How do I draw out this character Asuna from SAO such as her facial proportions?

[realSean_Murphy]

Here's a pic. of what I mean..
http://vignette1.wikia.nocookie.net/swordartonline/images/8/88/Asuna_SAO.png/revision/latest?cb=20140301055612

Would you first start with a circle for her head and than add guide lines for her eyes, forehead, mouth, etc.?
If so how should you place them?

[AnnaLandin]

Would you first start with a circle for her head and than add guide lines for her eyes, forehead, mouth, etc.?

I would, yes - but I keep in mind that her face isn't really a flat circle. It's a 3 dimensional object - you're just drawing it on a flat surface.

If so how should you place them?

Here, let me dig up my handy guide I drew for a friend a while back:

[Luie]

One of the ways I learned to draw specific things I'm terrible at is to trace them over and over and over again. Once I get a better feel for where and how to place lines, I make my own set of guildelines for remembering where to place things and re-draw everything using a reference. Then once I have enough practice, I'm able to freehand it because I know by eye where everything should be placed --and then eventually I can stylize that thing and use it for future drawings (like body types and whatever). I do this with objects as well as my own drawings to keep them looking consistent without having to break out rulers and getting frustrated over it. A lot of people think tracing is cheating, but as long as you're using it as a learning tool, it's a perfectly acceptable and extremely efficient way of teaching yourself. Of course there's always a wrong way of learning how to draw through tracing, mainly having to do with relying on pre-existing lines rather than looking at the object it creates three-dimensionally, but it can also help you break down complex objects and memorize the lines and shapes that make up that object. Trace, reference, freehand, repeat c:

[UzukiCheverie]

A lot of people think tracing is cheating, but as long as you're using it as a learning tool, it's a perfectly acceptable and extremely efficient way of teaching yourself. Of course there's always a wrong way of learning how to draw through tracing, mainly having to do with relying on pre-existing lines rather than looking at the object it creates three-dimensionally, but it can also help you break down complex objects and memorize the lines and shapes that make up that object. Trace, reference, freehand, repeat c:

Yes . . . and no. You've pretty much already said this yourself, but you shouldn't be tracing so much as drawing from life. Drawing exactly what you see (for life drawing). It's a lot better to train yourself to draw from visuals than to draw from strict tracing guidelines you've created for yourself; this limits you immensely to said guidelines, and you don't gain the ability to flex your mental reference library and use it to your advantage based on what you've drawn before. Tracing can be helpful, but if you do it as often as you're saying you should, then establishing style will be impossible, and being able to truly, freely draw without "going outside the lines" (physically and mentally). Your art will become stiff and it just won't have that beautiful flow and life that artwork gets when you learn to draw properly from life and build a reference library in your mind and a sense of style.

Plus, you'll think that what you see after tracing is 100% accurate - which is very often NOT the case (traced drawings still aren't 100% accurate). So then that'll carry over to your freehand work and you'll realize when you compare your work to other pieces (or real life) you'll be like "oh shit. these proportions. yikes."

I think @AnnaLandin has the best upfront reference/lesson for you to get you started. Faces can be tough yo. Draw from life, draw different styles from different media (TV shows, manga, video games, etc.) Build a reference library, and let proper proportions and guidelines become a reflex and style, not a strict set of rules you're afraid to break.

You can't trace from life. And life is your biggest resource when learning how to draw.

(sorry if this post seems rant-y btw; tracing is not at all "bad", but as someone who depended on tracing a lot as a kid and didn't get a real reality check until high school/college, I don't want to see anyone else going through the same hindrances I did. There's a time and a place for tracing. Doing it all the time to learn proportions and anatomy and using it as your rock is not one of them. That's what life drawing is for.)

[Luie]

Yes and no. You could trace from life, such as with the camera lucida. I've addressed that you shouldn't depend on those lines for accuracy. I use tracing to break down complex forms and understand how they're supposed to look on paper, but I use reference material and life to make those forms look natural. I agree that you shouldn't use tracing as your only learning tool and that drawing from life is the best way to gain experience as an artist, but in cases like this where someone is trying to draw a specific manga character accurately, tracing is a perfectly acceptable method. Obviously converting traced figures to freehand figures doesn't work for everybody. I went to college with a kid who learned how to draw by tracing, who had an immense mental reference library and could freehand better than most people in my classes, who did have his own style and could still draw from life. So it's not necessarily a good or bad method, it just depends on how the individual artist is using it.