I actually haven't been using Photoshop for very long (little less than two years) and I think the only reason I can do anything with it is because I've had years of experience using Paint Shop Pro 6 to make pixel dolls and I've read (and watched!) about a billion tutorials.

As for how I color my pieces... well it varies greatly, since I'm constantly experimenting. Mostly, I use the technique described in this tutorial: [link] and very recently, I've been trying to paint things in the way this tutorial shows: [link]

Other tutorials I regularly use are collected here: [link] They've all helped me immensely in one way or another. I wouldn't know what the heck I was doing had I not read them.