I started with a simply shaped block of about 2000 triangles(see note).
BLOCKING OUT STAGE
widgit move tool with a broad shape and large scale to pull the head into the general shape i want.
FINDING THE FORM
increase resolution(number of triangles) by using s-merge
widgit move tool at finer settings to pull out the form including the spikes
DETAIL STAGE
use the curvy map to increase detail using paint brush(lips eyes etc)
use warp noise tool to add texture(hair, beard)
use warp smooth tool to remove facets
NOTE (this is just time saving)(can quite easily start with curvy lathes)
I keep a simple head shape that i have taken through
meshlab and reduced to about 2000 polygons.(quadratic edge decimation with preserve boundary(use target number of faces box,reduce by a maximum of a third at a time )) EDIT: meshlab puts the wrong number of faces in this box so make sure you type in the desired value calculated from the number of faces shown at the bottom of the screen.
This gives a small simple head shape easy and quick to import.
(tip :- i find it useful to keep a little library of shapes, you often accidentally make a shape in curvy and you say to yourself, that would be good for so and so. Why not export it out to an obj library for future use ?)
(
MeshLab, a free tool developed with the support of the 3D-CoForm project)
http://meshlab.sourceforge.net/