/ic/ - Artwork/Critique

Okay here's the thing I don't get. Fucking Loomis can get away with using simple lines as noses. (picrel)

Yet every time I try, it comes out like fucking abhorrent garbage. What's the secret to actually going through "Fun with a pencil" without skipping steps?

What's the secret?

I got so far, mostly loosely following. I can figure out the placement using Loomis's guidelines, but if I'm being honest, I really don't get how to draw features - he simply glosses over that part entirely.

How do I go about constructing noses, eyes, ears (ears particularly) in a way that's 'good enough' for a super-newbie, and doesn't look like a comic book from the 20's?

I just want to find the joy in drawing first, and while fun so far (picture next post), I am getting increasingly frustrated by how vague and arbitrary some of this seems to be.