rat boy exterminator

honestly i'd say number one is to learn all the shortcuts for actions (two finger tap for undo,, three finger tap for redo, etc) to speed up the whole process. there's lotsa tuts on yt that go through them all!!

i'd also just generally learn what everything is/what it's function is. like if you don't know what alpha lock is you might be torturing yourself with cleaning edges when you dont need to kinda thing, or trying to blend with colours when you can try the smudge tool instead, or not using clipping masks to make your life easier, and so on

i know everyone says this and it sounds tired but i promise you, reference and practice work. you're fueling your brain's internal library and learning way faster!!

id prob play around with brushes and find a handful to favourite and play around with the most when you start off, it has a lot of choices but it can be a bit overwhelming so i'd stick with a few to start with, and switch up if something doesn't feel 'right.' (it has a lot of cool texture brushes but imo it's better to start with the simple brushes and move up) this is a personal thing, but as someone who gets brainbored when sketching sometimes, i throw effect layers over top to make it feel more appealing to me. whether it's a colour wash or something that creates a neat contrast, i think it helps me feel like it looks more neat/slightly more finished?? idk if this is just a me thing but it makes me feel better when i'm playing around lol

i would also recommend duplicating brushes you kinda like but dont feel quite right, and play around with the brush creation settings! it's pretty thorough and fun to see what you can come up with. some of my staple brushes are just basic default airbrushes that i tinkered with a bunch. there's also a tooooon of free brush packs online, would recommend browsing and see if any speak to you!!