Being an illustrator means you never stop learning. There are always new techniques, programs, software, and materials to explore, providing endless opportunities for growth. A great resource for learning is Skillshare, where many talented illustrators, designers, and artists share their talent, knowledge, and skills. By taking a class on Skillshare, you can learn from the most creative people without leaving your home. However, with thousands of classes to choose from, it can be overwhelming to find the right course for you. To help you navigate the vast selection, I’ve prepared a list of my favorite Skillshare classes for illustrators and artists that I believe are highly useful and worth your time.
Lettering for Designers: One Drop Cap Letterform at a Time
I highly recommend watching this class, even if you are not a lettering person. As someone who had never done lettering before, I found the class to be incredibly enjoyable. Jessica, the instructor, is a very talented letter artist and illustrator with extensive design experience. Her work is absolutely beautiful, and she is also an excellent teacher. In this class, you will learn how to create beautiful letters and alphabets, starting with the most basic project of making a single letter.
Illustration & Inspiration: Keeping a Sketchbook
I believe that every artist has a sketchbook, which is used for doodling, keeping ideas, planning projects, and practicing. However, it can be challenging to maintain regular use of a sketchbook. If you, like me, struggle with keeping up with your sketchbook, then this class is a must-watch. The class, led by talented artist and great instructor Leah Goren, will inspire you to start and most importantly, maintain using a sketchbook to help you stay creative. The class is only 30 minutes and focuses solely on getting your creativity onto the pages of your sketchbook.
Graphic Illustration: Boldly Design with Color and Shape
Honestly, this is one of the best classes on Skillshare! I was impressed with how honest and open Olimpia Zagnoli was about her process of creating an illustration and finding inspiration. Many artists struggle with finding their own style and voice in the world of art. We might know what we like, but it can be difficult to figure out how to get there and find a unique style. In this class, you will explore Olimpia’s surprising and stunning use of color by creating a self-portrait illustration. This class is great for both beginners and experienced illustrators.
Inky Illustrations: Combining Analogue and Digital Media
This class is perfect for those who want to learn how to blend ink and digital illustration, and would be particularly useful for graphic designers. The instructor, Tom Froese, is known for his whimsical, playful and dynamic illustrations that blend digital techniques with physical textures and linework. The class project is to create a postcard featuring your favorite tools of the trade, the tools you typically use for your everyday job or hobbies. It’s a fun project that everyone would enjoy.
Creative Digital Illustration: Learn to Use Adobe Fresco
Adobe Fresco is a relatively new tool on the market, but there are already many excellent video lessons available. This course is one of them. In this class, award-winning illustrator Lisk Feng will teach you how to use Adobe Fresco on your iPad to create the digital illustrations you’ve always wanted to make. You will learn many useful tips and tricks that you can use to start creating your own art. It’s a very fun class that will benefit anyone, whether you are new to digital art or simply curious about Fresco.
Easy Instant Coffee Painting! Fun Techniques & Mini Illustrations
If you think that coffee is a beverage that helps you go through the day, you are underestimating it. It turns out that coffee is also a great art material. In this fantastic class, you will learn the basics, as well as many fun techniques drawing with coffee. The final project is to create a mini coffee illustration – and trust me, you will love it! Admit it, painting with coffee is something you always wanted to try but didn’t have a chance.
I love this class, and I think everyone should watch it! Maria-Ines Gul, a London based artist and designer, will guide you through her process for creating striking self-portraits using physical materials – paper, watercolor, gouache, and colored pencils. For me, who really never created a self-portrait before, it was an exciting experience of capturing the particular moment of my life. Also, in every video, Maria-Ines shares her favorite tips and tricks for the material she is using, and some of them were new to me, and I am excited to use them in my art now.
Digital Shading for Beginners – Shading Strategies for Digital Illustrations
In this class, Alexandra Gábor teaches what seems to be very easy, but actually could be very challenging – shading. I think every artist must learn how to shade their illustrations properly using a variety of tools and strategies. Because shading is that small detail that makes our paintings extra special. I would say that this class is particularly useful for someone who is just starting his/her illustration journey; however, if you experienced artist, this class is a great way to practice your skills. It is important to mention that in this class, you will be using Procreate, so if you didn’t use it before, it might be a good idea to get familiar with the program.
Let’s Draw Soup: Learn Digital Illustration on iPad
If you want to have fun and learn how to draw on the iPad, this class is for you! In 30 minutes, Esther Nariyoshi will walk through the process of drawing a simple bowl of soup illustration using the Procreate app. This class is excellent for beginners teaching the basics of Procreate in a very engaging and fun way.
