again and again and again..........over and over and over  ....santas' face gets mashed, smooshed,  poked, pulled ....it is a never ending process till he ends up in the oven ( they are warned ahead of time)
having his eyes 'speak' to me is the key here....and it will take me days ....working on one eye tends to get the other one moved around if I'm not careful, which is exactly what happened here.  so far all my Santas have had facial features that make you walk up to them as if you just missed something very important they said just for you (!) and you want to lean in a bit closer to catch it again......capturing that is not as easy as one would think ~  and they are not all the same.....some of them I want looking down as if to read his book of names or just off to the side so I'm constantly planning ahead ....very challenging for a person such as myself ........(I tend to fly by the seat of my pants)   ...( and WHERE  did that saying ever come from)  *  I am that person ( there may be 6 of us around somewhere)  who believes  instructions are to be referenced.................... only when there are left over pieces ~
You can find me analyzing (strange) peoples' faces....the way their eyelids droop, (compared to mine), the nose, the bags under the eyes (compared to mine)  the wrinkles around the mouth  ( compared to mine)......it is remarkable how many different shapes we humans come in ( !)  so in the end I realize that there is no wrong way to shape an eye or lips ( and most times they aren't even level with each side  ~ the real ones not my santas cause my 'OCD' gets the best of me/them  in the end )  ......our skin all droops and sags around our bones....it just depends on ones lifestyle and ancestry.......of course I  usually just  end up looking  in the mirror at my own skins poor Nordic heritage ~ it's a rapid  avalanche from the age of 16 (freckled skin has no longevity whatsoever ~)
I have tried a few of the  sculpting clay that are available but my favorite one to work detail with is the Super Sculpey, you do have to soften it abit before you work with it but the results are so worth it ! the detail you can achieve is just wonderful ! 
**If you ever what the truth about how you really look just ask any 7 year old....but make sure you have a designated driver first......

http://www.etsy.com/people/alane123?ref=si_pr   = this is my shop