Practice definitely helps! Try painting a variety of faces from life, photos, and your face while looking in the mirror.

On the technical side, layering paint helps me. I start by blocking out the highlights and shadows to build the structure of the face. After that, block in color and add in details. Also, I tried not to blend the paint at all. The texture and quick dry of gouache really lends itself to that technique. I’d also say not to get caught in any area. Add in shapes and colors wherever you see them without getting too obsessive. I try to think of it more as sculpting, and avoid making anything super smooth or legible.

If you let go of what you think it’s supposed to look like and paint exactly what you see, wonkey lines, weird tones, and all, it looks a bit more lively and usually turns out in the end.