User blog comment:Cookieglitz/Art Tips?/@comment-34193805-20190529014241

always use an airbrush when going for realism, if you look at Chloetehbanana's art you can see a lot of airbrush strokes were used to capture a realistic feeling. only use paintbrush for harsher outlines or highlights. and if going for warrior cats get a basic idea on structure and anatomy for felines, you can look at ref photos while drawing or do a quick observation skimming through google pictures.

-map out what you want to draw with a grey (or whatever color) small airbrush

-if you have a background, complete it or fill it in first so you won't ruin the main focus of your piece

-begin with base color, then like Canadian said build up layers with darker tones then highlights near wherever the source of light is.

there's probably more to it but I forgot. gl and practice!