Before you begin you must first select and prepare your reference photo – that is the photo you plan to copy. It doesn’t have to be Rachel Bilson, obviously, but I recommend a dark-haired model for beginners. I also recommend a photo no smaller than A4-A5 in size as you will want to see the detail as clearly as possible.  

Once you have chosen your photo, you need to set up Photoshop and prepare your grid, as shown in the video. Using a pencil and a ruler, sketch a grid over your reference photo relative to the one on screen. In other words, if your Photoshop grid has 10 squares across and 9 squares down, then the grid on your photo must also be 10x9 squares.  

When you have your grid sketched onto your photo, go around the outline of your model and sketch little Xs or dots around the important outlines. This, you can see, is duplicated on screen like a dot-to-dot puzzle. It may be a boring process, but it is very helpful in achieving accurate proportion, and is a technique anyone can pick up, regardless of their sketching skills...and without a graphics tablet.
Stage 1: Sketching
As you will see from the video, most shading work is done with the smudge tool in fingerpaint mode and a feathered brush. This is a good tool for the job as it blends as it shades, helping to create even tones and hide any brush strokes. You may need to play with the opacity levels to suit your needs, but as you practise, you will develop a feel for what’s right.  

Shadows and highlights are achieved primarily with the burn and dodge tools. Again, this takes practice and experimentation with opacity levels.
Stage 2: Shading
Sketching
Shading
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