I'd be interested in any coloring tutorials as well. I, too, am starting to color my first piece in PS.
I do know this guy has a couple tutorials on inking, and coloring, but I don't know if it'll help you, Celsia.
-Pep
And here's another tutorial by.. um.. someone.
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1. how do I creat layers that will allow me to burn, dodge, apply effects over the color layer so I can see the color with and without effect, and basically toggle them off and on?
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You can just make another layer on top of the colors. As far as dodge and burn go, stop using them 
Overusing dodge and burn can really be detrimental to your pieces, as they suck the color out of your shadows and highlights. I recommend just painting a shadow layer and a highlight layer. Reduce the opacity and voila, it's incorporated into the piece. You can also use an adjustment layer, but start off with just regular layers.
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2. How would you add a metal or chorm effect to a color or layer to creat a metal look only to a certian item.
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Use the lasso tool (or the magic wand, if you're working off flats) to create a selection of the item. Make a new layer, fill the selection with a new color, and go to town. Use the chrome filter, etc.
This also works if you want to do things like a glow around an object and you want to keep it on a separate layer...use the selection with a new layerd and apply the glow without filling in the selection.
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3. What is the best way to apply tectures etc?
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Well, you can either just make a new layer, fill it with texture, and then use layer styles and opacity levels to have it blend with the flats. Or you can use the pattern overlay layer style.
Try this for metal
Burn, Dodge, and Smear... the enemies...the mortal foes of all photoshop artists. Really. Truly.
Learn color. Traditional first...then digital.
It's hard, but its worth it.
I promise I'll add some full length explanation tomorrow that will make PMD's head spin... 
Or well, at least he'll pat me on the head and say something akin to "Silly Say...tricks are for kids..."
Yeah. I need sleep XD...
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Burn, Dodge, and Smear... the enemies...the mortal foes of all photoshop artists. Really. Truly.
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IMO the Smudge tool is fine if it's not overused. There are better ways to blend colors (using the Healing Brush with Pattern, and having the pattern be a white square is a good one) But sometimes you wanna push all the pixels over. Lightly. With much control.
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I promise I'll add some full length explanation tomorrow that will make PMD's head spin... Or well, at least he'll pat me on the head and say something akin to "Silly Say...tricks are for kids..."
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I'm hoping at least some of it will turn on the little light bulb over my head. I've come to expect to get inspiration and knowledge from your posts. And sass. Can't forget the sass.
Like I said my main problems with using ps for this are mainly inexperience with those parts of the program. I am not always sure what all the different tools, and sub catagories of tool are really used for at times. So, it becomes a process of take advise, use tutorials, and trial and error. And with all that said, with ps you ask 20 people you get 25 different ways of achieving basically the same thing. So there is always a measure of self discovery. I have finished the flats for the most part, in the process learned alot about layering and using layers, now I am playing with extending that to effects and coloring/blending, and it is going ok so far.
Have already found that using burn, dodge, and smudge SPARINGLY can do some nice things, but layering colors and adjusting opacities etc definately leads to much stronger colors, and nicer blending. SO I can be tought!!!!
But for the little I have done so far, really glad I got a tablet, especially when turorial are says they pitty doing these things with a mouse.
Smudge is cool and I defintitely am going to look at those tutorials. I just got CS2 also and am learning so if I see any other tutorials I will send them your way Cuppa_Celsia
Happy Hunting!
I know this was posted long ago, but I need some help with phososhop. I am using version cs2, and have started coloring my 1st piece. I have gotten each base color in its own layer ok, and the basic colors look good. Now my questions....
1. how do I creat layers that will allow me to burn, dodge, apply effects over the color layer so I can see the color with and without effect, and basically toggle them off and on?
2. How would you add a metal or chorm effect to a color or layer to creat a metal look only to a certian item.
3. What is the best way to apply tectures etc?
I know these sound like newbe questions, but I have never really used ps to color before, so I am new at this. I have a good basic understanding of the program overall though.
I also know there used to be link to several good tutorials on these forums, but they have been sent to the thread graveyard. Does anyone have these again?
Thanks in advance.