The document discusses the learning and skills gained from preliminary tasks completed at the start of the year. It describes initial difficulties with Photoshop and taking photographs for a music magazine. Through completing preliminary front cover and contents pages, the author became more comfortable with Photoshop tools and layout principles. They also learned how to take better pictures by practicing with their camera. Editing photos in Photoshop, such as adjusting lighting and contrast, helped develop a stylistic tone for the metal music magazine. Overall, the preliminary work proved useful for gathering knowledge and experience needed to successfully complete the full magazine product.