So, I am sitting here, having spent an hour or so working with this tablet I purchased. I have learned a lot in my minor forays with the tablet.
Pros: I can now do art without consuming materials, yay! When I figure this out, inking will be so much less stressful. When I figure this out, I'll be able to do a lot more work with color.
Cons: I have not yet figured this out.
I have a lot to learn, but that's neither a pro or a con.
So I am testing a number of programs. I've tried Sai - and decided against it. I'm trying Autodesk Sketch Pro and Manga Studio. Both of them have pros and cons. Autodesk has a really intuitive sketch system, which is fantastic - still need to work with the other tools to see how I feel about it. Manga Studio has a number of really easy to use tools.
So... yeah. Really don't know how this will work out. I think the quickest and easiest way to get good color results at this stage will be to work on my vector shading. My normal painter technique is not translating very well - but can be worked over with some practice and edumacation. This whole painting with layers thing is really throwing me for a loop, too. I'm sure once I learn how to use this tool it'll be super, but until then... the cake is a lie.