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I Draw Portraits Of People And Movie Characters In My Sketchbook, And Here Are 32 Of My Best Works
My name is Gabriela Niko. I am a freelance illustrator and sketchbook artist, based in Poland. The main topic of my work is people - their beauty and the subtle emotions expressed in their faces. I create both traditionally and digitally, but the sketchbook is my favorite and most important tool for everyday studies, development, and experiments with art. This is where I can explore different mediums and styles in a quick, fresh, and playful way.
If you would like to see more of my work, visit my social media profiles. Also, if you are interested in tutorials on drawing portraits, I invite you to visit my Patreon page or Domestika, where I created my drawing course.
More info: Instagram | tiktok.com | doodle-traffic.com
This post may include affiliate links.
What region of heaven did she come from? I want to say Gorgeous, but it could be Stunning. Can someone help me out please?
A few years ago, I was one of those people who was always very tired at work. Even though I was doing something I enjoyed (I was a sportswear designer in a large, well-known company), I was still missing something… I wanted to find my passion, something that would be only mine. Four years ago I started my first sketchbook. I always liked to draw, but I didn’t really believe in myself and I sketched very rarely. I admired the sketchbooks of other artists, but I had a big problem with perfectionism. When I started drawing and something didn’t work out, I would tear the pages out of my sketchbook and abandon them. It changed four years ago.
Jenna Ortega as Wednesday Addams in recent Netflix series
I decided to fill out the sketchbook for fun and the activity itself. No matter how ugly the drawings I would create. I drew everything that came to my mind – animals, plants, buildings, my dreams, objects from my house, strange imaginary monster hybrids, anatomical studies, simple landscapes, etc. I consciously avoided drawing people because I knew it was very difficult and I could easily get frustrated. I finished my first sketchbook in January 2019 and immediately started the next one. To my surprise, I established the habit of drawing every day and quickly developed my skills. I didn’t like each one of my drawings, but I learned to appreciate them all. To this day, my first sketchbook is one of my favorites!
Natalie Portman as Mathilda in the 1994 movie 'Leon: The Professional'
My first tools were just a pencil and a sketchbook. I believe that these simple tools have incredibly great potential and when we learn to use them, the transition to other media is easier and more enjoyable. I was initially fascinated by crosshatching because my drawings have always been mostly linear and I naturally gravitated in that direction. Hatching and cross-hatching help to geometrize and better understand the form and planes of the portrait, which was extremely useful in my learning process. Once I felt more confident in this technique, I started experimenting with other styles and media. Now I create in gouache, watercolor, oil paints, ink, markers, and colored pencils, as well as digital art. I love how they keep me from getting bored (because I get bored easily), and that I can mix them together and explore different, playful styles. Interestingly, for most of my life, I thought that I couldn't and didn't like to draw people, and I felt very insecure when using color. Today I am recognized mainly for portraits - including those created with colored pencils.
The most difficult task during learning how to draw portraits and keeping a sketchbook was just to keep drawing, regardless of whether the drawing had asymmetrical eyes, incorrect proportions, or whether I smudged it badly with my wrist. The most important thing was the process of accepting my mistakes and moving forward. Perfectionism is a big obstacle when you want to learn something because it makes you afraid of failure. You might think you're not good enough and that it's best to drop the whole process, to protect your ego. Greater kindness and understanding towards myself allowed me to survive it and even though I still face "bad drawing days," I know that they always pass, and after them, there are much better ones, in which I am proud of my work.
Netflix 'Arcane' series main characters
Chrissy (Grace Van Dien) and Max (Sadie Sink) from the series 'Strangers Things'
Starting the second sketchbook, I also started learning how to draw portraits, and in the third one, I took up the 100 Heads Challenge. I also started sharing my work on Instagram, which quickly become popular. Two years after starting my first sketchbook and daily drawing habit, I decided to say goodbye to my nine-to-five job and start working as a freelancer. Shortly after, Domestika contacted me with the proposition of filming a course on drawing portraits.
Joel (Pedro Pascal) and Ellie (Bella Ramsey) from "The Last of Us"
I thought they were Oberyn Martel and Lyanna Mormont from Game of Thrones ;)
I was horrified. Me? Are you sure? I’m just a beginner! After much thought, I agreed – luckily, because my courses are currently bestsellers, I have a great community of people who support me on Patreon and I finally live from what I really love. I am still learning and gradually developing my skills.Now the main theme of my works is people – the emotions, sensitivity, and beauty expressed in their faces. I create in various media (also digitally) but my favorite place is still the sketchbook.
