HTML note: The code for "typewriter type" (monospaced font) is "tt." You need to go to a monospaced font for typed-tablature to come out properly aligned. To change your font to monospaced, type [open-bracket]tt[close-bracket] and to go back to the standard font, type [open-bracket]/tt[close-bracket], where the open and close brackets are the "less-than" (shift/comma) and "greater-than" (shift/period) signs.

Examples (copied from Kaleea's post):

Now, with the right hand designated as T=thumb; 2=index; 3=middle; 4=ring; try this with thumb and fingers plucking individual strings-one string at a time:
   
1st   -------4-----------4--
2nd   -----3-----------3----
3rd   ---2----------2-------               
4th   -T--------------------         
5th   ------------T---------
6th   ----------------------

If you alternate the bass notes, you get a nice arpeggio accompaniment. Then, try doing this but when you have a bass note, say on the 6th string, move your 2nd or 3rd fingers over a string toward your thumb for a little different sound. There's no absolute here-just try different things.

For a Travis style, try using your thumb & middle finger on just the first 4 strings 4th:D & 3rd:G-thumb/ 2nd:B & 1st:E-middle
to get it down.

3---------3--------
------3------------
---T---------T-----
T-------T----------

(Me again:)

At the risk of adding to information overload, here's the first fingerpicking pattern I learned ~ from a Stephan Grossman book ~ which works very nicely as a basis for all kinds of variations. I think it's a good basic pattern to learn because it combines "pinches" (thumb and finger simultaneous) with alternations, and you'll eventually need to combine both techniques fluidly:

-m--------m-------------|
----i-----------i-------|
-------T-----------T----|
-------------T----------|
-T----------------------|
------------------------|

The thumb plays the alternating bass on a steady beat, while the treble notes picked with the two fingers make a slightly trickier rhythmic patters; note that the final eighth-note of the measure is silent ~ a rest (1-and-2-and-3-and-4[rest]).

The above works on a "C"-major chord, or any chord where the root/bass note is on the fifth (A) string; on a "G" or "E" chord, where the root note is on the bottom E string, that first thumbstroke would hit the 6th rather than the 5th string.

After some practice, it isn't too difficult to throw in walking-bass transitions at your chord changes, and (after even more practice) to make minor variations to the sequence in which you pick the treble-string ("finger") notes.

I found that I could more easily puzzle out the tablature for whole fingerpicking pieces (songs) ~ stuff like "Freight Train," "My Creole Belle," etc. ~ and to slowly learn to play them, after mastering the above pattern.

For some reason ~ perhaps because there's a chord change at each measure throughout the song, no more and no less ~ Dylan's "Don't Think Twice" was the one number I most enjoyed playing when I was able to use the above pattern pretty smoothly but was not yet able to introduce any variations at all. As I gradually loosened up and found a way to "walk" the bass at the chord changes and to vary the treble part a little bit, I was able to gradually polish-up and personalize my version of the song. Of course, we're talking another era, back when that song was a new one; you might find some other number that works similarly for you...