Here's a little gem from yesterday's animation class on character design - where we learned about different approaches to coloring and style.
They both look great, they both work, but they're both very different - and the insight here is that ultimately, however your art work ends up looking, it's down to your own personal taste.
Figure out what that is by looking to those artists who inspire you. Observe the finished result of their work and reverse engineer the process as best you can.
Because without them to point your creative compass in the right direction, there's every chance in the world you're going to yield results that just don't quite gel with how you want your art work to look.
That's why I think it's important to show students multiple ways of doing things - because there truly is so many paths you can take to reach that final destination. That's art. And that's what makes it fun!
-Clayton