Ben, it is common, when drawing, to take what is known in the art world as artistic license. For instance... that pale white guy who refers to tom and me as his "friends"... he looked nothing like that in real life. Also, tom's pants were green, but i made them brown. Things change. here's a good example. this guy is Brian Michael Bendis. He's very famous in the comic book world these days.
This is how he draws himself:


This is how he looks in his publicity photos:


And this is how he looks in real life:


See the subtle differences? Even the pros do it.