Or checkout the Polycount Wiki. Shitloads of great stuff on there! http://wiki.polycount.com/TexturingTutorials?highlight=%28hand%29%7C%28painted%29%7C%28texture%29
I don't know if you've looked at the polycount wiki, but there is a ton of info on normal mapping on there. http://wiki.polycount.com/NormalMap?highlight=%28normal%29|%28mapping%29