shoomlah:

What’s important to remember is what the circle represents- it’s essentially a tool for massing out the main cavity of the skull and, as a result, massing out the back of the head.  I still instinctually draw a circle when I’m drawing a face, but I don’t think there are any tried and true rules about it- even if you need to use it in the first place.  See what feels right, make sure the eyes aren’t placed too high on the skull, and run with it!  If you do a lot of work from life/reference, you’ll start to hone in how to effortlessly mass out a head and place your features. :)

I threw together a quick video (3x speed! I AM NOT THAT FAST) to show what I mean- the circle generally stays in the same place, but the features still float around according to the character, the camera angle, all sorts of reasons.  Stupid simple sketches, but I hope the point comes through. :)