I think yours is better than mine! Such as the cheek, I can definitely recognize the outline and relief easier

Here's what I think: (could be wrong as most of my experience/tutorial are from internet)
I used to paint animal by drawing their fur, one by one, slow yet I thought it was "accurate".
Later I figured out using photo as reference is better than real object as the focal point is fixed. The unfocused area should be blurred or using a softer brush. (In a real object painting, your eyes auto focus wherever your stare at, I made this mistake for a long time)
Later when I see Roytjes' amazing art on 2draw, I learn that using "rough" "in-completed" brush stroke to represent the non-focused area/unimportant part (instead of blurring it), elevate the feeling of the whole picture to another level. It is very different from the realism painting I have been practicing.

It is hard for me to jump to his style, could be I am missing some basic lessons and lack of sufficient practice. (I tried several before and they turns out giving a very sloppy with weird color tones >_<) I think I can somewhat manipulate in "pixel level" well, but not "brush stroke" level yet.

In this drawing I intend not to "jump too far", experiencing somewhere between his style and realism where I am more comforted with.

About the color, someone taught me I can break down the color for lighten and shaded part; taken a green leave as example, the sun lit area can be colored with lime yellow or even yellow on the edge; the shaded part can be darken with blue or black. I sometimes even shift the color tone for fun, but not always success.

It is hard to express abstract things in second language, hope you understand. :)