I am another one of the "no degree" types but i've been in the field for over 25 years. Knowing how to draw and paint helped get my foot in the door (many, many years ago...) but they are not required a whole lot in my final product. i do work out a lot of preliminary layouts on paper first but finish up digitally.

 

my best advice is to study that which you are trying to create.  meaning, if you are looking to utilize your skills of photo-retouching in glamour and pagentry you need to understand how lighting effects the subject. you need to understand how makeup artists concel imperfections, how hair stylists weave their magic. and then try to replicate that digitally. if you don't have a good grasp of the "real life", your digital work will look plastic.  View the computer as just another tool.