Romance Inspired Project

Inspired by Valentine's Day, I decided to do a "quick" drawing of one of the most famous couples of all, Scarlett O'Hara and Rhett Butler.  I'm posting three work in progress photos of what I have so far.  I'm thinking it will take about one to two more hours to complete.  Really, that is "quick" for me.  I'm just doing this one in one of my sketchbooks.

• The sketchbook is a "Cachet" by Daler Rowney.  It's a decent quality, 10" x 7", spiral bound sketchbook with a sturdy black cover.   The paper is a soft white color and provides a decent black/white contrast. The texture of the paper doesn't have a lot of tooth but it has plenty enough for basic sketches and simple drawings.
• The drawing is about 6.5" x 8.5" in size.  I've used an HB and 4B mechanical and a Kimberly 9xxb graphite pencil so far.  I like the 9xxb for the dark value it provides without the graphite shine but it is a little grainy (not as smooth as a conte).  I applied a light layer of HB on their faces and used tissue to smooth the skin tones. I lightly layered 4B on the background and used a combination of tissue and blending stump (for the tight areas) to blend the background.  For the darkest areas (stripes on the dress, suit, hair) I've used the 9xxb.  I'm still experimenting on blending techniques with this pencil as it is rather new to me.

Here is the first work in progress (WIP).  It shows the general layout and the blended background:

The second WIP using the Kimberly 9xxb for the darkest areas.  This is about an hour into it:

The third WIP, about ninety minutes at this stage and almost bedtime so I decided to make this my stopping point.

I'll be posting more updates on this very soon.  I've also got three other projects in the works so I should have a lot to share in the upcoming months!  Hope everyone had a happy Valentine's Day!