In my first article 'Realistic people' I shallowly wrote about the several techniques you can use in producing an image of realistic looking people.
I also only shallowly mentioned the consept 'Realism' at all.
Now it's time to delve slightly deeper into those issues.


Realism

I wrote that Realism is a visual art style that depicts the actuality of what the eyes can see.
The style realism appears in art as early as 2400 BC. So there has been time for it to divide into different genres such as:
Classical realism which refers to an artistic movement in late 20th century painting that places a high value upon skill and beauty, combining elements of 19th century neoclassicism and realism,
Fantastic realism, a 20th century group of artists in Vienna combining techniques of the Old Masters with religious and esoteric symbolism,
Heroic realism which is a term which has sometimes been used to describe art used as propaganda,
Magic realism, or magical realism, that is an artistic genre in which magical elements or illogical scenarios appear in an otherwise realistic or even "normal" setting,
Nouveau Réalisme (New Realism) that refers to an artistic movement founded in 1960 and is about new ways of perceiving the real,
Photorealism is the genre of painting based on making a painting of a photograph
and several others.


Among important realist painters there have been and are for example: William Bliss Baker, Rosa Bonheur, Charles-François Daubigny, Edgar Degas (also an impressionist), Edward Hopper, Thomas Cowperthwait Eakins, William Michael Harnett, Louis Le Nain, Jean-François Millet, Ilya Yefimovich Repin, Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn, Pierre Étienne Théodore Rousseau and Nikolai Alexandrovich Yaroshenko.
Maybe some of these artists' names whose work I am about to highlight will appear in the future art history books as well .


Tools

With a mechanical pencil you can draw a fine line without the need to constantly sharpen.

I've heard that Bristol board is ideal for drawing portraits (haven't used it myself yet). Also photograph paper has been recommended.
Some artists use tortillons (they are tightly rolled sheets of paper) and Blending Stumps to blend the pencil shading.

To achieve smooth gradated skin tones I my self use a piece of soft kitchen roll or toilet tissue.
Rather than wiping away eraser debris with the back of your hand and spreading the graphite dust, you can use a large, soft brush to gently brush it away.

A rubber can be cut into pieces with a some sort of carpet-knife and with these sharper new pieces you get nice thin lines.
Other tools: Fixative, template with circles of varying sizes.

Eyes are said to be the mirror of one's soul. They are pretty unique to a person. The shape isn't always the same, there are wrinkles around them and the white of the eye isn't actually white either. There are little veins in the eye and shadows as well.



Here are some great examples of different kinds of techniques.

Pencils

Charcoal

Coloured pencils

Prismacolours

Pastels

Oilpaintings

Acrylics

Woodburning

Vectors

Mixed media

I'm adding a few examples of digital portraits as well

And I also wanted to add one doll as an example of how realistic they can look, too!.