Self Portrait on Hahnemuhle Nostalgie

I decided to have a go at my first self-portrait. I haven't drawn anyone's portrait before and so I thought I would use the Loomis method. I even bought Andrew Loomis's book 'Drawing the Head and Hands' but even then I couldn't quite get to grasps where the circle goes for more complicated perspectives. So, determined not to be put off drawing, I took the easy route and traced a forward-looking photo of myself which I changed to black and white, and then focused on shading. This is it. Onward and upward.

The Hahnemuhle Nostalgie 90lb paper is smooth, an off-white colour described as natural white, and the pencil glided over it so smoothly. At no point did I draw with the point of the pencil but shaded with the side of the lead, only skating over the paper surface, holding the pencil almost by its end. To erase pencils marks, I used a Faber-Castell dust-free eraser and also a Tombow Mono eraser with a round tip.

I have to admit that although I was tempted to use an even softer Faber-Castell pencil, I chickened out for fear of ruining it. As I gain confidence, I will experiment more.  This is the reference photo. I'll let you be the judge as to how well I did for a first attempt. 

I will be attempting a portrait using the Loomis Method at some time. There are lots of videos on YouTube about it if you want to check it out.