Alrighty, nothing too crazy just yet, but I'm learning quite a bit! I got Photoshops 7 day free trial just for these,. I usually use Krita but if Photoshop meshes well with me then I may just go ahead and get it. But that's something for the future. I am going to try to adopt a teaching tone in my posts so I have a need to learn the content correctly. However, if you spot something wrong, absolutely tell me! 
My 5 minute observation are proving fruitful. There is so much more nuance to everyday things I never really paid attention to. Here are some things I've started to notice:
- Materials and textures of objects are mostly seen/defined by light. Most textures are barely seen in shadows or further-away areas. This makes sense when thinking more dramatically. Think of a splintering wooden plank; you can only see the individual cracks and wooden splinters because of the small dark shadows giving it form.
- Most things can be broken up into cylinders, cuboids, and cylinders.
- Light is more complicated than just 1 light source. There is; Reflection from nearby bright objects (Bounce light I think it's called), other light source that may not be as bright or coloured differently, ambient light.
- Highly reflective objects like mirrors and phones will cast a sort of "shadow" of light. They will project a light the same shape as the reflective surface. Like a watch for example, when sometimes the light hits it at a certain angle and leaves a circular projection of light on the wall.
- Perspective deformation is incredibly important in describing the form of an object. A simple object like a pen changes dramatically when viewing the cap up close then horizontally far away. Similarly, a long horizontal object, like a ruler, when held up incredibly close, will shrink at the sides. I'm still getting used to viewing objects like this. I find it helpful to close one eye sometimes when I want to focus on the actual "2d" outline or shape of a 3d object!
I have also completed my first set of daily exercises included in the Photoshop video. The photo editing tools are extremely powerful and I feel like I have a good, basic understanding of how to use them.
I can change shadows, mid tones, and highlights and the values between them using curves.
Color balance can be used to correct color, bring more liveliness to human skin, or even completely change the atmosphere of a piece. There were many times were Mei (Bless her) was either sunburnt or completely freezing in a cold blue beach. 
Tone/Saturation seem extremely helpful for mixing up and quickly viewing different color palettes. With the use of masks, these seem like strong tools.
I am excited to start the image adjustment class, I can see this being incredibly helpful for making custom references by mix and matching images. These are also be incredibly powerful tools to use in digital art itself.
Woop Woop!
