You could read books by Andrew loomis . Good for beginners
i'm self taught though i did go to some classes (waste of time mostly) . Learning to draw is a sloooooow process sadly , you could trace stuff .
Use cotton buds to help with shading , it smoothens everything .
Use a putty rubber or blu tack for highlights/reflections/glints in eyes .
some old drawings ......
http://imgur.com/BP9wHHX
http://imgur.com/YU3QuFm
http://imgur.com/fLL5vfJ