Everyone is within time range.
I am a traditional artist as well as digital. I prefer digital when doing custom concepts for clients. You know that the undo is worth it's weight in gold! Just to do an illustration takes an average of 6-8 hours max. Add on the custom touches and it will add on a half hour to an hour. Quick sketches can take a half an hour. I have a day job as an illustrator and graphic designer, so I do my freelance work in the evenings and on weekends. I have even illustrated a couple children's books digitally. The first one I did in 6 weeks. Ahh the beauty of digital illustration and layers in PS!
Learning Adobe Illustrator has it's advantages. You don't always have to create multiple layers. Learning the bezier tool will definitely speed up your work. I too can be a perfectionist. I sometimes go back and add more detail after I show the client. I call it "polishing." My wife thinks that I am too picky! I tell her, if my name wasn't on it I wouldn't care so much. Some days I can fly through a project and others tend to drag on. Guess it depends on the mood or the project. Oh yeah, distractions can slow you down as well.
I am the oddball, I still prefer the mouse over a tablet. Guess I haven't used the right setup yet. All I can say is continue to discover new techniques and shortcuts. Only time and experience will help you shave off minutes or even hours on your projects.
-DV
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