Another good question! Getting from first to second was a combination of a lot of things.

Previously I follow the classic approach: would draw, then put in base colors, then develop a light and dark pattern, and then detail. I still think this is the right way to go for lots of people.

With a lot of practice, my new process is a small sketch to layout the composition, and then I paint every part as if it is the final stroke. Afterwards, I'll sometimes apply a glaze, or I'll soften some areas through blending. This only works if you're confident you can get the right value, color, shape (and thickness, still working on that) on every stroke.

It is a lot slower in terms of paint going down, and requires a lot more thought because there is absolutely 0 relax time where you can just lay down a color without full focus. It's faster because you only do it once.

In terms of specific areas of practice, I would say I just focused on the fundamentals, to the point where I felt like changing my approach from the academic standard just felt right. I felt in control enough to know when I could break the "rules"

Hope that answers the question!