There are tons and tons of features in the CG illust program, and it takes time to master all of them. This page is introducing some tips which might be very useful for you. Their source is mainly a Japanese published book "Let's start CG illst", which will probably not be published in English

Here is a menu of this tips class:

Topic 1  Useful short-cut keys 1 <added Aug 13th, 2003>
Topic 2  Useful short-cut keys 2 <added Aug 22nd, 2003>
Topic 3  Easy ways to change the color of your rough sketch
 <added Aug 29th, 2003>
Topic 4  What does this  symbol mean? <added Sep 5rd, 2003>

　


How much do you use short-cut keys for CG illust? You might get tired of choosing "Undo" or "Redo" from the menu bar. Let's start with "Undo" and "Redo".

For "Undo", holding the [Ctrl]key, hit the [Z]key.

For "Redo", holding the [Ctrl]key, hit the [Y]key.

You can use this technique with your left hand, so it's convenient!
Another tip - Do you know how to change the number of "Undos"?  Go to "File menu", and choose "Preferences". You will see "Number of Undo".
Don't put a big number, because it might make your machine work slower. It depends on how big the file is of the illustration you are working on.  I usually leave it at "10".

　

　
Let's move to the next one.
Do you use layers? Suppose that you don't need "Layer 3" anymore, but you don't want to delete the layer. What will you do? It's easy. Select Layer 3, and hit the [Delete]key. Everything on the layer 3 is cleared, but layer 3 is still there.

And next, hit the [Insert]key and see what happens on your screen. Unless your color picker chose the 'white', layer 3 must be covered by the color that your color picker holds!! 
Here is another good one. Let's hold the [Space]key, and drag your canvas up or down. You got it? The canvas is moving. When you are drawing a big illustration, maybe bigger than your screen, this tip will help you. And one more similar feature. Hold the [Alt]key, and drag your canvas. What's happened? Yes, it allowed your illustration to rotate. You don't want this?  No, problem. Hold the [Alt] key again, and just one click! It will be back.
Ok, this is the last one for today's lesson. How do you zoom in/out the canvas? You can do that with the 'Zoom-In' tool and the 'Zoom-out' tool. Also, you can use the key board for the same thing.

For 'Zoom-in', holding the [Ctrl] or ([Ctrl] and [Alt]) keys, hit the [+]key.
For 'Zoom-out', holding the [Ctrl] or ([Ctrl] and [Alt]) keys, hit the [-]key.

Alright, this is the end of the lesson.  Let's review what we learned.
For "Undo", holding the [Ctrl]key, hit the [Z]key.

For "Redo", holding the [Ctrl]key, hit the [Y]key.

To clear everything on a layer, choose the layer and hit the  [Delete]key.

To fill a solid color on a layer, choose the layer and hit the [Insert]key.

To move your canvas, holding the [Space]key,  drug it the way you want to move.

To rotate your canvas, holding the [Alt]key, drug it. Holding the [Alt]key, click once to move back.

For 'Zoom-in', holding the [Ctrl] or ([Ctrl] and [Alt]) key, hit the  [+]key.

For 'Zoom-out', holding the [Ctrl] or ([Ctrl] and [Alt]) key, hit the [-]key.