Why Draw Realism?

Many people get very impressed when they see a drawing that looks almost exactly like a photo. I don’t know whether they appreciate all the time and effort that has gone in to the drawing or if they simply can’t wrap their mind around that a human hand created it and not a machine. But there are always a few people who ask; why not simply take a photograph instead?

You should always add something to your drawing as a creative process and not just copying. If you are in the process of exercising and improving your knowledge and skills as a technician, then you can study, copy shapes and shades and contrast as much as you want, learn how you create different materials with only a pencil. But if your aim is only to draw like “a photo”, I’m afraid you will get bored and find your drawings very uninteresting after a while. Imagination, originality and a deeper meaning combined with excellent technical skills in observation through a creative process, makes you able to create something that’s one of a kind. Your own idea of perfection.

The more you copy, the more exercise you get, the more able you will be to change and alter many things from the reference photos, they become a blueprint or a guide where you delete, enhance, elaborate, exaggerate and reinvent from, and you should always add a personal touch. You can develop your own unique technical and artistic language. The human eyes perceive can differ a lot from how a camera sees. And remember, quality before quantity.