Finger picking technique

Do you have long nails?
How did you build yourself up to such a high standard of playing or how would you suggest someone starting out could do it?

I can't handle long nails, I just use the finger tips. If you're just starting out with finger picking and therefore want to focus on your picking hand then there are plenty of exercises out there just to build up strength and so on. Pretty sure there's a ton of stuff on youtube which will start you off and help with strength and dexterity. After a while you can practise speeding up basic exercises and when it becomes too easy, move onto something a little more challenging. Again there are probably a ton of picking patterns and methods out there. Personally I just stick to patterns I already know (and probably picked up in other songs years ago) but if you decide to get more inventive with time signatures and chopping or adding beats in weird places, this will influence the picking pattern and help you come up with new ones.

Good to know, I can't be doing with long nails. Thanks for the reply, I'll stick at it x