Dear Artist,

My name is Christopher Sia and for the past 4 years, I’ve been drawing pencil portraits and teaching hundreds of my students to draw as well.

I was a struggling so-called artist trying to learn how to draw realistic pencil portraits.

Obviously, I failed many times.

I couldn’t even draw a decent pencil portrait because I wasn’t gifted in drawing.

I spent my hard-earned money from my part time job to attend drawing courses, but didn’t learn what I needed to achieve the realism of a masterful human pencil portrait.

I can still remember the first pencil portrait that I drew back in 2006, when I didn’t really understand how to attain my potential.

I thought it was nice so I shared it with all of my friends—but they laughed at my portrait drawing.

Looking at their drawings, I felt that I was not as skillful, couldn't draw as well as they could.

Until today, I still keep my first pencil portrait drawing on my drawing table…

 

 

 

 

After years of trials and errors, I’m now able to draw a pencil portrait like this...

 

 

 

This is not from overnight success. I’ve been practicing and learning for almost every single day to attain a higher level of pencil portrait drawing.

The truth is... there was this one year period that I did not improve my pencil drawing techniques at all.

After achieving the results that I wanted, I concentrated on teaching others, at the expense of myself.

Because of teaching others, I lack of practice time and stopped learning in drawing for almost a year! My pencil drawing techniques became stuck at the same level without improvement.

 

Deep down in my heart, I know that I’ve been satisfied for where I am in my pencil portrait drawing techniques and skills. I’ve been satisfied that I stopped improving my pencil portrait drawing skill.


Then, one day, everything changed...

I was invited to join an event that is organized for every pencil portrait artist to share their art with everyone.


I suddenly did not feel so satisfied anymore. I had thought I was good enough to master the art of pencil portrait drawing... until I met many masters of pencil artists who were far better than me.

Suddenly, I felt like a small fry on the floor compared to them.

And while I was inspired by them, being with these masters made me totally dissatisfied.

It was time to do some soul searching...

I sat at my drawing table looking at all of my previous pencil portrait drawings… and eventually thought of a different way to draw, to conceive. A different way to make portraits more realistic and lifelike.

I begin practicing and drawing every day again to crack the code of going to the next level of pencil portrait drawing…

The word "practice makes perfect" is so true!

After months of practicing...

 

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