In this exclusive real-time tutorial, we take on a grand elephant portrait, carefully built through a precise 1×1 inch grid that keeps proportions accurate and stress-free. You’ll see how to establish a deep pitch-black background using pastel chalk, reuse leftover powder for efficient shading, and blend seamlessly with brushes and fingers to achieve a smooth, even base. From there, we focus on creating lifelike textures in the ears, trunk, tusks, and folds by layering charcoal and white pastel with variable pressure, mastering both sharp strokes and soft gradients. The tutorial highlights essential tricks like using a chisel tip for thin details, alternating black and white strokes for realistic contrast, and flicking techniques for fine hair and wrinkles. By the end, you’ll gain confidence in handling large-scale drawings, balancing depth with highlights, and making textures appear three-dimensional and natural. And as usual, the references of this tutorial are included in the Materials section.