I would like to learn how to model faces not in any painstaking detail just with a bit of charicter.I presume one starts with a sphere and goes from there. Anyone got any tips or tuts I should know? Thanks in advance
Mark

How you start depends on you. Most or many modelers start with a cube, not a sphere. Some, like myself, start with a single polygon. There are tons of tutorials available on the net though, you can do a quick google search to find them.  One place with a bunch of tuts is:

www.3dtotal.com

Depending on your application of choice, however, you may want to look for more specific tutorials, as tutorials for Max won't translate to Rhino but may translate to Silo, XSI or Maya, etc. 

One important piece of advice is : USE REFERENCES WHENEVER POSSIBLE! I can't tell you the dozens of heads I've seen that were wonky or out of porportion because the artist did not use some kind of reference. As a hobbyist, it's extremely helpful to use refs so you can improve your ability, even pro cg artists use some type of reference, even if it's just a quick sketch. It really can help your work.

Tell us your modeling app of choice. Also it is a good idea to have some experience in modeling before you tackle a head they are challenging. Like Teyon said nto all programs are the same I use wings it really only box models. Teyon uses Silo and goes poly by poly. It is a good idea to follow a tutorial the first time or towo and pay attention to the way it is done so later you can do it without the tutorial.

I'm using metasequoia because I can get on with it. That is a very good point teyon, about references and I shall certainly take that on board. I think my initial problem lies with where to start. I have tried with a shere and used the magnet - not great. Extrusion only works if using a double sided model then I got problems texturing.
Many thanks