The author learned several skills from their preliminary task to creating a full music magazine product. They gained more experience using Photoshop which allowed their final magazine cover to look more detailed and professional compared to the preliminary task. Key skills learned included using layers in Photoshop, cropping images, and choosing color schemes and backgrounds that made the text stand out and look more appealing to audiences. Overall, developing Photoshop skills before the final project helped the author create a higher quality media product with confidence.