As much as i'd like to do a course, finding one that gets right to the point i feel is something that wouldn't happen, plus i don't really have the time in an evening (I have a full-time job) to be able to set a specific day and time to attend a course. I have time to develop my skills, but sometimes it will be a Tuesday night from 7pm sometimes it will be a Saturday morning, so that's not great for attending classes.
A bit about myself. I started as a bit of a mess about on GIMP about a year and a half ago, I enjoyed using it, but realised that to really get into designing and to be able to do higher quality things i'd need photoshop, so just under a year ago i got photoshop - so i've not been doing it that long. I've also got illustrator and love doing illustrations too.
As much as photominipulations are fun and great to look at, it doesn't really help in learning design. So what i'd like to know where/what to look for and at. I think tutorials are good because it's not just about how to produce the final piece, it's about the methods and skills set that you get and are able to take away.
It's something i'm passionate about and really want to up my skills. Whether or not i'll ever be good enough to get into professional designing is something only time will tell, but i'm going to have a good try and do my best to get to that point.
As i said before, any help, direction or any good books or websites would be much appreciated. You guys are far more experienced than me and i value that and know you'll know what's good.
Thanks again.