How to Draw a Realistic Neck and Shoulder

🧍‍♀️ Post 10: How to Draw a Realistic Neck and Shoulder (Step by Step for Beginners)

Learn how to draw a realistic neck and shoulders in pencil. This tutorial helps beginners understand proportions, light, and muscle shading for lifelike portrait drawings.

🌅 Introduction:

When drawing a portrait, the neck and shoulders give balance and realism to the face.

Without them, the head can look like it’s “floating.”

In this lesson, we’ll explore how to draw the neck and shoulders step by step — creating smooth transitions, natural posture, and realistic shading.

✏️ Step 1: Draw the Head and Neck Guideline

Start with a simple oval for the head.

From the bottom of the chin, draw two curved lines downward — these are your neck outlines.

💡 Tip: The neck should be about half the width of the head. Too thin looks unnatural.

✏️ Step 2: Sketch the Shoulder Line

Draw a wide, soft curve beneath the neck for the shoulders.

This line should extend slightly beyond the head on both sides.

For females, keep it smooth and rounded; for males, make it broader with sharper angles.

✏️ Step 3: Add the Collarbone (Clavicle)

Lightly draw two small diagonal lines from the center of the neck outward — this represents the collarbone.

This subtle feature adds a lot of realism to portraits.

✏️ Step 4: Define the Neck Muscles

Add two gentle lines from below the ears toward the collarbone — these show the sternocleidomastoid muscles.

They form the shadows and structure of the neck.

 🎨 Artist’s Idea: Try exaggerating these muscles slightly in shaded drawings for more dramatic lighting effects.

✏️ Step 5: Shade the Neck and Shoulder

Use a 2B pencil for base tone and 4B for darker shadows under the chin and along the neck sides.

Leave a lighter area in the center for natural light reflection.

✏️ Step 6: Blend for Smooth Skin

Blend softly using tissue or blending stump.

Use your eraser to lift out small highlights where light hits the skin — such as the collarbone or shoulder top.

🎨 Materials Used:

HB pencil (outline)

2B–6B pencils (shading)

Blending stump / tissue

Eraser

🚫 Common Mistakes to Avoid:

Making the neck too thin — it looks fragile or “disconnected.”

Forgetting to show light difference between face and neck.

Over-darkening both sides equally — real necks have uneven light.

🗣️comment

Which part do you find hardest — the neck muscles or the shoulder curves?

💬 Tell me below! Your answer helps shape the next tutorial.