i would also like some tricks and tips! nice journal

Yes! A thousand times yes joykill!
Now as for me, I set the stroke sensitivity to s-2 or s-3 and your lines will come out silky smooth.
Or like for my shadows on my really good pieces I use 2 or 3 overlay layers with black and draw a little then blur it all out, and repeat until it looks crazy.
It's a really lazy way to do it but I works for me.

Make a layer above the lineart and toggle the clipping mask, then just brush in the color you want the lines to be.

Do you actually use the line layer or do you use a regular layer?
Also, you are awesome.

S-3 sensitivity is bleh. From reading Tsampiko's stuff, using sensitivity 6 gives both accurate, and smooth lines. (I think it was tsampikos, anyway)

Also I recommend making preset brushes so you won't have to fiddle with the brushes each time you use them.
"fur": regular brush, #2 line sharpness, 60-45% pressure sensitivity
"highlight": small, sharp brush, typically 3px, depending on what size canvas, I recommend smaller sizes if you're working on a small sheet.

There's a check button on top of the layers where is says "Opacity Lock". Generally, anything you have drawn already, like lineart, is only selected. This is a much more useful feature to use rather than trying to toy with the magic wand. Not sure you know that or not, since it's something alot of people miss when using Sai.