I like your piece because it has character. And believe me, I don't over-flatter you. You have accomplished some things with it that are good. One secret that I can give you, And this is a humongous one that many find hard to believe but here it is. Present your artwork as if it is the last piece of artwork you will ever have the pleasure of creating and likewise create it in the same fashion. Cause' who knows which one will be the last?
Any who, as far as your question on faces:
It's good to draw exactly what you see but also to distinguish what can be omitted to capture something's essence without including too much information. In the case of the youthfulness of the model's face, you can leave out the dark smile lines and cheeks. It is a common problem when drawing from a photograph but in most cases in simple line-art or lightly shaded shaded drawings, leaving this line in to dark or defined can give the impression of more maturity in the face than desired. Try it and trust me. Leave out the smile lines and you, with-out fail, will have more youth in drawings a faces.
Peace
. I went very light on the shading, and I omited some detail on the face as Jaminator suggested. I'm a lot happier with this one than I was with the first one I did.
