Breaking the Ice

Well I finally broke the ice and got started on the portraits! I find this process very similar to painting. I started with graphite powder filling in the biggest and darkest areas with a (cheap) soft brush (this will save me lots of time vs filling in the area with pencil strokes).

Using tracing paper I cut out the dark area and left everything else covered to protect from loose graphite. 

Like in painting, I used the brush and left over graphite (in small amounts) to block in the rest of the drawing.

And now on to the more enjoyable parts of the drawing sages - the details! I know this method seams like a lot of planning and extra work, but the results are worth it! These are the same techniques I've used in the past for photorealistic drawings, I also like it because it helps fill in a lot of the "unimportant areas" which are areas I don't care to spend too much time on and lets me focus on the juicy parts of the drawing.