Fluffy birthday

A birthday card for my niece. I made a puppy for her big brother in the Spring so a kitten seemed fitting. I used a reference from Pexels and tried to keep this as realistic as possible. The end result is OK I guess but I'm not sure if I enjoy working like this. Realism leaves so little wiggle room for creativity. And coloring pieces like this takes forever. I spend a lot of time darkening the edges of her fur in order to shape her head better.