Pencil Drawing Tutor is an online learning platform where you can learn realistic pencil drawing using graphite and charcoal. Our step-by-step pencil drawing tutorials teach you how to draw from reference photos and from scratch, with a strong focus on realism, shading, and structure. We provide drawing ideas and techniques to make your drawings lifelike and beautiful.
Join us for hand-drawn art tutorials that will help you capture realistic details and create your own masterpiece. Learn from our experienced teacher Jasmina Susak, who has guided countless students to success.
On many websites you will find only specific topics, like how to draw people or how to draw for beginners. Here, we teach how to draw everything, and we have tutorials for every skill level, for kids and adults.
You will find step-by-step tutorials on:
We’ve covered everything you need to learn how to draw, all in one place. Join our creative community. As a member, you can interact with other artists, post your drawings, and suggest new drawing ideas you’d like us to create tutorials for.
With a brand new drawing tutorial added every week, our tutorial catalogue and creative community are growing fast! Each lesson is split into easy-to-follow parts, designed to help you master new techniques and improve your skills in realistic pencil drawing.
Browse through all the available pencil drawing tutorials and join our growing community to start creating your own masterpieces, guided by Jasmina Susak.
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New tutorial: Learn how to draw bob cut hair with bangs. Step-by-step written tutorial with pictures.
Pencil drawing on Bristol paper: 6" x 6" (15 x 15 cm). Completed and posted on February 06, 2026.
New tutorial: Learn how to draw an eye from reference photo. Step-by-Step written tutorial with pictures.
Pencil drawing on bristol paper: 5" x 5" (12 x 12 cm). Completed and posted on January 30, 2026.
New tutorial: Learn how to draw a bulb from scratch using graphite pencils. Step-by-step written tutorial with pictures.
Pencil drawing on bristol paper: 6" x 6" (15 x 15 cm). Completed and posted on January 24, 2026.
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As our student, you'll get access to PenPick Graphite, a unique Color Picker for Artists.
This web app lets you upload your own reference photos. Simply click/tap on the image, and PenPick will suggest the perfect pencil to use (from 9H to 14B). Find out more on the website: www.pen-pick.com
We teach you the simplest, easiest way how to draw hair. We’ve created a collection of step-by-step tutorials on drawing hair, and we keep adding new tutorials regularly. We provide tips and ideas for drawing realistic hair that even absolute beginners can draw by breaking down complex textures into manageable steps.
For example, our instructor Jasmina Susak drew the hair strand on the right in this image in only 15 minutes. You can watch the full, narrated video where every step is explained with nothing cut out.
Many people believe they can't draw and don't even try. Others face challenges and struggle to get the results they want, eventually giving up. But with the right guidance and tutorials, anyone CAN draw. It's not about talent. The point is: some people need more time to reach a certain level, while others get there faster.
With our tutorials, you can start with simple lessons that even kids can do. Then, step by step, you'll progress to more detailed drawings and enjoy watching yourself improve. This is when you'll start to feel truly motivated.
Discover the power of accurate outlines that lay the foundation for photorealistic and captivating drawings.
Craft depth and dimension through skillful application of the darkest elements.
Enhance your artwork by incorporating mid-tones and highlights for a broader range of values.
Perfect the art of adding intricate details, achieving a remarkable level of realism.
Our art instructor, Jasmina Susak, believes in the transformative power of art. She encourages everyone to explore their capabilities, develop self-discipline, and even improve their health through drawing.
We offer step-by-step tutorials for drawing patterns and textures like these, helping you improve control, muscle memory, and patience, and serving as a warm-up even for experienced artists.
So, how drawing can benefit you:
When drawing from reference photos, artists often posterize images to break values into clear levels. Posterizing helps you see how light and shadow relate to each other, define the forms of the drawing subject, and clearly distinguish highlights from the deepest shadows. This makes it much easier to choose the right pencils for shading and to build realistic values in pencil drawings.
Our Posterize Image Online Free Tool converts your uploaded photo to black and white and lets you choose the number of posterize levels. With 2 levels, your image becomes pure black and white. Adding more levels introduces gray values between black and white. The more levels you choose, the more value detail you can use when drawing and shading from your reference photo.
Tip: Our instructor Jasmina Susak usually chooses 7 posterize levels, as it provides a good balance between clear value separation and enough detail for realistic drawing. Bonus Tip: Posterize your drawing too. Set the scale to the same value as your reference photo. This will help you see whether your values match those in the image you are drawing from.
No registration. No ads. No cookies. We don’t see or collect your images. Everything happens in your browser. Read our Terms of Use. Have a question or suggestion? Contact us
When drawing from reference photos, artists need to figure out where the darkest shadows and the brightest highlights are. By mapping out these extreme values, you understand how much shading to apply and where to erase, making sure your drawings are shaded correctly. This makes it easier to create shadows, build artistic contrast, and place highlights accurately, because there is a difference between highlights that we often can’t distinguish properly. This tool makes these differences visible and easy to notice.
