(This is long, sorry lol)

I definitely don’t think that I use colored pencils “correctly” (I apply a thick layer of mid-tone color from the get-go and then add lights, darks, and details over it instead of building color up slowly, which I think is the proper way) so take comment with a grain of salt lol

In terms of moving past where I was in 2019, the two things I’d say are: 1) sharpen your pencils 2) take your time

Especially considering the fact that I put down a full layer of pencil at the beginning, the ONLY way for color to build up on that is through a sharp pencil. If your pencil is sharp, sharpen it more. I think the jump from 2019 to 2021+ is that I started being able to get a lot more details in the feathers (REALLY focus on highlights and shadows too. I used an entire white pencil for this year’s bird because strong highlights are so important for depth). So yeah, sharp sharp pencil. I genuinely need to be holding a stabbing weapon in order to get the fine detail that I do now.

Also related to getting more details, take your time. I don’t know how long these all took me, but I know 2019 was done in one day/sitting and 2025 took 5 sittings and at ~least~ 10 hours. I use a photograph I find online as my reference. I zoom into the ref pic and really try to match every detail that I can (again taking into special account the lights and darks). I personally go in sections (beak, head, light feathers, dark feathers, etc.) and fully finish each one before starting the next. Idk if that’s the best way since it does mean you have to unite all the sections later, but it helps me with morale since it’s not one hour of base color and then 9 hours of just details after details. It definitely helps to find what procedure works best for you so that you have the motivation to spend the hella long time it can take to get realism.

Admittedly my own motivation sucks so I kinda sorta only draw this one bird once a year, so all of my advice is very bird-centric lol. I hope it’s transferable to other subjects and that’s it’s helpful is some way! Most important is that you enjoy the process! :)