mantra: I've been working with illustrator for ...almost two years now, but I've only started doing this type of a couple of months ago. Just take a simple picture and start practicing with the curves
Funny how you people think it's a black guy- not sure if it's just the greys used, maybe some of the features seem a little negroid aswell...I'll try and make one with different skintones, see if that helps.
Thanks again for the comments!