You can create a photorealistic drawing from scratch, but it is far easier, especially for the novice xartist, to use a scanned image or photograph as the basis for your work of art (please be aware, however, that you should use a royalty-free stock photograph or, to really be on the safe side, your own images, as you can still be infringing a photographer's copyright even though the final image you create is all you own work. See here for more information on the subject of art and copyright). Place you image on the lowest layer or the background layer (note: background layers do not print). The higher the resolution of your original image the better your final drawing will be - as a vector drawing your final image will look as good as, sometimes better than, the original work you based it on, but will be a fraction of the size in kilobytes.

As with all great works of art, start with the background and complete those parts of the drawing closest to the camera last. However, your drawing will start to take shape very soon after you start and this is what will inspire you to persevere. A complex illustration such as this is not a 10-minute job (it took me about 20 hours) and you may need this encouragement to continue well after the initial enthusiasm begins to fade. Persevere - the end result is well worth it!