orange girl

I'm back!
Sorry to all my watchers for the lack of traditional updates recently. I had no motivation to draw whatsover, so... I didn't. But, one of my new year resolutions is to draw more, so here goes

I wanted to draw this image ever since I first saw it. The expression is just so priceless! The original is by *Basistka who kindly allowed me to use it and can be found here: [link]
Thanks for being such an awesome reference

It was a lot of fun drawing this, I kinda missed it But what I'm most proud of is that I did not use a grid this time. All free-hand!!!
Therefor, there are a few proportional issues The head is a bit too wide, the chin too long and the nose too narrow. Also, I did not do her hair justice. It's so soft and feathery in the reference and I just couldn't get it right. But I'm happy with it, anyways

If you can spot any other mistakes, please let me know. I'm trying to figure out what to take special care of when drawing without a grid
I'd especially like to know whether the expression looks natural and whether you like the way her clothes "fade out". Thanks!

Technical Information
A4 strathmore Sketch paper (89 g/m²; 60 lbs)
B-8B regular pencils, 2B mechanical pencil
kneaded eraser, eraser at the back of the mechanical pencils for details in hair
tortillion for blending
3 hours and 45 minutes (I checked this time )
Levels adjusted in Photoshop to make the scan look like the original image

Happy New Year everyone! May this year bring more drawings than the last

Oh, and I'm planning to colour this one with photoshop because orange is awesome