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_{Still Learning and Trying to Keep It Simple in Sharing knowledge
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There are several simple techniques used by professionals.

They plan the project, try rough ideas on paper, modify (steal) designs from similar projects.

They use layers and layer transparency - easily the most important tools. Undo is fine, but with layers you can afford to scrap bits that aren't working without starting from scratch again. You can, for example, have a rough outline or guide layer, taken from a sketch, which eventually gets binned. You can import photos and paint over them on a new layer, then dump the original photo layer - the net is full of little photos you can blow up and use to make drawing or painting look good, even if you can't really draw or paint.

Anything but the simplest 3D text or lit geometrical objects are best handled by a 3D application (like the one on the last coverdisk), with the output bitmap again occupying a layer in the finished 2D image.

Start with a blank monochromatic (maybe black or white) canvas layer twice the size of the picture you want to produce and saved in (at worst) a lossless 32-bit format (tiff, tga etc). When you reduce the final image to jpg it looks cleaner if the source is bigger.

Use a tablet and pen rather than a mouse. There's no comparison.

So, to produce a clan avatar, look at some avatars or artwork you like, and plunder them mercilessly for ideas which you can modify. Nobody will notice. Find photos that might be copied freehand or used for inspiration. Try out some paper sketches, and do what you can to imagine the final result in detail. Then worry about the tools. The best way to learn particular tools is to have a goal while you're using them. You won't produce miracles on your first try, but you might be surprised.