Noob looking to create a logo

[TechMinerUK]

Hi, I've been interested in graphics and image editing for a while but I don't have the skills to create a logo (I have tried).

I don't have the money for Photoshop/Fireworks but I am interested and don't mind studying for a while to get a nice end result. To be honest I just want to gain a few skills whilst creating something myself.

So do any of you have any ideas where I should start (I have read the stickied post on tutorials/apps).
(Sorry if this is in the wrong section)

 

[TechMinerUK]

If you're just starting out don't worry too much about not having photoshop ect.

Pen & paper (napkin / back of a receipt) will do.

There are lots of "design rules" to follow (plenty of blogs / tutorials on these), I tend to stick to a few

1. Less is more
2. Black & White (Your logo be fine to use in B&W)
3. Avoid raster (try and stick to vectors)
4. Less is more
5. Avoid cliches (Yes your designing a plumming logo but for the love of god put the spanner vector down!!)
6. Less is more

Theres so much more, one thing that helped me was just put your work out there to be critiqued, and take it, and learn from it.

Thank you , is there anything else I should know for after designing the logo such as best software etc?