3) have a plan for how to source randomness with solidity. i like generating a seed and passing it throughout the code. the benefit of this method is determinism. 4) get really familiar with svg, how the paint model works, how groups work and obviously the basic attributes of each tag.
5) going back to 2.5.... the /*svg*/ in front of the template string may be a small detail but it makes this way of doing things tolerable. in vscode, i use the `es6-string-html` extension.