It took some experimentation to figure out which way 2d area lights are originally oriented and which way + and - rotations go. I spent a long time on the 2nd scene before the fix was posted. I couldn't figure out how to make the bright spot curve around the top and bottom of the head (much less how to get rid of the ears and the neck). I also had some trouble with the first scene. I found it very difficult to get the top of the head to come out right. If I made the cone angle of the light too small, the top of the head was blacked out. If I made it larger, I would get artifacts on the top of the head in the form of spikes. I ultimately found a pretty good compromise, but the top of the head is still a little bit not round.