Progression of a Portrait

This is to show the progression of a portrait from the beginning stages. I outline the subject, placing all their features exactly where they need to be, and then fill in the details slowly. Since I'm right handed I have to work left-to-right on multiple subjects to avoid smudging work I've already done. The features and shading evolve until they look just right. I work on the final highlights and dark areas of all the subjects at the same time so that they look consistent. It is all very time-consuming, but I enjoy it. A portrait with 3 subjects can take 50 hours or more.