Thanks Ryan!
.... easy and with wood carving if you make a mistake, it becomes firewood...that's a tough lesson.
I have to disagree with that Steve, a master carver I know always says the same, " the art of the good barber is to get sideburns from where there is no hair", substitute barber for carver and hair by wood and you'll know what he means.
Actually, it is difficult but usually if you haven't undercut the shapes or removed wood from behind them one can shift the volumes and nobody will notice. The last option is obviouly glue a piece and carve it again, in order not to show glue lines the piece must follow the contour on the shape so that the glue line will be hidden on the undercut.
So never throw away something that you think you messed up until you are completely sure you can't fix it. Sometimes when I carve I get stuck and I have to leave the piece covered with a piece of cloth for a few days or even weeks so I don't see it when I am in the shop. Then after a while, I remove the cloth and I can see clearly where my mistakes are and how to continue.
You are right, perspective and foreshortening is difficult; in fact foreshortening is very difficult! in drawings and even more in relief carving, or at least it is to me, specially when human faces are concerned, and you seem to have a special gift for them.
Drawing a clenched fist with the index finger pointing right at you and make it look right is very difficult, so imagine carving it in low relief. The same happens with noses on faces.