Why this tool is perfect for drawing
Artists often ask:
This tool solves these issues, so artists find clear answers to all their questions and doubts while drawing. Use it any time, in any browser, on any device, with no registration required. We don’t see or store your images. This free online tool works directly in your browser. Read our Terms of Use. Have a question or suggestion? Contact us.
Pro-Tip: Use this tool to analyze your scanned drawings as well. Compare them with your reference photo downloaded at the same scale value to see how accurately you shaded and placed the highlights in your image.
When it comes to graphite pencils, most brands are more or less the same - whether it's Staedtler, Koh-I-Noor, Caran d'Ache, Prismacolor, Faber-Castell, Derwent, etc. However, we highly recommend Matt Graphite Pencils by Faber-Castell because their newly developed graphite doesn’t shine like traditional graphite, which has always been a common problem for artists. Plus, they’ve added grades up to 14B, compared to the usual maximum of 9B. This allows artists to create deep, rich black tones that look like charcoal. (See the accompanying drawing of a Ragdoll Cat, done entirely with Matt graphite pencils.)
We are not promoted or affiliated with Faber-Castell; this is simply our heartfelt recommendation and the pencils our instructor uses throughout the tutorials on this website.
The quality of materials is very important - for making your drawings look better and for enjoying the process. Graphite and charcoal don't require expensive supplies, so treat yourself with high-quality tools for easier, more satisfying results. Here are some essentials:
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Come back tomorrow for a new pencil drawing idea.
If you’ve ever struggled with drawing hair or making it look shiny, this exercise will help you reach that goal. You'll realize that drawing hair isn’t as difficult as it seems. This short and effective step-by-step guide will show you how to drastically improve your sketching skills within a few days. It’s an easy hair drawing method for the absolute beginners. So, where does a complete beginner start? Even if you’ve never drawn before, just follow the instructions in this 6-step tutorial and take your hair drawings to the next level.
Let’s draw a strand of hair that can be applied to any hairstyle, even curly hair. First, use a 2B pencil and create hair-like strokes from the top to midway and from the bottom to midway, as shown in the image below. Vary your pencil pressure to create a mix of thick and thin hair strands, and use both sharp and dull pencil tips for a more realistic texture. Add longer and shorter strokes to avoid a uniform look. Slightly lift off the pencil before reaching the area where you want the highlight to be. Each stroke should gradually disappear into the white of the paper, creating a smooth, natural fade. With just this technique, the strands already appear smooth and shiny, even at the earliest stage.
Next, blend the highlight using a blending stump. Lightly go over the ends of the pencil strokes and shade the highlighted area. Ensure no part of the hair clump remains white, but avoid making the highlight too dark. Follow the direction of the hair flow while blending.
Now, use an HB pencil in the same way as you did with the 2B pencil. Lightly go over the areas drawn with the 2B, including a little bit of the highlights. When you go over the highlights, lift the pencil to avoid darkening them too much - they should remain brighter than the surrounding area. This will help soften the lines from the first step
Create darker lines with a 6B pencil (or darker) to add depth, focusing on the outer edges of the lock — the bottom and top areas, but avoiding the middle where the highlights are. Start at the base of the lines, drawing short strokes inward, and finish them farther from the highlight by gently lifting the pencil. This will make the hairs gradually blend into the mid-tone. You can even use a 9B or 14B pencil for the darkest values. If you're drawing the whole hair (not just a single strand as in this tutorial), use the darkest pencils between the locks, where the hair receives less light, and the locks cast shadows on each other. Notice how the locks now appear more bent, thanks to the added depth from the darker values.
Use a precision knife to create lighter hairs, particularly in the middle over the highlight. You can also use white charcoal, a white fine-tip ink gel pen, or a Gelly Roll pen for this. If you overdo the highlighting, simply go over it with the pencils you’ve used to darken it. Next, add highlighted flyaways over the darker areas with quick, confident strokes. When drawing hair, always include flyaway hairs, especially around the head if you're creating a full portrait. This helps break the edge between the hair and the background.
As the final step, add some darker flyaways around the hair lock. Use well-sharpened HB and 2B pencils to create variation in the darker flyaways. Randomly place the tip of your pencil on the hair and, using rapid, sudden strokes, draw in any direction. Place the flyaways randomly, as hair moves naturally, and individual strands can appear anywhere. This technique will give the hair a more natural look.
Next task: Try drawing the locks with different shades. For example, start with a 4B instead of a 2B pencil, or begin with an H4 to create blonde hair.
And that’s it. If you’d like to draw more complex hair, you can explore our full collection of tutorials and join us to continue learning at your own pace.
