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Description
Someone sent me a note, via how we use layers Since she and I have similar (but now slightly divergent) layer techniques, I answered for her.
I wrote the note down to reply, and I wondered if anyone else might be interested in it, so I decided to upload it

Here is a basic overview of how I use layers in Photoshop

The flat colors are at the bottom of the layer stack. It is a completely opaque layer, and should look like a paper cutout collage. There should be no blending in between the shapes, and the shape boundaries should be absolutely perfect: no smudging or blending or little messy pixel boundaries of any kind. This is achieved through the "pencil" tool and using the "lasso" selection tool with "anti-alias" turned OFF and then filling in the colors with the Paint Bucket, also with anti-alias OFF (very important!). It's okay to have this layer look jagged and cut out, as long as the boundaries are precise. This is a lot harder than it sounds, and it takes practice and research to learn how to make quick and precise flats.

The purpose of the flat color layer, or the"flats" is to give the main shapes in the picture their basic colors, as well as function as an easy masking tool for the shading. If, for instance, all the areas with wood in the picture were a particular shade of brown, clicking any wooden area on the flats layer with the "magic wand" tool (with anti-alias turned off) will select all similar areas, if the "contiguous" tool option is Unchecked and the Tolerance is set close to zero.
Pressing CTRL+U while having something selected will make it easy to tweak the colors you have selected.

The renders layer is on top of that: instead of being a completely filled layer, it is initially a blank, see-through layer. This is where all the shading, the light and shadows go. Use it by making selections (magic wand, anti-alias OFF, tolerance set to 0 or close to 0) in the flat colors later, clicking the renders layer, and then painting in the highlights and shadows. Extreme care must be taken that the highlights and shadows are not painted on to the flat colors layer (this can be done by locking the flat colors layer).
Again, pressing CTRL+U while having something selected will make it easy to tweak the colors you have selected.

On top is the line art (sometimes called the Inks). Set it to Multiply if it has a white background, or Normal if it will be drawn in via Photoshop. These can be colored or traditional black inks.

At the very top are the various light and color effects. Light blooms, Screen/Color/Overlay layers can go here to affect the whole picture. If these effects should NOT affect the line art, place them under the line art layer. I have included here a Screen layer I used for the picture (there were various other effects in the picture)

Hope that helps, fallowfrenzy!

Comments and questions are more than welcome.

Description
Someone sent me a note, via how we use layers Since she and I have similar (but now slightly divergent) layer techniques, I answered for her.
I wrote the note down to reply, and I wondered if anyone else might be interested in it, so I decided to upload it

Here is a basic overview of how I use layers in Photoshop

The flat colors are at the bottom of the layer stack. It is a completely opaque layer, and should look like a paper cutout collage. There should be no blending in between the shapes, and the shape boundaries should be absolutely perfect: no smudging or blending or little messy pixel boundaries of any kind. This is achieved through the "pencil" tool and using the "lasso" selection tool with "anti-alias" turned OFF and then filling in the colors with the Paint Bucket, also with anti-alias OFF (very important!). It's okay to have this layer look jagged and cut out, as long as the boundaries are precise. This is a lot harder than it sounds, and it takes practice and research to learn how to make quick and precise flats.

The purpose of the flat color layer, or the"flats" is to give the main shapes in the picture their basic colors, as well as function as an easy masking tool for the shading. If, for instance, all the areas with wood in the picture were a particular shade of brown, clicking any wooden area on the flats layer with the "magic wand" tool (with anti-alias turned off) will select all similar areas, if the "contiguous" tool option is Unchecked and the Tolerance is set close to zero.
Pressing CTRL+U while having something selected will make it easy to tweak the colors you have selected.

The renders layer is on top of that: instead of being a completely filled layer, it is initially a blank, see-through layer. This is where all the shading, the light and shadows go. Use it by making selections (magic wand, anti-alias OFF, tolerance set to 0 or close to 0) in the flat colors later, clicking the renders layer, and then painting in the highlights and shadows. Extreme care must be taken that the highlights and shadows are not painted on to the flat colors layer (this can be done by locking the flat colors layer).
Again, pressing CTRL+U while having something selected will make it easy to tweak the colors you have selected.

On top is the line art (sometimes called the Inks). Set it to Multiply if it has a white background, or Normal if it will be drawn in via Photoshop. These can be colored or traditional black inks.

At the very top are the various light and color effects. Light blooms, Screen/Color/Overlay layers can go here to affect the whole picture. If these effects should NOT affect the line art, place them under the line art layer. I have included here a Screen layer I used for the picture (there were various other effects in the picture)

Hope that helps, fallowfrenzy!

Comments and questions are more than welcome.