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Uploaded:December 4, 2011
Artist:Finalprodigy
Difficulty:Advanced  Advanced Skill Level
Steps:16
Updated:December 5, 2011
P.O.V:Front
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Hey everyone, here's a tutorial in the spirit of the jolly holiday season. I'll be showing you how to draw a portrait of good ol' Saint Nick. Get your pencils and paper ready!

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How to Draw Santa, Realistic Santa

how to draw santa, realistic santa
how to draw santa, realistic santa step 1

STEP 1.

Start out by picking your pencils. I used a 4H pencil for the lightest shading, an HB pencil for sketching/lines/shading, and a 3B pencil for dark shading. You could probably complete this drawing using only an HB pencil but I found using multiple pencils more convenient. Everyone keeps asking me where I get my pencils. If you go to finalprodigy.com and click on "art supplies" in the menu you can find all of the supplies that I use.
 
how to draw santa, realistic santa step 2

STEP 2.

Start out with a basic sketch. Use the guidelines if you need them. Make sure to sketch as lightly as possible and erase any lines that you won't need.
 
how to draw santa, realistic santa step 3

STEP 3.

Your finished sketch should end up looking something like this.
 
how to draw santa, realistic santa step 4

STEP 4.

Start refining your light lines and adding a bit of detail starting with the face and glasses. I used a 4H pencil since it produces lighter and finer lines than the HB.
 
how to draw santa, realistic santa step 5

STEP 5.

Define Santa's hat a bit more.
 
how to draw santa, realistic santa step 6

STEP 6.

Now refine the beard and shoulders.
 
how to draw santa, realistic santa step 7

STEP 7.

Now roughly shade in the background. Cross-hatch on a layer with an HB pencil then shade with a 3B pencil for the darker areas of the background.
 
how to draw santa, realistic santa step 8

STEP 8.

Now blend in your background shading using a blending stump.
 
how to draw santa, realistic santa step 9

STEP 9.

Now use an HB pencil to roughly shade in the face. Shade very lightly.
 
how to draw santa, realistic santa step 10

STEP 10.

Now start defining your shading and adding details to the face starting at the eyes and forehead. I used an HB pencil for the darker shading (in the eyes for instance) and 4H for the lighter shading on the whites of the eyes and the skin. Use a blending stump sparingly to smooth out your shading. Try not to loose the texture of the skin if you find yourself blending.
 
how to draw santa, realistic santa step 11

STEP 11.

Now start shading cheeks and glasses using the same pencils for the same tasks. I decided to work from left to right.
 
how to draw santa, realistic santa step 12

STEP 12.

Now shade in the other cheek as well as the mustache and lower lip. Use a 4H pencil to sketch in the lighter hairs of the 'stache and an HB for the darker ones.
 
how to draw santa, realistic santa step 13

STEP 13.

Now move up to Santa's hat. Use an HB pencil and a blending stump to roughly plan out the shading. Use 4H and HB pencils to define the hat's outline.
 
how to draw santa, realistic santa step 14

STEP 14.

Use a 4H pencil for the lighter shading. Use a combination of HB and 3B pencils to shade in the darker materials.
 
how to draw santa, realistic santa step 15

STEP 15.

Now work on your background a bit by smoothing out and darkening the shading a bit. After that use an HB pencil to add the first layer of shading to the rest of the drawing.
 
how to draw santa, realistic santa step 16

STEP 16.

Now finish up your drawing by defining the beard and jacket. Use a 4H or HB pencil on the beard. Don't let it intimidate you. It is basically just a bunch of downward flowing squiggly lines. Use a blending stump to blend your beard hairs in if the seem too rough. After that use HB and 3B pencils to shade in the darker parts of the jacket. Call your drawing done after you've gone over over your shading and details and are satisfied. I hope you all enjoy tutorial! Happy Holidays!
 
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uzzi786's comment

 

uzzi786 ~ Dec 26, 2011, 11:28:00 AM
sorry. but he is FAKE! yay plotting ;p ;p tomatoe rock ^^; singing shrug I USED RANDOM EMOTICONS
 
HopeRider's comment

 

HopeRider ~ Dec 24, 2011, 6:05:53 PM
how do u put an image
 
kk_luvs_u_'s comment

 

kk_luvs_u_ ~ Dec 22, 2011, 3:48:36 PM
kl drawin inlove love u santa =$
 
ZOHIP4U's comment

 

ZOHIP4U ~ Dec 14, 2011, 5:06:28 PM
omgomg omgomg omgomg omgomg omgomg omgomg omgomg omgomg omgomg omgomg omgomg omgomg omgomg omgomg that is so nuts!!! I BELIEVE IN U SANTA !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! boogie boogie boogie boogie boogie boogie boogie boogie boogie boogie boogie speechless
 
pikakitty's comment

 

pikakitty ~ Dec 14, 2011, 2:32:03 PM
me too!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
@daisydog
i beleve in santa
 
SageLovesArt's comment

 

SageLovesArt ~ Dec 12, 2011, 3:42:21 PM
I love it!!! I love you Santa!! yay yay
 
king566's comment

 

king566 ~ Dec 11, 2011, 11:33:01 AM
santa is a fliping fake he kissis his on speechless he is gay if you see him tell him to speechless me
 
pikakitty's comment

 

pikakitty ~ Dec 10, 2011, 7:11:04 AM
mine turned out AWESOME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! i just used a regular pencil!!!!!! lol lol lol lol lol lol X3 X3 i <3 santa claus!!! X3 X3 omgomg omgomg omgomg omgomg meowla meowla meowla meowla meowla X3 X3 lol lol hai hai hai hai hai drool drool drool drool yay yay yay yay jawdrop jawdrop jawdrop jawdrop rock salute hai hai hai hai hai hai
 
ghost_tk_141's comment

 

ghost_tk_141 ~ Dec 9, 2011, 6:45:13 PM
omg that is really cool rock
 
jabrielhawk's comment

 

jabrielhawk ~ Dec 9, 2011, 6:05:49 PM
uhh (loss for word) wow wow wow wow wow wow wow wow
 
:lol: confused :fear: X3 :x_x: :shakefist: :zzz: :shrug: :inlove: =D =( :bow: :boogie: :innocent: :omgomg: O_o :3
:rolling: :plotting: :ill: =$ :fart: :hai: :mature: ;p ^^; :drool: :stupid: :poke: :tomatoe: :threaten: T_T :snooty: :singing:
B) :yay: :yawn: :watermelon: :wtf: :wow: :jawdrop: :paranoid: :dumb: :evil: :angry: :speechless: :blank: :rock: :salute: =B ;)
Displaying 1 to 10 (of 18 Comments)