I usually start with a standard A4 size, but I think I should do bigger so when I do detailed work it would be a bit more finer. I dont really use the line layers unless if they are very straight lines like a box or something, I got some brushes from DA and installed them, I mostly use the inking, then I use a base color with clipping and selection tool. Then, I use another layer for shadowing and lighting. http://maakucat.deviantart.com/art/Tool-Settings-Tutorial-Paint-Tool-SAI-301449395?q=gallery%3Apainttoolsai%2F24157154&qo=13 is a good flash that helps with stuffs in tool settings and understanding them. Cant find the specialty brushes, but it is on FA somewhere for their group of painttoolsai. http://iris-hime.deviantart.com/art.....-set-198284016 Hope that helps! :D

Thanks for the links the brush set looks like it will really help and the flash too.

sure :D! be sure to look on the side and there are many other groups for paint tool sai or just drawing tutorial groups where they have a ton of collections of help in their gallery :D

I usually start with a canvas that has the same proportions as my screen, multiplied by 2 or 3 times the pixels in each direction. Sometimes I'll crop it later and the ratio will change, but that depends on how things turn out. Of course, once it's done, I merge all visible layers and scale it down before I post it.

How thick the lines look depends on how big the overall canvas is. Also, if you have the tablet pressure linked to brush size, the lines will vary in thickness anyway.

Something you can do is draw something simple using a vector layer and the Pen, Curve or Line tools, then experiment with different line weights, since the Weight tool lets you change an entire line's weight without your having to redraw it -- making sure you have the vector layer selected, pick the Weight tool, do Select All, pick a brush size, and click on a line, and all the lines will change to the new weight. You can get a feel for different brush sizes relative to your canvas size that way.

By the way, it's not a crappy picture at all! I notice that you're conscious of line weight and distance -- the lines of foreground objects (the character) are heavier than the middle objects (the plane), and those are heavier than distant objects (the mountains), in general. Line weight can be a valuable tool for indicating distance or even shading.

Not really crappy, it has your very own style.

i feel like watching this picture.
http://smarthistory.khanacademy.org.....ed-Studio.html