WW; I'd say start w/the basic concept from Rick; not sure abt the alternate varieties of G's - I ain't too fancy a fingerpicker, 'n my old indiscretions of motorcycle adventures over the handlebars, 'n tearin out transmissions & transfer cases (& dropping them on my fingers), hammering, stapling & drilling my own fingers, etc., (& the thrice-damned computor at work!!) have made me change the way I finger some chords any-way, but getting more than 1 string per finger & variations on basic chords are all worth the effort.

As for the pickin; I learned an even much more idiot-simple method from a friend who was a great picker. It goes as follows:

Thumb-

thumb-finger

thumb-finger

thumb

Works out dum/da-da/da-da/dum

pick any easy chords - like D-G-A, or C-F-G; start w/thumb & just 1 finger & choose notes from the first chord that your ear will tell you are right [base for thumb, treble for finger]; then start changing chords w/out loosing the pattern, then work in a second finger & two treble notes, then start working in little runs [base runs often come easy] & grace notes your ear will tell you fit, variations on the trebles, etc - all this over weeks & months, & like they say, do it while reading, riding an exercise bicycle, watching stupid TV shows, etc.. make it automatic.

Then your heart can go into painting pictures w/the words & tune & your guitar can fill in the background, embelish, emphasize, simply support, etc.. (in a perfect world I only glimpse sometimes, at best...)

Cheers & Good Luck [or "break a leg" when you're going up on stage - Vaudville], BK