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I did 2 years at uni for commercial art, which was generally learning to use the programs that are used for design & the commercial/marketing uses of them. I did my course in 95/96 when the internet was just becoming a commercial tool & computers were taking over. I did 1 year of using a bromide camera, cutting stuff out and sticking it on illustration board to make ads with 4 color separations, then in the second year they said forget all that we're going digital LOL
I learnt more in the last 3 months when I started taking on freelance clients than I did in the entire 2 years.
I have trained a lot of people to use photoshop & dreamweaver, and the first lesson I give them is to pick a random page in a magazine and figure out how to best reproduce it. Draw lines on it with a ruler to plan your 'cuts' and write notes all over it such as 'this is a drop shadow' or 'use gradient overlay' etc. If you don't know how to achieve a certain effect, go to google and ask. ie, creating gradient overlay with drop shadow in photoshop?, and you'll find a tutorial for the *specific* thing you need.
The best advice I can give you for photoshop is don't try to approach it from a book with the intention of knowing it all, only try to learn what you will need to know to produce your ideas & build from there. I've used ps almost every day for 12 years and I know 10% of how it works, probably less!
My second step with training new designers is to give them a few of my psd files - preferably complicated ones, and get them to make banners or promo tools by dragging elements around that already exist.
If you can, get ahold of some psd files from friends, or email me and I'll send you one, and set yourself a few projects from that.
Good luck & make sure you post some work!
I love seeing new designers make break throughs!
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