Sculpting books and techniques

First time sculptors shouldn't discount Maureen Carlson's "How To Sculpt Clay Characters" as an excellent way to learn the basics of sculpting a human figure. I started with this book. With this book, you will learn how to sculpt hands, feet, add teeth to a smile, and create expressive faces. Yes, her characters are cartoon-ish, but her basics can be applied to more realistic sculptures.
I moved on to Katherine Dewey's "Creating Life-like Figures In Polymer Clay." This book is like a Bible for sculptors.

You can order both books from the Amazon links that you see here on my blog.

I did learn from video tutorials from Patricia Rose, however, her face sculpting technique does not work well for me.

You will find that you pick up one technique and another there. All the while, you are developing your own look, style, and maybe even a few of your own techniques as I did for hands. Whatever works for you is OK! You don't have to follow rules other than the manufacturer's recommendations for curing your clay. Experimenting leads to success!