DT: Practice practice practice.
Your going to stab me aren't you?
Paradox: I will tell you the same thing I told the last person that asked for a link to my dA page. If you can't find where I "hid" the link to my deviantart page, you really suck at even the most elementary level of stalking.
Vex Wolf: In regards to your self portrait. That looks like one big acid trip to me. =p Its a very nice sorta surreal hippy style. And you have lots of well done detailing, that helps share aspects of your personality and interests. Such as the wolf necklace, and the fire by the sides of the face.
Now if you were going for realistic, and accurate portrayal of yourself as a human (not alien), you do indeed fail. =p I have, in my experience, found that having high contrast, and over exaggerating the lights and darks, help make the image pop and make it more memorable to the viewer. Out lines will rape and then kill any attempts at realism. Composition wise, beginners tend to always put the subject of the composition in the center of the page. And by offsetting things, even a little bit, or placing them on a diagonal, will make any picture, no matter how poorly drawn, more interesting. And I could go into depth about the proportions of the human face and where to shade, etc, but I'll spare you for now.