When I cut a silhouette from a live model, or when somebody commissions a silhouette and sends me a profile photo, I cut the silhouette based on what I see in front of me, whether it’s a photograph or a live subject. Often, though, I cut silhouettes of people or characters or creatures of whom I don’t have a perfect profile picture to work from, and in those cases I need to create my own picture to reference when I cut.
Cutting a silhouette of Jane Austen is a bit difficult for a couple of reasons: for one thing, there is already a very famous silhouette which is generally believed to be of Austen - but to my eye, it appears to be either a caricatured likeness, or else done by an amateur silhouettist, since it doesn’t represent accurate proportions. I don’t want to just copy the existing silhouette, but I do want to reference it. Also, there is only one portrait of Jane which we know without doubt to be of her and which was done during her lifetime, and that is a small, unfinished watercolor by her sister Cassandra. It’s nicely done and the features are detailed, but as it isn’t a profile picture, I can’t use it as a direct reference while cutting.
To design a silhouette that would both be a good likeness and differentiate itself from the famous existing one, I first found and printed out reference photos, and then I used them to try to figure out the ratio and placement of her features. I used the portrait by Cassandra as my main reference, since it seems likely to be the most accurate. This portrait has her facing forward with her head turned just slightly, so I did a small sketch right next to it to try to place her features accurately in profile, checking it along the way with the silhouette. Jane appears to me to have a gently curved brow-bone and a long, straight nose with a short philtrum (the space between your nose and lips). She has small, thin lips and a weak jawline. Working from that study, I started sketching my design. While I tried to get as accurate a likeness as possible in her features, I was more liberal with her hair, keeping her curled bangs, but getting rid of the spinster’s cap she wears in many portraits in favor of a regency-style curly bun, placed higher on her head than in the existing silhouette. I kept the sheer chemisette that she is wearing under her frock in all of the portraits I found, because the high, ruffled neckline felt like it would help place the silhouette in the regency period. The finished sketch will act as my pattern, so I will pin up at my desk and reference it while I cut the silhouette from black paper, just as if I had a profile photo to work from. Hopefully this is useful to those of you who have asked about what my process is when I’m designing a silhouette!