Help with fur - realism.

[Fuzzle]

I'm trying very hard to learn how to do realistic fur, but that information seems to be locked away in the deepest recesses of the internet as no google search or tutorial is at all helpful.

I was hoping someone with knowledge in this area could tell me how to create specific styles of brushes that will give me this fur effect? I' got a one pixel brush, I've got several pixels in a bunch brush and variations on that, but I seem to be struggling in making the fur look decent. I would really appreciate some insights and some guidance on how to create this look, but through my own abilities, not through a filter or generated manipulation. I do everything through the brush, otherwise it doesn't feel like my work.

By the way here is my work so you know where I stand artistically.

http://www.furaffinity.net/user/fuzzlepup/

Thank you
~Fuzz