Photoshop taught me some valuable lessons...

Well i figured out what was wrong yesterday, i had mixed up my tone layer and my colour layer, and had added colour to the tone, so then when i tried to get the colour from the colour layer, it all went crazy. And yes that was just as confusing to write as it was for you to read (better elaboration in 2nd point below), so short answer: Im an idiot.

So, like i said this task would be a steep learning curve for me, and it has, oh boy has it ever! Im just going to write here a few points here for me to note in future

• Instead of working on individual parts of an image and changing between layers all the time, work on individual layers - this stops confusion, and reduces the brain damage from the head/desk relationship
• Dont have one layer per aspect (ie dont have just one tone layer for the whole picture) - split the layers up, make them multiply! - This way if you mess up one bit of tone or colour, fixing it is a hell of a lot easier, and this will mean you wont use all your milk on coffee and have nothing for cereal in the evening (this is when you'll wake up)
• Layers can have opacity (thanks sean) - this ones just handy to know, its not going to affect my sleep pattern (i hope)
• History tool is a god - This one is a very sharp double edged blade... on one hand it can save your life a lot of misery and suffering, by sending you back in time to change your actions. But on the other hand sometimes it gets bored due to its godly status, and decides it would be fun to watch you figure things out without its power.
• Tone is a bitch to fix... especially when you have multiple tones on each other (refer to second point)
• Maybe lay off the smudge tool a bit - what, i like it and it works perfectly fine! - still, i think you used it on every surface - it makes them look good ok... - just try and lay off it will you.
• Finally, take a look at more tutorials when you get a chance!

So all in all, last night was me finally realising what all this business with layers is about, perhaps im a bit late to the game, but at least i finally made it! (well sortof, still gotta finish this image)