Alright, kiddo (I know you're not actually a kiddo but I call everyone kiddo). I'm not the fanciest artist myself, and I'm probably repeating a lot of the things other people said, but...
Since you said you would be drawing in real life and colouring digitally, I have some stuff to say about Photoshop.
Photoshop is one of the best programs to have due to its many features. However, many times it doesn't work out for people because they don't realize just what these features are. Make sure to experiment with every single little button or option you have to make your drawings the best they can be (Also saving different copies in case you decide you don't like the direction you went in). This goes for all art programs, actually, but I personally use Photoshop the most.
Also, realism: To draw people, I wouldn't recommend looking at drawings, pictures, or anything else that isn't the real thing. You should probably have a full-body mirror somewhere in your house for drawing poses you can't convince other people to do. Your own hands and feet are actually the best models for drawings since you can see every angle (with the help of your trusty mirror friend! :3).
Anatomy and depth are the most important factors in drawing living things. Remember which lines go in front of others and what is visible and what isn't. As someone previously said, anatomical diagrams are great for this sort of drawing as you need to know what causes the shape of the body. On faces, I would suggest looking at your own face and putting everything onto a scale of what you draw first (If you draw the eyes first, say to yourself things like, 'The bottom of the nose is one eye-length down from the eyes, one eye-width next to them.').
Others may say not to try anyone else's styles of drawing, but I think that's a great way to learn what works out the best for you as well. Sometimes I adopt other people's styles and after a while edit them to become my own. However, you should know your own style first, and be able to figure out how to draw things to your maximum potential.
Once you have style figured out, I'd say to come up with a simplified version of your drawings and repeat it. As an example, I drew comics of a single character that used many different facial expressions. Don't make the drawings too simplified, though, since you need to learn how to copy more complex faces over time. People overall look very similar, and a single template can be modified to make the person have more character.
That said, many facial expressions have to do with minor changes in the shape of the mouth, the light in the eyes, and the eyebrows. Body language is mostly in the positions of the shoulders and arms.
As for individual tips:
I find that lips can look more realistic if you add a very small dot the the end where the sides taper off.
My father said to me once that no matter your mistake, you can always fix it. It can be very difficult, but if you don't have a way to erase, this is true if you think creatively enough; I liked the way you continued with your drawing and didn't throw it away when you made a mistake, but covering the mistakes up so obviously with things like eyepatches and mouth covers isn't always the way to go. Personally, when I can't get the eyes to be symmetrical, I cover the one I'm having trouble with with hair that looks very intentional from the start. Other mistakes can be strands of hair or scars, depending on how they look, or shading from a different light source than originally planned. Things like eyepatches should only be used if they can be explained very logically from something true to the character or if you had originally planned to use it.
Anyway, thanks for listening to my rambling and my I-know-everything-about-art exaggeration. I hope I was at least remotely helpful!
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