General advice - This place is a hive of helpful and very talented people - you only have to show us a problem and ask for help and you'll find that out for yourself

The only pitfall I can think of when starting out is the tendency to try to achieve too much in the very first few maps. Art is something that can be learned, but like everything else it takes time and patience. Take things in smaller steps, rather than gigantic leaps - unless, of course, you are having us on and you're really an expert artist already