PROFESSIONAL PENCIL PORTRAITS OF BOYS
When it comes to pencil portraits, children make one of the best, if not the best subjects. Their innocence and purity give the drawing a unique appearance like no other subject. Reflecting these qualities can only be achieved with use of excellent reference, clear well executed photography that shows every detail with a great tonal range.
When it comes to pencil portraits of boys, the nature and character that can be achieved has huge variation. From a formal looking poses in their sunday best, right through to capturing them in the throws of mischief, with a cheeky smile and ruffled appearance. The true character of children, more over young boys, is their cheeky chappy appearance, giving the majority of poses captured a unique humorous look. Capturing this on camera for the most part is relatively easy with young children, by them often adding to the photo by pulling a funny face or some other added element of humour.
As mentioned, when looking to order a pencil portrait, the reference needs to be very good. It needs to show as much detail as possible, with an excellent tonal range on skin and hair. As a simple rule, if the photo shows the detail, I can capture it in the drawing, if the photo is soft and slightly blurred this will be reflected in the drawing. If you are unsure if the photos you have are good enough please feel free to send them over to me and I will let you know if they can be used.
With all drawings I do, I aim to achieve the highest levels of realism possible, which is only possible if the photos are of the highest quality. If you have a digital photo that is good but could be better, there are lots of free photo enhancing apps available where you can increase the sharpness and quality of photos. If you struggle please drop them over to me and I will see what I can do to help.
You may just have reference of the child subject in photo print, this is ok, but the same principle applies, if the quality is there were all good. It doesn’t really matter what size as long as the detail is visible as I enlarge it digitally and use the ipad to enlarge when working on the drawing, so helps see the detail.
To start the process of ordering your pencil portrait, the easiest and simplest route is to drop me an email with your requirements. If you can let me know what size you would like the drawing, whether you would like it in colour or black and white, and also send over the photo reference, so I can get the full idea of what is required. As with all my work, I offer pencil portrait drawings with or without a simple background, although the majority of people request their drawings without, to give more focus on the subject(s), please also let me know your choice of this when ordering. One other very important element to the order is when you require the drawing, if you can let me know this within your first correspondence it will help me meet your time frames effectively.
Once the pencil portrait is finished it can be sent to you mounted and framed or supplied rolled in a protective tube. Please let me know your preference at the time of ordering so I can order the frame in sync with your delivery.
PENCIL PORTRAITS OF BOYS – MULTIPLE SUBJECTS
A regular request with a lot of my commission orders is to have more than one subject in the drawing. Maybe a central larger subject, with a focus on just head and shoulders, surrounded by two or three other poses, slightly smaller. This style of montage drawing offers multiple poses each one reflecting a different character, showing the main subject in different settings. This can be particularly good with pencil portraits of boys, as each pose can show funny or humorous poses or activities just adding to the overall nature of the young boy portrait drawing.
If this is something you would like to order please send over all the photos you would like me to use and I will create a digital proof of how I see the overall drawing, I will send this back to you prior to starting the drawing to make sure you are happy.
With multiple subject portrait drawings, each of the different drawings within the overall piece can be not just different poses, but completely different subjects. Some people opt for including family pets in the drawing, maybe their little boy playing with the family dog or play fighting with a friend, the options are endless, all adding up to a great drawing evoking great memories.
PENCIL PORTRAITS OF BOYS IN COLOUR
When choosing to have a pencil portrait commissioned, the choice between colour and black and white can be a tough decision. Whereas a black and white portrait has its own unique qualities, of both quality and style, a colour portrait drawing offers something completely different. The level of realism and depth in colour gives a colour pencil portrait that something extra special. The depth of colour is what gives a colour portrait its hyper realistic qualities over black and white. When ordering a colour portrait, do understand the amount of time to complete is 2-3 times longer due to the level of work required to achieve this high level of realism.
PENCIL PORTRAITS OF BOYS IN BLACK AND WHITE
Unlike colour portraiture, black and white pencil portraits offer a very unique style, a mood and emotion that can only be achieved using black and white pencil. With black and white pencil portraits the viewer it lead to focus more on the subject and overall atmosphere of the drawing rather than the colouration which sometimes detracts from the nature of a pencil portrait. Although colour portraits have a greater level of vividness, most people prefer black and white pencil portraits simply due to the purity and very focused styling.
Whichever style is your preferred choice, one thing you can be sure of is the level of realism. I pride myself on achieving a level of realism that is similar to a photograph, but only if the reference is good enough. If the photographic reference is not of a high enough quality I will let you know, and not proceed until it is, because nobody want to spend time ordering and paying a premium, for a low quality pencil portrait.
ACHIEVING A PERFECT PENCIL PORTRAIT REFERENCE
Trying to achieve the perfect cute and on point photo of your child to use for good reference can be a difficult task to undertake. The majority of child pencil drawings I undertake are using photos taken of the child, most of the time, when they aren’t even aware. Capturing the child in their natural state, playing or just sat still looking angelic, are some of the best photos you will probably see. When it starts to become a mission to take photos and sit the child in certain poses is when it can start to become a real headache. The key with any child photography, particularly photos of little lads, is to capture their true nature. Maybe that cheeky smile, or showing those four remaining teeth, whatever special quality you are looking for in the photo, just snap away in a relaxed way and you’ll be sure to get some great shots when you least expect it.
PAYING FOR YOUR PENCIL PORTRAIT
Once you have decided the exact style and size of your pencil portrait, all I require from you is a 20% deposit to make the order official. Followed with the remaining 80% prior to sending the drawing to yourself once finished. You can also pay in monthly instalments if required, bearing in mind there is enough time to pay over a set period of months from when you take out the order to it being complete. I am happy for you to pay any way you like, whether that be one payment or instalments I will always be happy to accommodate.
BUY 2 OR MORE PORTRAITS AND GET A DISCOUNT
If you have ordered a pencil portrait drawing and would like another one, for each additional drawing you will receive 10% discount off the original price. If you would like to find out more please get in touch and I will be happy to discuss.
ALL PENCIL PORTRAITS ARE POSTAL INSURED TO A MINIMUM OF £500
With all the artwork I send by post they are automatically insured up to a minimum of £500. If the value of the pencil portrait is over that the insurance will cover the full cost if the drawing is damaged or lost. All drawings are also tracked and full tracking details are given once the drawing is sent. If you have special delivery instructions please let me know at the time of ordering so I can arrange in plenty of time.
