Once you have mastered the tracing techniques and feel that you are ready to try creating a portrait without tracing, there is another technique that many artists used called matrixing. For this project you will need paper, drawing board (any flat surface will work if a board is not available), poster board, masking tape, ruler, T-square, yardstick, erasers, pencils, pencil sharpener, and a photocopy of a photograph.
Your first step is to find a photograph of your subject and make a photocopy of this image. You need to make a photocopy of the image because you will be marking on it. Once you have your print copy you will need to secure it to a larger piece of paper with an adhesive that does not cover the printed portion of the copy. Double-sided tape, spray adhesive, glue stick, or rubber cement will all work. Once secured to the larger piece of paper you will need to layout a grid on top of the photo print using your ruler. The smaller the grid the easier it will be to reproduce on a larger scale. If you are new to drawing select a smaller grid size such as .25"X.25" squares, or even .5"X.5" squares. However, if you have a good eye and hand for drawing, than a 1 inch square scale should be fine.
After drawing your grid on your print you will need to number each row and column that has been created in the margins. You can use letters or numbers, or even a combination of these two things. Just make sure that they are easy to read. After numbering and lettering your print grid your next step is to set up your poster board for the enlargement of the print.
First you will need to cut your poster board to the size that is appropriate for your enlargement. When you are determining how big your poster board should be you will need to measure your original print and multiply its dimensions by how much you want to enlarge it by. For example, if your original print is 8X10 and you want to make it 3 times as big your poster board dimensions would be 8" multiplied by 3 = 24"+2" for margin (1" on each side). For the height dimension of 10" multiply it by 3 to get 30"+2" for the margin (again 1" on both sides). By leaving a 1" boarder you will be able to tape down the poster board without damaging the drawing surface of your artwork. After figuring out your dimensions, in this example 26"X32", measure and cut your poster board to this size.