Another great resource for anatomy help is Anatomy for Sculptors. they have very detailed info and drawings on facial anatomy thats very helpful. http://www.anatomy4sculptors.com/
Have you looked into getting a book on anatomy? What helped for me was 'Anatomy A Complete Guide for Artists' by Joseph Sheppard. I found this a good starting point as he clearly goes through the structure and proportions.
You'll progress faster sculpting from reference. Just try to replicate what you see and don't sweat the anatomy too much. Trying to generate a head that looks like ... well, nothing ... is a hard mark to hit. When will you know it looks "right"?
Thanks for the link, Jackablade. It's awesome. I plan to, Toffee. I have one anatomy book I used when I was in college. It wasn't much, and it focused more on the body. Though right now I feel I can't sculpt what I see yet.
Yeah, in zbrush, topology is rarely the problem, though I do prefer to sculpt my heads from a simple base in dynamesh. The main thing with faces in zbrush is that it takes a LOT of practice. Both for developing familiarity with the brushes/tools, and of course for practicing the anatomy. I've sculpted a couple hundred…
Also, a last piece of advice : since this is all about artistic development and not about pipeline or production, I would suggest that if you do start with a head basemesh, then take some time to fill up the eyelids/eyesockets, and close the mouth cavity (dynamesh is an easy way to do that.) The reason why I am saying this…
I would agree your topology is not the problem here at all. Right now you are having difficulty defining shapes with zBrush. You need to go back to the basics and do basic anatomy studies, in this case, the face. Start with small sections, instead of trying the whole picture here. Do the area around the eyes, or the mouth,…
I think there are two things at play here. Obviously knowledge of facial anatomy is crucial - some things need to be really understood/studied/replicated accurately in order to make a convincing sculpted head. Now on top of that, I hate being the guy who "blames the tool" but I personally find it very hard to make a…