How I Created a Graphite Portrait of Anne Shirley

I thought it would be interesting to share a little about how I created this portrait.

For this artwork I chose Anne Shirley from Anne of Green Gables. Her genuine smile, curiosity and warmth make her one of my favourite fictional characters. I have always found the relationship between Anne and Gilbert incredibly touching, and I hope to draw them together one day.

In this article I'm sharing some parts of the drawing process, along with the materials and techniques I used for this portrait.

Preparing the Workspace#

Before making the first marks on paper, I prepared all the materials I would need.

• Graphite pencils
• Charcoal powder
• Kneaded eraser
• Mechanical pencil (0.5 mm, B)
• Makeup brushes for blending
• A soft makeup sponge

Once the basic values are in place, I start adding details with graphite pencils.

The soft makeup sponge is one of my favourite tools at the very beginning of a drawing.

Instead of starting with dark outlines, I first establish the overall values using charcoal powder. Even when the facial features are still barely visible, the sponge helps me see the overall volume of the portrait before moving on to darker details.

Watch the Drawing Process#

This short time-lapse shows about forty-two seconds of the drawing process.

It doesn't show every step, but it gives an idea of how the portrait gradually develops as new layers of graphite are added.

Choosing the Paper#

For this portrait I used professional Canson drawing paper designed for graphite and charcoal.

One thing I really like about this paper is its surface. It holds charcoal powder very well while still allowing me to lift highlights cleanly with a kneaded eraser.

Building the Portrait#

Most of the portrait was drawn with a 2B graphite pencil.

For the finest details—especially around the eyes, eyelashes and small facial features—I switched to a Faber-Castell 0.5 mm mechanical pencil with B lead.

An H pencil was used only occasionally for subtle corrections and very light construction lines.

The charcoal powder created the darker background values and stronger contrast, while soft makeup brushes helped blend the graphite smoothly without damaging the paper.

The background isn't perfectly even, but I actually like the natural texture it created. More importantly, it gave the portrait stronger contrast and helped Anne's face stand out from the paper.

The Finished Portrait#

One of my favourite parts of this drawing is Anne's smile.

For me, capturing a genuine expression is more important than simply copying a photograph. I always try to preserve both the likeness and the feeling behind the moment.

I hope this article gave you a small look behind the scenes of how I created this portrait.

Commission a Portrait

If you'd like me to create a graphite portrait from your own photograph, I'd be happy to draw one for you.

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