You should consider working with just paper instead of a some crappier digital painting program. You need to learn your fundamentals first & use a much better program.

Don't give me crap for recommending Photoshop because I use it and think it's bloody amazing with the things it can do.

I seriously recommend you pickup a trial of Photoshop and go through these,

- Learn some fundamentals anyway you can (huge number of tutorials for nearly anything online)

- http://www.wacom.asia/au :: If you're doing digital, get a tablet from these guys. Go bamboo if you're not rich.

- http://www.ctrlpaint.com/ :: This site teaches you a fair bit about Photoshop and drawing in general.

- http://theroundtablet.com/ :: Awesome for tablet owners and if you want to tutorials from professionals. Also has some nice brushes from well known artists.

- http://www.thegnomonworkshop.com/ :: These folks are legendary. They're all over the industry & have some of the best teachers on the web. They cost a bit but it's worth it. Seriously recommended.

- http://conceptart.org/forums/showthread.php?870-Journey-of-a... :: A real beginner to pro journey where some guy with little experience shares everything as he practices relentlessly. Possibly for the inspiration category...

INSPIRATION : These are great for games but also good for just coming up with a starting point for say, concept art. - http://chaoticshiny.com/ - http://donjon.bin.sh/