Britney: Scaled Drawing, Another Approach

Yesterday's charcoal of Brit was done free hand.I looked at the reference photo and just sketched it as I saw it, noting strategic points as I went. Today, I got more serious.

For an accurate likeness, I used the scaled grid system,the same system I'm using for Mother and Daughter. I put the photo in a acetate sleeve and divided it into measured units. Then I divided the paper into the same size units.I could have enlarged the units or made them smaller if I wanted to blow up the drawing or scale it down. It's a very old method. I stuck with reproducing the actual size of the reference photo. The top drawing is a close up of the lower drawing. I wanted you to see the units and how I subdivided some of them to get the precise location of the eyes,nose and mouth. If I needed more precision, I would have divided the smaller units the way I did the larger ones.

Of the two diagrams, I think I'm liking the top one best. It focuses on her best feature,her eyes, and is the same horizontal format that I used for the portraits of Erin and JD, her half brother and sister. I'm thinking of expounding on the area around her--adding the back cushions of the couch (with piping detail) with a dark monochromatic wallpaper pattern on the wall. These measures will explain her hunched shoulders by giving the impression that she's slouched on the couch, which she was.
All of this means, I'm going to have to blow her up again.