>>27608 (OP) (me)
This is one I just made (but with a different image reference), it looks a lot more soyjak-like and I think that's how we'll check if something is gemmy or not.
First of all, the details in the drawing were very sloppy. No real line-work at all and it just looks like a nusoicaca scribbled on a whiteboard. The only way to fix this is to be a lot more careful how you draw things and not worry too much about detail early on. Focus on whats most important, first shape, then core facial features, then details. Adding smile lines before the mouth will destroy the harmony of your image.
Notice how there is a lack of SOVL in the drawing, this is because the reference in the nusoi drawing sucks ass and is not particularly expressive. Soyjaks are supposed to be expressive, and you can literally just search up "man with mouth agape" on google to find a ton of practice references because it gives you a good reference to work with.
Third, the facial features just suck. The original post's image looks cartoony and not plausible at all, and again this could probably be attributed to line work since the neckbeard looks very weird and looks like something made in a minute at max. You can tell they didnt trace teeth or try to make the glasses fit proportions (always extrude the endpieces of the glasses a little bit past the face shape). Dont just add arbitrary lines because "thats what soyjaks look like". There's a reason why only so few become gemmy and that's because they took time to craft a good soyjak.
Notice the image below. It's way more IAS than the image I posted above and thats because it follows all the principles of a basic soyjak and has SOVL. The face is exaggerated, the details look plausible and could be used in many ways. It's very retarded to draw soyjaks because they're soyjaks. Soyphesians 6:1-3, Gemesis 3:5