Intro to Procreate: Illustrating on the iPad Pro
This is the best class for learning Procreate! Brooke Glaser is one of the greatest instructors on Skillshare, and in this class, she covers all Procreate tools and brushes, as well as the hidden tools and gestures you need to know in order to create beautiful digital illustrations. This particular class was made for somebody who is just starting using Procreate, so it is very easy for a beginner to follow and understand.
Trust me, you will watch and rewatch this class.
Watercolor for Surface Pattern Design: Working with Adobe Illustrator
Watercolor is a great tool loved by many artists. However, today, when everything is digitalized, how to incorporate your watercolor into your designs? Well, this fantastic class by Bonnie Christine, one of the top teachers on Skillshare, was designed specifically for the illustrators looking to incorporate their painted and watercolor artworks into designs using Adobe Illustrator. In this course, you will learn tons of useful things as well as instructor’s favorite tips and tricks that will help build your career as a pattern designer. One side note, though, if you are new to Adobe Illustrator, it is highly recommended to take an intro to Illustrator class because some of the work you will do in this class would require proficiency in Illustrator.
Fun With Faces: Create a Stylised Digital Portrait
Face can be a very challenging thing to draw, but this class makes it so easy and fun for you. You don’t even notice how, by the end of the course, you have a beautiful and stylized digital portrait. As a part of this class, you will be doing three exercises that were designed to teach you how to add character and personality to your portraits. Charly Clements, greeting card designer and illustrator, will walk you through her process of creating unique characters and experimenting with color and brushes. By the end of this class, you would be able to create a portrait that will stand out!
Hand Lettering for Chalk Murals
Be honest, when was the last time you touched chalk? Probably in elementary school? Well, this class will teach you how to create a large-scale lettering art by hand using chalk. Sounds fun, right? In 40 minutes Lauren Hom, who is the instructor for this class, will teach you her whole process as well as her tips and tricks for preserving and fixing your chalk artwork. This class is perfect for lettering for everybody: artists, illustrators, enthusiasts, and everyone who wants to have a unique artwork.
In this class, author and illustrator Vashti Harrison shares her process for creating digital illustrations with Procreate. You will learn every step from creating a sketch to adding lighting and texture. As a nice bonus, Vashti will teach you how to create shareable time-lapse piece. I can guarantee that anyone of any level can take something from this class.
Making Your First Zine: From Idea to Illustration
This is one of the most interesting classes you can find on Skillshare. In this 45-minute class, Kate Bingaman-Burt will teach you how to make a zine. Zine? What does even mean? Well, a zine is an inexpensive form of printed expression. Usually, it is a DIY thing for making which you don’t need anyone’s permission. The idea behind creating a zine is to tell something that you care about. I think that everyone should take this class because Kate Bingaman-Burt shares her knowledge, ideas, and artist tips that will help you to free your imagination and help you create an impressive, empowering little piece of print.
Animated Illustrations
If you are like me, always wanted to learn how to create animated illustrations, this class is all you need. Jamie Bartlett will guide you through illustrating an everyday object and then bringing it to life using animation in Photoshop. What is really nice about this class is that you will learn not one but three different methods of animation that each have its unique look. One thing to remember that in order to participate in this class, you would need a ready illustration and Adobe Photoshop.
Digitizing Hand Drawn Sketches with Character
In this fun class designed by Dylan Mierzwinski, you will take a hand-drawn sketch and turn it into a digitized illustration using Photoshop. She will also take through her workflow from brainstorming to delivering a final picture. The thing you will learn in this class will definitely expand your skills! To enjoy this course, you would need to be familiar with Photoshop.
Make Your Own Chat Stickers! A Character Design and Vector Coloring Exercise
Who doesn’t have a chat with their friends and family today? And who doesn’t use stickers to communicate their feelings and emotions? We all are used to buying stickers, but did you know that you could create your own? Learn how to create your own unique set of chat stickers with Mimi Chao, a top sticker designer, and illustrator. She will start from the basics and explain what is the difference between a great sticker and an OK sticker as well as guide you through a creative exercise in character design and expressive communication using Adobe Illustrator. Great class to learn how to create a set of stickers you can send to family and friends!
STICKERS: Design, Setup, Slap
Who doesn’t like stickers? They are so fun, and you can attach them anywhere from your laptop to your journal. In this class, amazing graphic designer Jon Brommet will walk you through his process of brainstorming, designing, drawing, and setting up stickers for print. Also, he will share his experience with a company StickerApp that specializes in printing stickers. So, if you are ready to design some cool stickers, click “enroll“.
Those are my favorite must-watch classes for illustrators and artists on Skillshare. However, I know that there are a lot many very talented creators that are ready to share their expertise with us. So, if there any classes that you think I missed, let me know in the comments below 🙂
And of course you are more than welcome to use my referral link to get 2 months of Premium for free.
www.skillshare.com/r/user/mishkinart
