This was try number one.  Previously I had done a handful of pieces on the computer - that's counting a couple MS paint scribbles.  This was my first try with a tablet.   My first problem was selecting colors.  It's amazing how many colors that look good in an itty bitty square on the screen, surprisingly, do not look good when smeared all over a drawing.   I worked with this for a while trying to convince myself it looked good, but eventually I realized it didn't and completely scrapped it and started over.

Try number two.  My first challenge was getting a decent looking face and skin tone.  The skin tone here is still a bit too yellow, but it is much improved over my first try.   From this point forward, all work was done in the same file.

Satisfied that the face was acceptable, I worked on her outfit.

I scrapped her hair and decided to leave it loose.  I re-drew her hair approximately four times before settling on something I liked.  I find hair to be very difficult to paint digitally.   This shows some of the original background, which I later scrapped.

The difference between this stage and the earlier one is the darkening of her leather outfit, and further work on her legs.

I started working on her face and hair again, adjusting the skin tones.

I continued to work on her face and skin tone.   It took me a year to go from the first image at the top to this.

• Just because you think a color will look good does not mean it will actually look good.
• When working with a tablet for the first time, try coloring a nice, easy, inked piece first.  Jumping headfirst into a half-finished sketch is not smart.
• Working at 600dpi is silly unless you are truly attempting a masterpiece.  300dpi is more than enough for personal projects or goofing off.  To give you an idea, when viewing the file at 100%, Adria's face completely fills my 1024x768 screen.  At that size, the piece is 6 feet tall.  I am painting a damn mural.
• Contrary to what you might think, painting itsy-bitsy details at 100% does not equal greater control or greater realism.  I found that working too small limited me and I could not see how the rest of the area was impacted by my changes.  I found that working at 50% was preferrable, occasionally going into detail.
• Learning to master your brush settings and tailor the tablet responsiveness makes a huge difference.
• More layers is not better.  Working in too many layers can lend a choppy, disconnected feel to the piece.  Parts look like they were painted in different layers.  I started out with multiple layers, but I gradually began combining those layers as I went along and preferred to work with a "whole" area.  Now I believe that any piece can be painted in a dozen layers or less.  When I hear an artist brag about how many layers are in their digital piece, I do not find it impressive - quite the opposite.

I am still learning.