We all have reasons for wanting to learn or develop a new skill. It might be for personal achievement; it might be that your job requires it or it might be to head towards some greater aim. However, it is the understanding of the reason why you wish to learn that is important. Learning a discipline such as web design, animation or illustration is not just about understanding the process: it is about utilising the final product. Let me put it another way, we know how to technically move a fork from the table to the mouth, but actually it is the food we are ultimately interested in.

Learning should be based on this philosophy. The learning process should be enjoyable and the subsequent results tangible to your life circumstances. It is important that the tools used (be it mouse, pen and ink or keyboard) are all integrated, not separate from the reasons why you are learning this particular skill. Your sense of achievement and satisfaction will be greater when you are achieving your aims without even realising that you are using your newly developed skills.