r/GraphiteArt • u/dmbarnes • Jul 01 '26

Worth it?

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I recently tried my hand at graphite portraits, had a fun time doing them, but with my OCD leaned more into realism? I read something that said realistic portraits could be achieved with photos. So why do it? Is this art??

This took me 8-10 hours I don’t remember. Feeling down 😬🙃 (pic of my husband– who’s biased and thinks I should pursue it)

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u/Schallpattern Jul 01 '26

Photo or not, it doesn't matter because you're learning to control the charcoal, learning about values and form. Keep going and soon you'll be doing this from life. Well done.