I start by either drawing a basic composition sketch or a hand-drawn piece.
I open the program and load the sketch/piece, then I start the linework. It takes a bit to get it right, here's a picture of the basic linework of a drawing:
After I finish the linework I make a new layer under the lines. I then pick the colours and go in the fill tool, filling everything in. You may notice the small coloured lines in the eyes, this is all part of the process, it is no mistake.
The drawing is coloured though it is very flat, now I have to go in with the magic wand tool and the airbrush to shade. The shading makes it pop off the page, here is a fully coloured and shaded version:
The last thing to do is the background, I lay out the rocks and the stream and colour them in, then I go in and add texture to the rocks with a hand-drawn brush. Then I use a huge black airbrush around the edges, then I change the brush to a lighter colour and make the light source. Here is the finished product:
