Hello teachers & fellow aspiring teachers,

I'm Silvia, an Italian freelance designer & illustrator. I love being in the creative industry and I think it allows me to truly take advantage of my best skill: wearing many hats! Over the years I have created bespoke packaging, books, fabrics, prints, stationery, websites, brand identities, digital images and animations, and more!

With the pandemic, my work slowed down a lot and I started volunteering many hours into a community teaching project in my hometown. It made me realize how much I loved that sort of interaction and got me thinking about how I could get into teaching. When I received Skillshare's email about the teaching program, I decided to jump on the opportunity to learn!

Since I never specialized in any one kind of product or technique, I thought the best I could teach was how to find inspiration and stay motivated to succeed as a creative professional, day after day and sometimes "on command". I'd love for my students to finish this class feeling a push to create, to express themselves in new ways, to pick up some good habits, or even just to connect with each other as they would in a traditional classroom.

I have also analyzed what other teachers are doing that is similar (ie. lots of incredible sketchbook practice classes on here), and chose to differentiate myself by giving my class a twist: make it a series. I will plan ahead to create a thematic journey, with one new class every month, that students come back to for year-long inspiration, motivation, and community. Hopefully, consistency on my part will also be motivating to those I'm trying to teach consistency to! Ultimately, my hope is to push the next person to be their best self, and for this digital classroom to become a small but tight digital community space for creatives who participate in its projects.

PS. Still working on class branding & visuals! Consider it a placeholder for now!

Let it flow! Squeeze your creative juices for fresh inspiration + motivation - image 1 - student project

Let it flow! Squeeze your creative juices for fresh inspiration + motivation: with visuals!

(I'd love feedback on this! It's too many characters, and I would say the class name is really "Let it flow!" while the rest is an explanation with keywords, and "with visuals!" is the part that differentiates each class - next one could be, "with typography!" or "with literature!". Should I drop the third portion and keep it only for the cover image? Or drop the cute "squeeze your creative juices"? Or the keywords "inspiration + motivation"?)

Let it flow! Squeeze your creative juices for fresh inspiration + motivation - image 2 - student project

Creativity (noun): the use of imagination or original ideas to create something; inventiveness.

But how do we feed that imagination? Sometimes it might seem that ideas generate out of nowhere, that they strike us, and then we’re unable to have them on command. However, even those ideas come from having observed, mixed, digested, and re-interpreted things that we have seen or experienced.

If you are a creative person, professional or amateur, seeking fresh inspiration and motivation for your practice, this class is for you! No matter your industry, this class suits all types of artistic production and will fit whatever software or tools you may have access to.

‘Let if flow!’ is developed as a series of classes to help you squeeze your best creative juice by using different techniques each month. This is class #1 and we’ll be working on translating inspirational visuals into original work.

In this class we will:

Observe a variety of artistic creations, from painting to architecture, crafts, sculpture or video, and analyze how artists have cross-referenced each other to achieve original results. Looking at what is out there in the world is a great way not only to learn something new but also to tickle your brain and inspire yourself!
Create mood boards & inspiration archives, and work on how to extrapolate from them multiple times in different ways for different projects.
Explore how to go from project idea to product in a variety of industries. Possibilities are endless!
Review some student projects that were submitted - seeing each other’s results can be really stimulating! { Starting from the next class, with this class’s projects; make sure to post yours! }

The goals of this journey are:

To inspire and motivate you month by month for a year;
To give you the tools to keep seeking such inspiration and motivation on your own afterward;
To pick up some good creative habits on the way, with consistency in your practice and hopefully some self-discovery while we’re at it :)
To grow a community of students who interact and influence each other in a way that is similar to an offline course - let’s push each other to become better!

With each class, you will also get downloadable resources, such as journaling pages to track your progress, and some pre-made material to get you started quickly on the class project.

Welcome to this journey with me and all the other students of this class!

Let it flow! Squeeze your creative juices for fresh inspiration + motivation - image 3 - student project

"Good artists copy, great artists steal" - P. Picasso

You probably heard or read this quote before. What did he mean? My interpretation is that good artists can emulate a style or a reference very closely and achieve a pleasant result (think "draw this in your style"), but a great artist will understand which elements are valuable and interesting, and incorporate them in their own mix of influences as a lesson rather than as an element.

Part 1: Inspiration

Set up your “inspiration archives”. I like to use Instagram & Pinterest as shown in class, but feel free to explore other methods that suit you. Don’t worry about follower count or any pressure on what to post, its goal is to: keep you accountable, be an archive of inspiration, help create a sense of group / community with other students to motivate each other;
Design your own mood board. You can pick your own theme or use one provided in the downloads as a starting point;
Exercise your ability to extract what really speaks to you in the pieces you selected and mood board(s) you created! Sketch out elements and ideas without judgment or expectations, just draw, write & remix.

Take those sketches to the next level by ideating 3-4 visual projects you might like to develop;
Finalize one project in any format or medium that you want to work with (drawing, painting, embroidery, sculpture, animation, etc)!

Part 2: Bonus for the extra-ambitious

Go from project to product! Brainstorm how you can transform your project into a pitch or final product and add it to your class project. I’d love to see you make something that feels finished and useful for your creative journey, whether you can monetize it or not. I’ll be more than happy to give you help & feedback on this extra portion as well.
Once you have chosen your best product idea, there is only one thing left to do: go ahead and produce it or pitch it!

Part 3: Motivation

SHARE, SHARE, SHARE! Keep the project section alive, use it as a way to interact with other students for constructive criticism, and keep us updated on your progress often to make the most of this class. At your own pace is fine, but consistency is key to success!
Don’t forget to link your Instagram account and/or Pinterest profile dedicated to this creative exploration;
I will do my absolute best to give meaningful feedback on each project and I will show a selection of the results in next month's class. So stay tuned!
Planning can make all the difference: amongst the materials provided in the downloads, I included journaling pages to help you stay on track with this project.

Let it flow! Squeeze your creative juices for fresh inspiration + motivation - image 4 - student project

Here is a summarized extract of my class outline. To see the details, check out the Google Doc :)

Lesson 1: Introduction (2-3min)

Short presentation of myself and my work;
Why am I teaching;
Cover what I wrote in "Class description".

Lesson 2: Class Project (2-3min)

Explain how this class is part of a series (or "journey");
Cover what I wrote in "Project Description".

Lesson 3: Finding Inspiration (10min)

Overview of visual material to explore how artists have cross-referenced each other or found inspiration around them;
Outline of key takeaways.

Lesson 4: From inspiration to ideas (10min)

Create inspiration archives (on Instagram, Pinterest, your phone, a sketchbook, etc);
Extrapolate ideas with mood boards;
Extrapolate ideas with sketches;
Recap and encouragement to start on Part 1 of the class project.

Lesson 5: From ideas to projects (10min)

How references, sketches, and brainstorming can give us project ideas;
Demo of how I go from ideas to projects;
Encouragement to look at other skillshare classes for techniques & software to create;
Recap and encouragement to finish Part 1 of the class project.

Lesson 6: From projects to products (5-7min)

Overview of how illustrators and graphic designers go from artwork to product;
Overview of how other creatives go from sketches and project ideas to products in different fields;
Demo of how I go from project to product;
Encouragement to do Part 2 of the class project: push it a little further and brainstorm/mock-up products it could become. Possibly even to get them ready to pitch or sell;
Encouragement to look at other skillshare classes for production & sales;
Recap and teaser of next lesson on finding & keeping motivation.

Lesson 7: Tips for creative motivation (5-7min)

Learn from others instead of falling in the comparison trap;
Planning is key to success! Tips & tricks;
Create with a routine;
Encouragement to do Part 3 of the class project: share for accountability & the pleasure that only a community can give!

Lesson 8: Final thoughts (2min)

A few words on what we covered in class & positive vibes;
Encouragement to complete and share the class project;
Encouragement to interact with each other by providing feedback, creating a community on social platforms, asking any questions in the class discussion;
Reminder to check out provided resources for download;
Teaser of next month's class & goodbye / good luck!

See the detailed Class Outline on Google Docs.

Silvia Coco

Illustrator + Maker of Things

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