A different approach

I recently drew a portrait and enjoyed every minute of it!  Seeing as it had been about a year and a half since I had done a finished drawing I was a little hesitant to get started but so happy with the result.  For this piece I used graphite pencils and toned paper.  Below I have posted some images of the various stages I went through to show the mistakes I made early on and the tweaks I made to remedy them.  I also experimented a bit with the way I drew it which felt both freeing and scary.  At the beginning I had planned on drawing a straight forward portrait but as I got further along with it I decided to emphasize the different stages and leave some areas as a block-in.  While it could have been done differently I am rather proud of this experimentation and want to explore it further in the future.  Thanks for stopping by...

Simple block-in drawn in graphite.
Photo reference used throughout.  A
good amount of time was spent to
ensure the proportions were accurate.

Starting the initial shading.  This is
where it starts to get fun.  I always work
very light and build up the values in
layers just like when I paint.

Continued the shading process.  I make
it a habit to constantly compare one area
to another to help ensure I don't get too
off course.  Even when using pencil
mistakes can leave a lasting impression.  I'm
 still making small tweaks here and there
 such as the contour of her left cheek bone.

At this point I was really pleased with
how it was coming out.  I had realized
from the above step that her right eye
was too far down so I moved her eyebrow
a bit higher to give it more of an arch and
pulled her eyelashes down in line with
those of her left eye.

Some areas were getting very dark so I
had to pull them back.  I used a chamois
to lighten the hair on the right side of her
face.  This is also where I started to play
 with the idea of stylizing her hair.

The final result!
I emphasized more hair on her left side
to help her face come forward more.  I also
softened her jaw line to diminish the focus
and bring it back to her eyes.