Art by Ben Hartnett

This portrait was drawn from photographic references on very smooth, white paper. Not the best choice of paper when it comes to pencil stuff but it worked out okay!

I did this portrait at the end of 2002. I forgot to add it earlier in the site, but adding the “Step by Step Art” section in the pages menu reminded me! You can see the drawing progressing from the photo references through to the final coloured pencil picture by following the menu or clicking here.

The photo I referred to was old and nearly black and white, so I beefed up the colour a bit and hoped for the best! I’m happy with the results. I did this one on A3 paper.

This pencil portrait was a new style for me and I’m happy with how it turned out. I kept the proportions roughly realistic, only getting cartoony with the rendering.

This acrylic portrait of a friend was actually painted without photo reference, something I’d never really done before. It’s now in the possession of he and his wife, as are the sketches (a couple of which are truly terrible).

This drawing is coloured pencil on blue paper. I used photo reference (I should track down the photo and post it), although the photo had that green grass which is so popular. What’s wrong with blue? Check the comments for more details.

An old portrait of a friend’s dog. The drawing is coloured pencil on white A4 paper.  Dogs don’t sit very still. One way of getting a good pose is to remove the dog’s head (with its permission, of course), do the portrait, then reattach the head with a home microsurgery kit. There’s info on what I actually did in the comments.

Coloured pencil on black paper, from 2002.