Here's my attempt at the crown:
http://i.imgur.com/W3cOQs5.png
I thought I'd add a bit of color to the phoenix, let me know what you think
http://i.imgur.com/QUMG5bH.png
I used Adobe Illustrator for all the images I posted here. I just got it last week, I got it just so I could be able to make vector images. (vectors can be stretched out without losing quality, because they're not pixels)
But usually I use Adobe Photoshop.