I am just curious, bur what is everyone's favorite brush for fine detail and shading. Also...some tips on shading and luminescent effects would be lovely.

I use airbrush as my all around brush, you can use it in so many different ways :) also, shading, you should debate on where your light is coming from, make that area lighter and the area without light, darker.

This tutorial on sharing has helped me a heck of a lot, I basically do a slightly simplified version of it. ^^