Hey everyone,

As you can see by my post count, I'm new here, however I am really impressed by what I see in the way of some of the graphics work done by a lot of you around here. I am what I call a "web 2.0 style" designer, but let's not get in to the argument as to what that is exactly. I am not bad at making website designs with simple gradients and whatnot for affect, but when it comes to anything super detailed I just fail epically (logos, banners, etc).

An example about what I'm talking about
A website I designed is http://www.geeklayer.net/ - I made the design, but a different guy made the logo, live chat image, and the "Want a VPS that SCREAMS" banner.

My question to you is: How did you get started learning your graphics design techniques, and where do you get your inspiration?

Thanks!