I figured I should post in the thread, but I can't really contribute to this conversation.. I'm graduated and not in university.

So, I don't know if anyone here is an artist.. But I dipped my toes into GIMP last night. I successfully made a floating logo with a drop shadow behind it per tutorial, but.. I didn't really understand why anything I did caused the effects. I don't know what the layer mask really did, or why I needed certain layers. It's a little frustrating, but I really want to get through it.

Is anyone here knowledgeable in this program? A little guidance would be nice if not, I can continue to try to self-teach.. I just wish I had more time with it. Real life really does soak up a lot of "me" time, doesn't it?