Photo: Nik MacMillan
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Growing up was when many of us fostered a life-long love of learning. For just as many, however, formal schooling stopped in our early twenties. But this fact doesn’t mean that you have to cease all class time. Through the magic of the internet, there is a bevy of online creative classes that’ll teach you a new skill or cultivate what you already know. Best of all, you can take them at your own pace.
Are you looking to diversify your interests? Perhaps you’re a photographer who would like to know more about drawing—you never know how it might inspire you. With this in mind, Bluprint (rebranded from Craftsy) has created a streaming platform that’s like Netflix for makers. They have over 3,000 hours of classes that range from art and craft to cooking and much more. And for the holidays, they have Bluprint boxes that include all of the supplies you need to try a new craft, and the boxes pair with a specific class from their Startup Library. Bluprint will definitely give you the most bang for your buck, but if you’re interested in a specific class, Craftsy is still offering that, too.
Craftsy and Bluprint aren’t the only places you can get enrolled in creative online learning. We’ve found great courses on CreativeLive and Creativebug as well. Check out our picks below and visit our classes category to see what else we’ve picked in the past.
Try online creative classes today! Scroll down to see our picks for this week.
Photography
Conquering Crappy Light, CreativeLive — Capturing the perfect photo hardly ever happens under ideal lighting conditions. Learn how to overcome “crappy light” so that you can take great photos in any setting.
Adobe Photoshop CC: The Complete Guide, CreativeLive — Learning Photoshop is easier than you think. With this extensive 21-video course, you’ll get an introduction to the program and how you can use it to edit your photographs.
Phone Photography: Capturing Your Travels, Brit + Co — Want to document your travels like the wanderlust-inducing Instagram accounts you follow? Brit + Co partnered with the women from Dame Traveler to show you how to capture beautiful images while you’re on vacation.
Fine Art Photography: The Complete Guide, CreativeLive — Take the vision that’s in your head and translate it into a real photograph. With the help of award-winning photographer Brooke Shaden, you’ll learn how to develop your ideas, produce, and edit them so that they’re picture perfect.
Street Photography: The Art of Photographing Strangers, CreativeLive — Do you have what it takes to be a street photographer? In this course, instructor Ashley Gilbertson will teach his conventional and unconventional methods to snap portraits on the street. Plus, you’ll get to watch him in action.
Beginner Drone Photography, CreativeLive — Drones are more affordable than ever. Learn the basics of aerial drone photography from Dirk Dallas, an FAA licensed drone pilot and commercial photographer.
Art & Crafts
Nature in Watercolor, Craftsy — Dive deeper into watercolor paintings when you depict what’s in the woods. In this class, you’ll create three paintings that celebrate the natural world.
How to Make Paper Flower, CreativeLive — Add whimsy and beauty to any occasion with paper flowers. In Robert Mahar’s class, you’ll learn how to create large-scale stylized blooms as well as life-like flora using crepe paper.
Watercolor Still Life, Craftsy — Learn to paint a floral still life step-by-step. Along the way, you’ll learn techniques for color mixing and creating shadows.
Photo Transfers for Mixed Media Collage Work, CreativeLive — Combine photographs with elements of drawing and painting in this class taught by Stephenie Hamen. You’ll learn how to transfer using acrylic mediums and integrate the transfers seamlessly into a piece.
Hand Lettering 101, CreativeLive — Hand lettering is having a moment in the design world. Get an introduction to this in-demand skill and develop your own “arsenal of lettering styles” with the help of Annica Lydenberg.
Digital Fashion Illustration: Sketching Street Style to Runway with Danielle Meder, Brit + Co — Make your fashion-drawing dreams a reality in this course taught by illustrator Danielle Meder. She’ll show you how to draw quick sketches on an iPad that capture the essence of movement and style.
Creative Careers
Becoming A Successful Design Freelancer, CreativeLive — Becoming a freelancer gives you flexibility in your day to day life and overall career, but it comes with a lot of responsibilities. From branding to finances to clients, you’ll cover the essentials in this class.
Building a Creative Brand, Creativebug — If you dream of turning your artistic skills into a business, this five-episode class will show you how to discover, build, and elevate your creative brand. It turns to the expertise of successful creatives like Lisa Congdon.
Social Media and Web Graphics Made Easy, CreativeLive — It seems like the whole world is online, and so making great graphics is more important than ever. Learn to easily produce beautiful images, using the right software and tools, for optimal online sharing.
Marketing for Crafters: Create the Right Plan, CreativeLive — Marketing is essential to building your business, and creating a concrete plan will set you up for success. Instructor Tara Swiger will help you structure a marketing strategy that is authentic to how you do business.
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