I've upgraded to better graphics programs, but ... - PhotoImpact or Photoshop learning curve

... the learning curve is frustrating me.

For a long time, I was using Microsoft Image Composer 1.5 for merging images. For instance, I set up a site spoofing the TV show Party of Five here:

http://www2.cybercities.com/p/po5honours/predictions/index.html

Although MS Image Composer is an okay program and reasonably user friendly, I began to feel its limitations. In my spoofs on the above page, I would sometimes take one person's head and put it on another body for comic effect. I found it difficult to get the different skin tones to match up, and resorted to using grayscale in the images of Julia and Bailey. Image Composer also flattens an image whenever you save it. You therefore cannot piece a bunch of sprites together, save and exit, and then come back and finish later.

I've now added two more programs I could use for image editing if I wish, Ulead PhotoImpact 4 and Adobe Photoshop 4. PhotoImpact allows you to save an image as a Ulead File for Objects (UFO) so that you can come back and edit where you left off. That feature is a godsend for me. However, I'm having trouble figuring out how to do some other things I became accustomed to in MS-IC. For instance, in my spoof of the character Charlie, I turned him into an apeman. (http://www2.cybercities.com/p/po5honours/predictions/charape.htm) I did this by taking an ape image and creating an extra sprite of its head. Next I cut out Charlie's face (not even very accurately) and placed it in front of the ape's face. Then I took the extra sprite I made of the ape's head and cut it's face out of it, making a transparent hole where it was. When I placed that image over Charlie's face and lined it up with its image behind it, presto! After minor cleanup, I had an image of Charlie as an apeman, and Po5 fans got their laughs.

Now my dilemma is this: I love the way Ulead PhotoImpact will let you save a file without flattening it, holding the sprites (or objects as it calls them) in place where you last left them. However, I've been having trouble figuring out how to create a transparent hole in the middle of a sprite as I did with the bigfoot image. Does anyone know how to do this in PhotoImpact 4 or at least know what subjects I should search for in the help files? Or maybe someone knows of a discussion group on the net for this program. It has a lot of features that make it blow Image Composer into the dust. Therefore, if I could become proficient at the thing, my abilities would dramatically increase.

Of course, my other option is to use Photoshop, which I've barely scratched the surface with. Anyone know how to do this in that program or know of any good Photoshop discussion sites?

I'd appreciate any ideas. Thanks.