Im new to graphic design.

For me 5 "needs".

1) What to use do line work, type and geometric objects, and combine them with bit maps (Tiffs, Jpegs, Bmps, etc.). CorelDraw or Adobe Illustrator.

2) What to use to work with bit maps. Photoshop or CorelPaint

3) How to add brush, or pencil, or any "natural stylistic effects" to a digital composition. PainterX.

4) How to color separate the digital work. Screen print Separator, Fast Frames, etc.

5) How to get my Epson 3000 to give me decent films. AccuRip.

There are a thousand ways to skin a cat, the programs in red are the ones I use personally.

I was given a "trial" copy of CorelDraw 3 back in 1990, so I've had 20 years to get to know it's programmer's ways of thinking. Illy...Adobe Illustrator is industry standard and although I have a copy...using is like Scotty flying a Klingon bird of prey, he can do it but it just don't feel right.

Purely for the 'design' element, I use photoshop CS3 ( I actually 'paint' in this program as I rarely use other peoples work or photo's etc for my designs) and Illustrator for line work or vectors. I usually start in illustrator and then move the project to photoshop for any finishing off of design. As a designer my role is purely that of producing unique designs for retailers and so I tend to work as if drawing or painting freehand in my own particular styles ? - the software is merely my virtual canvass as it allows me to produce a digital composition for garment print. As opposed to this, if you don't have a design or art background, there are many preset brushes and patterns and effects out there which Tshirt designers use to help achieve the images they want, if you google around you are sure to find them for whichever software you choose. You will also find many tutorials on how to achieve basic effects etc in most of the software listed in this thread.

I also own coral painter - which I never seem to use lol but just because my designs never need me to, I can always achieve what I need to purely with a brush and paint pallet in photoshop.

As said already, it will come down to personal choice, and in some ways, design style.

Realistically, doing the designs yourself can be a total disaster. If you are looking for some crazy custom illustrated artwork that is then hand painted using a Wacom tablet, then you are probably not going to get the quality you are looking for and become incredibly frustrated. Even a basic software package of Adobe Illustrator and Adobe Photoshop will run you $1300.

If you are doing this for real and are truly interested in becoming a graphic designer, I would take a few college courses first and maybe go to your local Dr. Sketchy course (figure drawing with burlesque models) to try it out and hone your craft a bit before plunking down several thousand dollars on a fast computer and software. Once you get a feel for it and still want to continue, then I would pick up the Adobe Creative suite and there are tutorials everywhere. You will practically trip over the tutorials just by typing in Photoshop tuts/illustrator tuts. A client of mine has some fantastic tutorial videos that are pretty cheap (learnwebdevelopment.com - I know it doesnt sound right, but they have illustrator and photoshop tutorials that are just awesome!)

I know that if you have any specific problems, there are a ton of people on here (including myself) that will hook you up with answers. The biggest thing is just getting out there and drawing things in real life.