Reddit reviews Accurasee Artist 10" Proportional Divider for Drawing Supplies & Drafting Tools - Adjustable Caliper & Subject Dividers for Art Drawing Tools - Alternative for Art Projector, Camera Lucida, Compass

So I started painting with actual paint again last month, for the first time since the '90's (yes, I know, I'm old as fuck). I'm starting with gouache and going more or less through the progression Jeff Watts uses in his gouache atelier class: grayscale for awhile first, then the Zorn palette (that's black, white, red, and yellow ochre), then finally a warm/cool palette. (I'll probably detour post-Zorn into some slightly larger limited palettes before I bust out a full warm/cool one.)

So the pictures in the link are in reverse order. The top one is a drawing I just finished this evening that I'll start painting over tomorrow. I drew it scaled up from the photo with the help of one of these.

After that are just some examples of paintings, again, from newest to oldest. They're all generally pretty small; Johnny Cash is on a 6x8 board, the others are on about 4.5 x 7 or so. The new piece, the Greek bust, is on watercolor paper, the rest are on bristol board.

The last picture is where I tack them all up when I finish them, right over where I work. The top row of the board is the Wall of Shame, where I put my fuck-ups.

Everything on the board is also in chronological order. So, the first couple of days, I was just figuring out how to mix the paint to the right consistency, getting used to the tools, that sort of thing, not really worried at all about making good paintings, just throwing it down and getting reacquainted.

After that I did a couple of studies of old illustrations (a pulp cover and a 60's magazine illustration) before moving on to photo studies. After I finish the Greek bust, I'll do a few still lifes.

Once the cork board is all filled up, I'll clear it off and start on the Zorn palette!

Some of this might just be common sense, but it might be helpful. Ask yourself quantitative questions about sizes, lengths and angles. Is x wider than y. Is the angle I drew bigger or smaller than the reference. Is this shape fatter or skinnier. The whole time you're drawing, make comparisons. Compare your drawing to the reference and compare the aspect you are drawing to other parts of the drawing.

Pick one length and treat it as your base unit. This is the one unit you will treat as a benchmark. You can compare some lengths to any other length in the drawing, but be sure to choose the me back to this basic unit to check your work.

You can use your pencil as a guide for comparing lengths. When drawing from life hold it up at arms length and perpendicular to your eye (keep the distance constant so it isn't skewed by perspective) and grip it so that the distance between the point and your fingers matches what you see. Then you can use this to compare other lengths that you are observing. You can do the same with a reference by laying it down on the photo.

A good tool for this is a proportional divider. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B005QSBA2S/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_EtZWCbWTPDG6F

You can adjust where the pivot point is to scale up or down your drawing from what you are seeing. As long as you keep the pin in the same place, you will get consistent measurements of proportions. And you can use the v shape to measure angles. You can us it for photo reference by touching the points to the page like a compass. Or you can use it for life drawing (just make sure you keep it the same distance away, using it with your arm fully stretched out

Practicing with one will help build your intuition for angle and proportions if you use it smartly. Make your best guess, and then use the proportional divider to check your work. Over time, you'll improve if you do it this way.

The charcoal contrast looks great. I found this video which is very relevant to your drawing. It's a mixed graphite/charcoal drawing of the beautiful Audrey Hepburn. She has jet black hair like Alita in the reference photo.

Yes, use graphite first and then charcoal last. You can prevent smudging by using a piece of paper to rest your drawing hand. When you're finished with your art, you can spray it with a fixative like this which has a matte finish.

Here's a secret weapon to use for values: a value chart. Our eyes deceive us. When dark values are next to semi-dark values, the semi-dark value can appear much lighter than it is. Print out the chart and place it on the reference picture and all areas where the value changes on Alita's face. You'll get a sense of how dark or light the values are in the reference. Then use that value chart on different areas of your drawing and you'll know where you need to darken or lighten.

Here's another secret weapon: the proportional divider. You don't need to use grid lines. Actually you can use none or only a few lines. Some people claim it's cheating, but that's nonsense. You still have to draw the picture and it will improve your sense of proportion. Here's the dirty secret: many portrait artists will use it to check their drawing. They will draw it freehand, but will check the proportions with the divider or compass or pencil. Here's the quick video and here's the longer video by an art teacher.

I don't see many comments on actual technique, but I believe sharing ideas is very important.