Best Portrait Drawing Books of 2026

Last updated on 05/01/2026

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Drawing Techniques From A to Z: Pencil Portraits - Anatomy, Hatching, Light and Shadow Basics, Drapery, Sketching and Composition

Drawing Techniques From A to Z: Pencil Portraits - Anatomy, Hatching, Light and Shadow Basics, Drapery, Sketching and Composition

9.7

Exceptional

ZenART Publishing

Drawing Techniques From A to Z: Pencil Portraits - Anatomy, Hatching, Light and Shadow Basics, Drapery, Sketching and Composition

30% Off

Value for Money

How to Draw Portraits in Charcoal

Design Studio Press

29% Off

Main Highlights

New Store Stock

How to Draw Portraits in Charcoal

29% Off

Main Highlights

New Store Stock

The Art of Portraiture: A practical guide to better drawing with Stephen Bauman

3DTotal Publishing

15% Off

Main Highlights

New Store Stock

The Art of Portraiture: A practical guide to better drawing with Stephen Bauman

15% Off

Main Highlights

New Store Stock

Drawing the Head and Hands

Titan Books

38% Off

Why we love it

Highly detailed and informative. Covers important artistic skills. Perfect for budding artists.

Main Highlights

New Store Stock

Drawing the Head and Hands

38% Off

Why we love it

Highly detailed and informative. Covers important artistic skills. Perfect for budding artists.

Main Highlights

New Store Stock

You Will be Able to Draw Faces by the End of This Book

Ilex Press

43% Off

Main Highlights

New Store Stock

You Will be Able to Draw Faces by the End of This Book

43% Off

Main Highlights

New Store Stock

Step-by-Step Portraits from Simple Shapes: A beginner’s guide to drawing faces in proportion

Step-by-Step Portraits from Simple Shapes: A beginner’s guide to drawing faces in proportion

David & Charles

23% Off

Main Highlights

New Store Stock

Step-by-Step Portraits from Simple Shapes: A beginner’s guide to drawing faces in proportion

23% Off

Main Highlights

New Store Stock

How to Draw Faces and Portraits for Beginners: Learn to Draw Amazing and Realistic Faces One Step At A Time - Shading, Proportions, Eyes, Hair, Different Angles and Much More!

How to Draw Faces and Portraits for Beginners: Learn to Draw Amazing and Realistic Faces One Step At A Time - Shading, Proportions, Eyes, Hair, Different Angles and Much More!

How to Draw Faces and Portraits for Beginners: Learn to Draw Amazing and Realistic Faces One Step At A Time - Shading, Proportions, Eyes, Hair, Different Angles and Much More!

Lessons in Masterful Portrait Drawing: A Classical Approach to Drawing the Head

North Light Books

25% Off

Main Highlights

New Store Stock

Lessons in Masterful Portrait Drawing: A Classical Approach to Drawing the Head

25% Off

Main Highlights

New Store Stock

Painting Luminous Portraits for Artists: An Essential Guide to Painting Facial Features, Fleshtones, Light, and Form (11)

Painting Luminous Portraits for Artists: An Essential Guide to Painting Facial Features, Fleshtones, Light, and Form (11)

Rockport Publishers

30% Off

Main Highlights

New Store Stock

Painting Luminous Portraits for Artists: An Essential Guide to Painting Facial Features, Fleshtones, Light, and Form (11)

30% Off

Main Highlights

New Store Stock

The Beginner’s Guide to Drawing Portraits

Search Press

17% Off

Why we love it

Covers comprehensive drawing techniques.
Includes drawing from life.
Ideal book dimensions.

Main Highlights

Composition, clothing, props and more personal characteristics like age and hairstyles are all covered
The book also includes information on drawing from life
280mm Length
216mm Width

The Beginner’s Guide to Drawing Portraits

17% Off

Why we love it

Covers comprehensive drawing techniques.
Includes drawing from life.
Ideal book dimensions.

Main Highlights

Composition, clothing, props and more personal characteristics like age and hairstyles are all covered
The book also includes information on drawing from life
280mm Length
216mm Width

We scanned 1996 products

We reviewed these offers relevant to the Portrait Drawing Books within online retailers such as Amazon, eBay and other local retailers, ensuring we covered all major brands and models. The products we selected come from trusted brands like ZenART Publishing, Design Studio Press, 3DTotal Publishing, Titan Books, Ilex Press, David & Charles, Let's Draw Press, North Light Books, Rockport Publishers, Search Press, all of which have a reputation for consistently delivering high-quality products that users love and innovative approaches for function & design.

For the best Portrait Drawing Books in the market, we considered we took a deep dive into 9981 online reviews , focusing on elements like user satisfaction, performance in real-world conditions, and long-term reliability. Our ranking also evaluates each review’s relevancy, authenticity, up-to-dateness and depth so that the comparison is more sound.

We concluded that:

The clear winner of our analysis is Drawing Techniques From A to Z: Pencil Portraits - Anatomy, Hatching, Light and Shadow Basics, Drapery, Sketching and Composition. We love many things about this product by ZenART Publishing.
The best value product for most shoppers and where user satisfaction is continuously the highest is How to Draw Portraits in Charcoal by Design Studio Press based on online reviews by bloggers, experts and online shoppers.
The biggest bargain at the moment for Portrait Drawing Books and the best cost-to-value ratio is You Will be Able to Draw Faces by the End of This Bookat Ilex Press with a 43% discount.
Our list of the best Portrait Drawing Books is updated regularly to reflect new releases and changes in product availability, so be sure to check back often for the latest rankings and discounts.