Portraits worth keeping.

Hand-drawn graphite portraits of the people and pets you love — drawn from your favorite photograph, made to be framed and kept for generations.

Email your photo See recent work

Click any image to enlarge — marked pieces include the original photo

Graphite pencil portrait of a woman and her curly-haired dog, drawn together — Graphite on paper, companion portrait

Recent work

A selection of people, pets, and the two drawn together — every piece worked entirely in graphite pencil.

Graphite portrait of a smiling woman with shoulder-length hair and hoop earrings — Graphite on paper

Graphite portrait of a black dog with a graying muzzle and tongue out — Graphite on paper

Graphite portrait of a bearded man wearing glasses — Graphite on paper

Graphite portrait of a smiling woman with long hair and a headband — Graphite on paper

Graphite portrait of a smiling woman with curly hair — Graphite on paper

Graphite portrait of a German shepherd with tongue out — Graphite on paper

Graphite portrait of a man in a polo shirt — Graphite on paper

Graphite portrait of a scruffy terrier puppy — Graphite on paper

Graphite portrait of a smiling woman with sunglasses on her head — Graphite on paper

Graphite on paper

Graphite on paper (Study made from an original photo by ©Dann Aragrim from Pixabay)

How a commission works

From photo to finished piece, in four steps.

Send a photo

Email a clear, well-lit photo of the person or pet you'd like drawn — the sharper the photo, the better the likeness.

Get a quote

I'll reply with pricing, sizing options, and an estimated timeline before any work begins.

Approve the sketch

You'll see an early sketch for approval before I move into full shading and detail.

Receive your portrait

The finished graphite piece is carefully packaged and shipped, ready to frame.

My hand drawn portrait process

Click a slide to pause or resume.

Every portrait on this site is drawn entirely by hand in graphite pencil, using reference photographs provided by the client. I work on smooth, heavyweight fine art papers made by Legion (US), Daler‑Rowney (UK), or Strathmore (US), the latter of which I particularly prefer for rendering fur due to its surface quality and responsiveness to layered graphite.

Reference photo of a smiling woman beside her curly-haired dog — **1. The reference photo**
I create my portraits by working from a reference photograph, ideally one with strong lighting and a clear, expressive pose. The quality of the drawing is directly influenced by the quality of the reference, so I always encourage images that offer good contrast, detail, and character.

Light pencil sketch of the woman and dog with the eyes rendered — **3. The initial sketch**
I begin by lightly sketching the outlines of the face, hair, neck, and clothing in graphite, carefully measuring each feature to ensure accurate proportions relative to both the reference photo and one another. At this stage, the lines remain faint and easily adjustable, allowing me to refine placements until the structure is correct. Once I’m satisfied with the mapping of the face, I erase the grid from the paper and proceed to develop the drawing in full detail.

Reference photo on a laptop beside the drawing on the easel, with the eyes and hair underway — **4. Eyes first, then hair**
I begin each portrait by rendering the eyes in full detail, followed by the hair. These two elements establish the deepest values and overall tonal range for the drawing, allowing every subsequent area to be balanced against them. My primary tools are Faber‑Castell 9000 and Pitt Graphite Matt pencils, working across grades from 14B to 6H. I also incorporate Derwent Graphic, Staedtler Mars Lumograph, and select specialty pencils or charcoal when a particular texture or finish is required. Graphite powder is used to create smooth foundational layers, especially for hair and fur, before refining the finer details.

The woman's face and hair developed in graphite while the dog is still in outline — **4. Eyes first, then hair**
I begin each portrait by rendering the eyes in full detail, followed by the hair. These two elements establish the deepest values and overall tonal range for the drawing, allowing every subsequent area to be balanced against them. My primary tools are Faber‑Castell 9000 and Pitt Graphite Matt pencils, working across grades from 14B to 6H. I also incorporate Derwent Graphic, Staedtler Mars Lumograph, and select specialty pencils or charcoal when a particular texture or finish is required. Graphite powder is used to create smooth foundational layers, especially for hair and fur, before refining the finer details.

Dog's eyes and fur tones begun beside the shaded portrait of the woman — **4. Eyes first, then hair**
I begin each portrait by rendering the eyes in full detail, followed by the hair. These two elements establish the deepest values and overall tonal range for the drawing, allowing every subsequent area to be balanced against them. My primary tools are Faber‑Castell 9000 and Pitt Graphite Matt pencils, working across grades from 14B to 6H. I also incorporate Derwent Graphic, Staedtler Mars Lumograph, and select specialty pencils or charcoal when a particular texture or finish is required. Graphite powder is used to create smooth foundational layers, especially for hair and fur, before refining the finer details.

Dog's fur, nose and scarf built up in graphite, with the woman's clothing still in outline — **5. Building up the face and details**
Next, I develop the skin, accessories, and clothing using thin layers of graphite, softening transitions with blending stumps and brushes. At this stage, my Tombow Mono, kneaded, and electric erasers become just as essential as my pencils, lifting highlights, refining edges, and defining key features. For people portraits, I intentionally keep the clothing looser and more sketch‑like so the viewer’s attention remains firmly on the face.

The artist at work, drawing a graphite portrait of a dog from a reference photo on a tablet — In the studio

About the artist

Welcome to Line & Legacy Studio! I am a graphite pencil portrait artist based in Ontario, Canada, specialising in portraits of people and beloved pets. I accept commissions from across Canada and Europe, creating each portrait by hand from photographs provided by my clients.

Graphite is my preferred medium for its remarkable range of tones, allowing me to capture the subtle details, textures, light, and shadows that bring a portrait to life.

My goal with every commission is to convey more than a likeness—to reveal the essence that makes each subject unmistakably themselves. Each portrait takes approximately 30 hours to complete, depending on its size and complexity, resulting in a timeless, original work of art to be treasured for generations.

— Anthony, Line & Legacy Studio