I advocate a spiral method: learn until you have a basic grasp, then do until you hit a wall, then learn some more. Don't shirk the learning, though, or anyone who has done it will see right through you. For example, when I started typesetting with LaTeX, I started by reading (and finishing) a full LaTeX tutorial. Most people just grab a sample document and dive in, and I can tell you that their markup sucks. It's painful to read, and difficult to extend or maintain—and it's often ugly to boot. The difference between
x$_{spring} = A sin(\omega t)$
and
$x_\mathrm{spring} = A \sin(\omega t)$
is qualitative and unmistakable.
If you care about making things, there's no substitute for doing. If you care about quality, there's no substitute for learning from the experts who have gone before you.
If you care about making things, there's no substitute for doing. If you care about quality, there's no substitute for learning from the experts who have gone before you.