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One of the best ways to nurture yourself as you get older is to continue learning. Getting out of your comfort zone and attempting new things is not only rewarding but good for your brain, too. An easy way to do this is by taking a class online. There are thousands of virtual creative courses that teach everything you’d want in an art and photography education—from essential techniques to building a sustainable business.
Sites like Bluprint and CreativeLive offer a bevy of classes. But if you’re scrolling through their selections and thinking you’d like to take all the courses, you’re in luck. Many of these sites offer subscriptions. CreativeLive recently launched their own Creator Pass, which allows you to stream over 1,500 of the site’s top classes at your own pace. This is a great option no matter how you intend to use the service—whether you want to start a new career or if you need some refresher courses every once and a while. With the Creator Pass, you’ll be a more well-rounded you.
Ready to get learning? Check out a selection of online creative classes to try, below.
Spark your creative spirit with online art and photography classes. Scroll down to see our picks.
Photography
Adobe Lightroom Classic CC: The Complete Guide, CreativeLive — Adobe Lightroom is a powerful program for photographers. Understand the ins-and-outs of it when you take this class. It comes with a workbook that “acts as a reference guide, Lightroom presets, and Lightroom keywords.”
Portrait Photography Fundamentals, CreativeLive — Learn to master portrait photography with Scott Robert Lim. He demonstrates the fundamentals you need to know—including lighting, posing, composition, and post-processing.
The Art of Flower Photography, CreativeLive — Have you ever wanted to try macro photography? Become acquainted with it through flowers. In this in-depth course, you’ll learn how to capture awe-inspiring images that celebrate colorful blooms and the amazing beauty of nature.
Using Lightroom to Fix Bad Lighting, CreativeLive — Bad lighting is a common problem when shooting photography. But with some help from Adobe Lightroom, you can get past this hurdle and maintain your photographic vision.
Essential Compositing Tips & Techniques In Photoshop, CreativeLive — Composite images merge two or more photos. This alone is tricky. But in order to make the final image appear cohesive, you need to consider light sources, perspective, and more. Through this class, you’ll understand how to make seemingly disparate images into a single piece that looks realistic.
Creating Painterly Photographs, CreativeLive — Learn how to add a fine art dimension to your photos by employing techniques like a slow shutter, selective focus and more.
Craft Photography Fundamentals, CreativeLive — You’ve got to have great photos if you want to sell things online. Through this class, discover how to produce great images without breaking the bank—you can even snap them on your phone!
Art & Crafts
Drawing Dimension: Shading Techniques, Bluprint — If you want to make your drawings look realistic, you’ve got to understand shading techniques. From selecting a light source to highlights and blending, this class will prepare you for three-dimensional sketching.
Getting Started with Watercolor & Gouache Paints, CreativeLive — Get to know watercolor and gouache paints with artist and illustrator Mary Jane Begin. It’s great for beginners who want to know the basics before diving into a painting practice.
Developing Characters, Environments, and Story Boards, CreativeLive — Ever thought about telling a story through illustration? In this course, you’ll learn how to create believable characters, authentic worlds, and beyond.
Boho Style: Mixed-Media Embroidery, Bluprint — “Let your stitches run wild” when you try this mixed media embroidery class. Nichole Vogelsinger will teach you how to combine stitches, fabrics, and other embellishments into one striking piece.
Sketching Landscapes in Pen, Ink & Watercolor, Bluprint — Skip the photographs—sketch what you see! This class will show you fundamental techniques that will give you the confidence to do so.
The Ultimate Guide to Drawing Hands, Bluprint — Hands are a notoriously tricky thing to draw. Here, you’ll learn anatomy and proportion of hands as well as how to draw them in motion.
Creative Entrepreneurship
Growing Your Audience on Instagram, CreativeLive — Instagram is a powerful tool—it can be a career maker. Instructor Pei Ketron is a well-known Instagrammer who will show you how to stand out on the platform.
Branding 101: The Complete Toolkit, CreativeLive — Building a successful business means establishing a strong brand. This course will help you articulate who you want to be and create a visual style that effectively communicates it.
Workflow, Time Management and Productivity for Creatives, CreativeLive — Want to be able to do it all? Time management is vital to keeping all the balls in the air. Lisa Congdon offers strategies she’s developed over years of working with a variety of freelance clients.
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