Pencil drawing tutorial - shattered identity

Greetings to everyone, and I welcome you all to my blog today. Art, to me, is a way of revealing the emotions that words cannot carry. Every time I hold my pencil, I feel a deep connection to my emotions, joy, pain, curiosity, and imagination all flow through its tip. My love for drawing began as a simple hobby, but over time, it grew into a powerful passion that helps me express what words cannot describe, and below I share with you all one of my recent pencil drawings.

THE IDEA BEHIND THE DRAWING

The idea behind this drawing was to portray the human face as something both fragile and strong, like glass that has been cracked but still holds its shape. It represents how people carry their scars yet remain whole, beautiful, and full of meaning. I wanted to capture this emotional duality through the contrast of dark and light tones, using only a pencil to bring the vision to life. Without wasting much time, here's how I created this drawing.

Drawing materials

• A4 paper

• mechanical pencil

• HB pencil

• 8B pencil

• graphite pencil

• eraser

• sharpener

• black pen

Step 1

Using a 2H pencil, I made a light outline of the head, focusing on proportions and symmetry. I kept my strokes soft and minimal so I could easily adjust the shape. The goal at this stage was to map out the basic structure before diving into the complex details.

Step 2

Once I completed the outline, I started drawing random fracture lines across the left side of the face, allowing them to flow naturally, like veins spreading from a point of impact. To achieve the “shattered explosion” around the left eye, I used short, sharp strokes radiating outward, giving the illusion of broken glass bursting from that point.

Step 3

Once the cracks were complete, I began shading the portrait to add depth. I used 2B and 4B pencils for darker regions, especially around the eyes, neck, and jawline, and I also added the ears. The shading gave the broken fragments a sense of depth, as if they were floating pieces of glass on a reflective surface.

Step 4

Next, I then drew the shoulder. At this stage, I intensified the darker areas with a 6B pencil to create a bold visual balance.

Step 5

After completing the shading and contrast, I gently cleaned off any smudges using a soft eraser.

Step 6

Finally, I intensified the darker areas with a 6B pencil to create a bold visual balance. The contrast between the dark and light areas brought the portrait to life, giving it emotion and realism. Finally, I outlined the most important fractures once more with a fine mechanical pencil to give them sharpness and precision, and then my drawing was complete.

Here's a selfie of me and my drawing.