The '4 Pillars' of Realism

​"Well, it's almost there. I can tell what it is and it is an amazing drawing. But somehow it looks flat."

Ever heard someone say that about your drawing or painting? I have. For those of us practicing the art of realism (or surrealism), our goal is to make the artwork as life-like as possible. Over the years I have come to realize that this goal essentially depends on four attributes, let's call them the '4 Pillars'  of Realism. If your skills are strong in 3 of them, but you struggle with the 4th, your work will simply - well - miss something. And if you need to improve your realism skills, chances are you need to work on one or several of these! It is so simple, but it works. And - obviously - I still have lots to learn as well!

1. Shape
A No-brainer. You start with a sketch of your motive. The outlines need to be in the right place and have the right shape. When working with some media, like Colored Pencil or Ink, it is very difficult to fix mistakes in shapes later on. But also for 'erasable'  media - spending enough time on your sketch will pay off!

​2. Color
Everything we see has a color. Even seemingly black or white surfaces do. For that reason many artists will tell you to never use pure black or white. After getting the shape of your object(s) right, giving them the correct shade of color is important. This is closely related to the next point. The colors in reality may not always be what you expect them to be. Lighting can cause white to look blue, and colour can reflect of neighboring surfaces.
​In the drawing below I have filled each petal with a colour, using at least 3 pencils each, e.g. light blue, medium blue and dark purple.

​3. Lighting and Contrast
When you are able to see something, it is illuminated. When it is illuminated, it will have lighter and darker areas, however faint. It will also cast shadows onto its surroundings. Going over your drawing and adjusting the contrast - brightening up highlights and darkening shadows - adds depth!

​4. Texture
Lastly every object has a texture, be it perfectly smooth or very furry. This is the point I need to work on the most. For some objects, like animals, texture is already part of getting the shape right. For other objects texture is sometimes added at the end.
​Below I have added some more veins and ripples in the petals!

​A word to those of us using reference pictures.
Have you ever heard, that using a photograph as only reference will make your artwork look flat, like a photograph? There is some truth in that. The reference picture will only show you what the camera was able to capture that moment. But in reality the object will have had many more details. After getting an idea of your object(s), put your reference aside and see what your drawing needs! A little tweaking here, some tweaking there - your eyes will tell you where.