i really like to be able to say i didnt trace anything when i do pieces like this. i can nail the likeness of someone everytime but i dont do it without assistance, although i dont trace either. what i do is i blow the image up on my computer screen the size i want to draw it at. then i bust out my ruler. place your center line on the face on the pc, imaginery or u can use a program, and then put the same line on your paper. i then measure from that line the important shit. like face length and width, eyes, nose tip and width, eyebrows , mouth height and width etc, and transfer those measurements onto my paper as little tiny dots or marks. i then freehand draw all the shapes from there and make a very light line drawing from these measurements . if something looks off you just have to figure out what shape is off. then shading then the removal of highlights etc.

if im using a face just as reference and i dont need the likeness i will just freehand without the measurement marks , but it really helps if ur trying to nail the likeness of someone.

this is the first drawing ever i used this method with and was really happy with the results. angelina jolie 18x24". couldnt fit the whole paper on the scanner so some is cropped off.
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