Using a quick breather before my uni term starts to get another entry done!

1) Experiment and Specialise
Trying out different media (traditional or digital) is definitely advisable but remember that the aim of experimentation is to find an area you want to go deeper into. Art material or digital equipment can be quite expensive so you want to make sure that each investment really lets you develop your skills further rather than satisfying a whim. You can make an educated guess at what media might suit you without actually trying them out. If you like fast results, go for markers. If you're worried about making mistakes, use CG. If there's a artist you admire, start learning the same programs they use. The important thing is to have an area in mind that you want to 'conquer' rather than dabbling around in different styles (potential employers aren't interested in how many media you can use, but rather what you can do with them). Bear in mind that athletes win by excelling at a single sport, rather than being mediocre in loads of different ones!

2) Getting on with it
Some things in manga drawing can appear very daunting...such as getting started with CG for the first time or trying to figure out Tokyopop's mechanical specs. Some people see a few numbers and freak out (as if someone's tryng to sneak maths into your hobby the way your mom tried to sneak vegetables into your dinner XD)! But fact is that drawing only makes up a percentage of life as a manga artist. There are loads of gritty 'trial and error' bits like learning new software and technical skills (not to mention joys such as legal contracts and tax returns if you go professional).

If a task seems unpleasant, don't shirk away from it because you expect everything in your hobby to be fun. Approach it like you would a regular problem in your life, by sitting down and getting on with it. Imagine you got a homework problem from school to recalculate TP specs...you'd have no choice but to get out the calculator and think things through (it doesn't take more than high school maths to do anyway, well within the range of everyone here). Similarly, if you've never had any experience with computers you'd be tempted to avoid learning how to tone and letter digitally. But this may end up hindering your career at which point you'd wish you started earlier.

3) To copy or not to copy?
Recently I've seen a lot of controversy over copying other artist's styles. Some feel that having a style too similar to an existing one may disadvantage them in the market. Fact is, everyone starts out copying otherwise manga style as a visual trend wouldn't exist. And the majority of the population can't discern between sub-styles within manga anyway...to them it's just one 'thing' (like superhero comics or graffiti). Beginners should be mostly concerned in developing basic skills such as anatomy, perspectives and clothing...and the learning process will go faster if you have visual references. Developing a style comes very naturally and shouldn't be of foremost concern. I daresay that if someone has experienced rejection of their work, it has a lot more to do with the technical 'basics' rather than 'style'.

Though having said that it's probably not advisable to doggedly copy from one single artist. Try mixing up your references so your style can be a fusion of elements from different artists (ie ways hair/eyes/face are drawn) which then produces a new style. And of course, you should start drawing without references as soon as you feel ready. Being able to create poses and expressions out of your head gives you the ultimate freedom in storytelling. Style is a very fluid thing and all artists' style change noticeably throughout their career. As long as you keep drawing, you'll notice changes occuring on their own, without any of the effort that people think is involved in getting a 'style'!