pencil portraits more than anything else.  Thankfully it's gotten me a lot of work from co-works to family.  I really enjoy portraits and it feels very natural for me when I'm creating them.  Whereas before when I was working more on cartoon/comic style art it was a bit of a struggle for me, at least the way I looked at it.  I just never felt completely satisfied with my work.  Not that I'm completely satisfied with my portrait art either, but I'm more proud of it when I'm finished.  

Here are a few of my pencil portraits.  First I'll start off with two that where for family members:*Edit* I'm not sure why I can't edit this next paragraph so that it's the same font color as the rest...so please excuse the change. :)

This one was commissioned by my Aunt Rene for a Christmas gift for my Dad and Uncle.  It's a portrait of my Grandpa "back in the day" wearing his football uniform and striking a pose.  I really enjoyed making this one and I liked how it turned out.  In hindsight I wish I would have added in the background, it would have given the drawing more depth.

This next one is of my nephew J.P.  I did this for my Brother's 40th birthday present and I had the pleasure of giving it to him at my wedding rehearsal.  I've always had trouble figuring out what to get him in the past, but I didn't hesitate with this and I think he was really surprised by it.

 

These next two portraits are a little older and I did these for myself.

The first, the incredible Robert Downey Jr.  I chose to do this because I'm a HUGE fan of RDJ, and I have been ever since I saw 'Chaplin'.  I also figured that it would be a good study piece.  His hair was the most difficult head of hair I've ever drawn, and the closeness of his face gave me great details to focus on.

 

This last piece was my very first pencil portrait I have ever done.  It was shortly after the death of Heath Ledger that I came across this photo and I couldn't resist the challenge.  Ask anyone who knows me and they will let you know that I love Batman...especially Christopher Nolan's Batman films, so that was an added bonus to this project.  I'm still very proud of this piece because I think his clothing turned out beautifully.