[Visual] So I tried doing vector art

 :p feedback?

Go here: http://www.ctrlpaint.com/
Do art.
Profit.

The concept actually looks decent and appears to be a good foundation for basing other techniques on.

One thing I notice about many characters from most people is they do not have the smooth transitions for shading that most CG stuff has and 'cartoony' stuff does not.  Its one of the things I really like about Vector Art when it comes to creating portraits for games.  The 'nose' area is typically VERY hard to do, and yours, I can identify that its a nose.

What I'd suggest is studying the form of the human face.  Start off with a 'profile'.  Expressionless portrait of a character from the front as if it were a mugshot.  Then do another version of that character from the side and see if you can make the two images look like they belong to the same character.

The use of tools, and techniques for using those tools can be found on the link Princess Acolyte gave, or simply by practice.  For this pic, I like the fact that I can tell the nose is a nose.  But it also contains some darker lines that cause a bit of contrast with the rest of the image.  Those lines that define the shape of the nose are usually Self Shadows.  In order to not make those lines stick out like a sore thumb, extend the lines to turn them into Shadows while retaining the inner edge of the line that defines the shape of the nose.  Then use the same color of shadows around other areas, under the eyebrow but above the top of the eye, under the lips and above the chin, ears (although lacking in this example), cheeks (but dont use shadows with one hard edge as with the nose), temples, bridge of nose, jaw.  Put the same color of shadows that define the shape of the 3D face elsewhere on the face to maintain the same feel across the whole image.  Noses are a pain in the ass.  Lines have two sides.  One side can be a hard edge, but the other needs to fade.  Makes it feel more like a natural shadow instead of a cartoon outline.  Hard to explain.

It looks better than I could do with Vector Art because I do not know the tools at all.

The concept actually looks decent and appears to be a good foundation for basing other techniques on.

One thing I notice about many characters from most people is they do not have the smooth transitions for shading that most CG stuff has and 'cartoony' stuff does not.  Its one of the things I really like about Vector Art when it comes to creating portraits for games.  The 'nose' area is typically VERY hard to do, and yours, I can identify that its a nose.

What I'd suggest is studying the form of the human face.  Start off with a 'profile'.  Expressionless portrait of a character from the front as if it were a mugshot.  Then do another version of that character from the side and see if you can make the two images look like they belong to the same character.

The use of tools, and techniques for using those tools can be found on the link Princess Acolyte gave, or simply by practice.  For this pic, I like the fact that I can tell the nose is a nose.  But it also contains some darker lines that cause a bit of contrast with the rest of the image.  Those lines that define the shape of the nose are usually Self Shadows.  In order to not make those lines stick out like a sore thumb, extend the lines to turn them into Shadows while retaining the inner edge of the line that defines the shape of the nose.  Then use the same color of shadows around other areas, under the eyebrow but above the top of the eye, under the lips and above the chin, ears (although lacking in this example), cheeks (but dont use shadows with one hard edge as with the nose), temples, bridge of nose, jaw.  Put the same color of shadows that define the shape of the 3D face elsewhere on the face to maintain the same feel across the whole image.  Noses are a pain in the ass.  Lines have two sides.  One side can be a hard edge, but the other needs to fade.  Makes it feel more like a natural shadow instead of a cartoon outline.  Hard to explain.

It looks better than I could do with Vector Art because I do not know the tools at all.

Thanks for another really helpful post. I will take all of these tips into consideration.