I love social media for the fact that they connect people with similar interests, even when they live in distant parts of the world. Sharing my work on social media is very uplifting and encouraging because my followers cheer me on and join me in the drawing. I rarely see negative feedback. If it appears, it's more in the form of unsolicited advice like "you should draw more men" or "you shouldn't draw fanart because it's not serious art". I used to care about it and try to live up to people's expectations. I completely ignore it now. I didn't create something of my own, which gives me pure pleasure, to let others ruin it. I believe that the most important thing in art is the pleasure of creating it, and for everyone, it is something completely different. There is no one right way. You can draw Disney characters, manga, spooky doodles, abstract art, or photorealism. You can create in many styles or work out one, or you can have no style at all. Whatever makes you happy and works for you. Just relax and do what you like!
They look like they have magical powers -- or maybe they *are* the magic.
That old guy on the bottom right looks very wise, possibly a sailor. I love that.
So amazing! You have unbelievable talent. I love your color palette choices. I’ve always admired when people can use the yellow, pink, blue color combo for skin and somehow it comes out natural yet completely unexpected and glowing. I also loved seeing you play with all the different facial expressions. Your shading is wonderful too. I really like the way you use hatching sometimes and then regular shading too. The hatching makes it feel like this quick sketch that you just whipped up while the model waited! So many different things about these are just phenomenal. I love the eyes, the lips, the hair, the hands! (Hands are a personal favorite of mine). Don’t ever stop doing your art, you are far too talented (but keep in mind you can do it solely for pleasure and it doesn’t have to be a job, but certainly could). And keep playing with different mediums. I see the one painting on canvas, gorgeous. If you haven’t, experiment with charcoals or chalk pastel (separately! Lol!) 🎨 🥰
Do you ever just get really mad at someone for being way more talented than you? Like, seriously, how are these so incredible good?!?
ikr. I'll throw my pencils down and retire. But it makes more want to get back into drawing again. Haven't really sat down and did any real sketches in years.
Load More Replies...These are so impressive, art is an amazing skill! So glad I saw all of these, you're an awesome artist & I hope you continue to strive in your drawings. :)
AUAGBAUSAGUUSU THE EYES ARE PERFECT NOT TO MENTION HANDDSSSS TEACH MEEEEEEEEE
so I'm not a portrait artist (but I really want to learn) but I did hyper focus on trying to draw hands, I modeled after my own hand and got pretty good after a few days. I'll be trying to teach myself to draw them without being my hand model soon, but that was the easiest way for me to learn to draw hands. I tried to figure out the outline first, then I eventually started adding my own hand lines. It was also a little easier for me to start off with poses rather than a flat hand. It started out really really bad, so don't give up! I tried so many different poses, but the thing I struggled most with was drawing fists. It seems really simple but apparently it was not. I also don't draw nails on my hands because I thought it looked strange when I did, but I'm sure somebody can make it look right. For some reason it was also easier for me to do it with marker than pencil. They're not any fancy markers either, just some markers I had lying around. You got this <3
Load More Replies...So amazing! You have unbelievable talent. I love your color palette choices. I’ve always admired when people can use the yellow, pink, blue color combo for skin and somehow it comes out natural yet completely unexpected and glowing. I also loved seeing you play with all the different facial expressions. Your shading is wonderful too. I really like the way you use hatching sometimes and then regular shading too. The hatching makes it feel like this quick sketch that you just whipped up while the model waited! So many different things about these are just phenomenal. I love the eyes, the lips, the hair, the hands! (Hands are a personal favorite of mine). Don’t ever stop doing your art, you are far too talented (but keep in mind you can do it solely for pleasure and it doesn’t have to be a job, but certainly could). And keep playing with different mediums. I see the one painting on canvas, gorgeous. If you haven’t, experiment with charcoals or chalk pastel (separately! Lol!) 🎨 🥰
Do you ever just get really mad at someone for being way more talented than you? Like, seriously, how are these so incredible good?!?
ikr. I'll throw my pencils down and retire. But it makes more want to get back into drawing again. Haven't really sat down and did any real sketches in years.
Load More Replies...These are so impressive, art is an amazing skill! So glad I saw all of these, you're an awesome artist & I hope you continue to strive in your drawings. :)
AUAGBAUSAGUUSU THE EYES ARE PERFECT NOT TO MENTION HANDDSSSS TEACH MEEEEEEEEE
so I'm not a portrait artist (but I really want to learn) but I did hyper focus on trying to draw hands, I modeled after my own hand and got pretty good after a few days. I'll be trying to teach myself to draw them without being my hand model soon, but that was the easiest way for me to learn to draw hands. I tried to figure out the outline first, then I eventually started adding my own hand lines. It was also a little easier for me to start off with poses rather than a flat hand. It started out really really bad, so don't give up! I tried so many different poses, but the thing I struggled most with was drawing fists. It seems really simple but apparently it was not. I also don't draw nails on my hands because I thought it looked strange when I did, but I'm sure somebody can make it look right. For some reason it was also easier for me to do it with marker than pencil. They're not any fancy markers either, just some markers I had lying around. You got this <3
Load More Replies...