A newb needs help

I'm trying to create a logo for my fantasy hockey team, but I'm having problems transferring what I see in my head to something that looks non-frightening in Photoshop (CS, if that makes a difference). For my logo, I want an angry looking hawk head, but every time I try making it myself, it looks like a mutant Bart Simpson. I don't want to lift an existing logo and merely change the colors as I'm trying to present it as my work.

I've looked through most of the tutorial sites, and they basically focus on web buttons or layout. Are there any good tutorials on how to create a purely graphical logo? I don't need to make it look as complicated as the Nashville Predators' logo or something along those lines, but I'd like to learn how to make something better than a stick figure.

Thanks.

I'd suggest roughly drawing it on paper, scanning it and then recreating/tracing using vector tools (look for pen/bezier tools), preferably in something like Adobe Illustrator or Inkscape, but Photoshop if you don't like Vector packages.

However, bear in mind that printing will benefit enormously from vector as opposed to raster graphics. If you do use Photoshop, create artwork at at least 300dpi, actual size if you're intending to print.

Unfortunately, I don't have Illustrator, only Photoshop. Should I still make the logo 300 dpi if it's only going to be used on the web?

No - best stick to 72dpi, but make it a decent size in case you need to use it at bigger sizes in future. Then, when it's done, resize down and export.