Draw a basic head shape: an oval lump with a cross cutting it in half vertically and horizontally.

This part of the picture helps form the shape and feel of the head. It goes from the center of the eyes to the bottom of the nose.

DPull the cheek down, then back up to the other side. Make sure you get that little bend under the ear. The ear is a simple half circle.The nose starts at the cross of the two midlines, and comes down from there.

The far eye ends directly above the nose, and the other is halfway between the far eye and ear. 

Drop the eyebrows high above the eyes, as if the eyes are 'radiating' them up. The pupils take up the majority of the eye, and stop when they hit the centerline.

For the hair, remember Volume. From a point above the nose or the ear, draw poofy lines (hey, I said 'poofy'), that shape the head how you want the hair. Looking for examples? Try the Ranma and Slayers galleries. As for the smile - keep it tiny. Anime characters aren't refered to as 'Big Eyes, Small Mouth' for nothing.

How you draw your eyes will really set you apart from other artists. I bisect the eye with a curved line, then do two layers - a dark, then a light shade underneath. Look at other anime to get a feel on how you want eyes.

Add the neck (linescome down from the mouth and ear), eye highlights, a shoujo blush, what have you. There are a thousand ways to do everything, so experiment and look at others' work to learn. Have fun! More Lessons coming soon!