I'm painting my kitchen, including the ceiling. This is the first time I've ever painted a room by myself. It was time + wanted to save some money.

All my walls and ceilings have knockdown texture. I first primed everything (there was some wall repair and retexturing) and then applied my first coat of paint. The paint store recommended 1/2" nap roller cover. Everything seemed to be rolling on just dandy. I was surprised how relatively drip- and splatter-free it was. However, once the paint dried, I could see many places where the paint simply didn't get into the deeper parts of the texture. I went around and hit those places with a brush. Hopefully everything will even out when I do my second coat.

Should I be using a longer nap? My understanding is that the longer the nap, the more the paint flies off the roller. I can understand this happening on the ceiling where rolling overhead doesn't quite have the push behind it. But it surprised me on the walls where I thought I was getting really good coverage.