Skillshare Class Roundup: 8 Most Popular of January 2022

We’re more than a month into the new year—how are you progressing toward your creative goals? If you’ve fallen into a funk, a Skillshare class is a great way to inspire new ideas and ignite your artistry. Taught by experienced and talented instructors, these online classes are the perfect way to learn a new hobby or further your existing skills. 

Of course, the ideal class for you will depend on your unique interests and experience level. But to give you a bump in the right direction, we’ve rounded up the most popular Skillshare classes from last month. Check out the best online classes from January to keep your creative goals on track. 

If you want to start a new hobby, but you’re torn between digital illustration and a tactile craft, this is the class for you. In this course, you’ll learn how to create the look of paper cut-outs on a digital screen. 

Skillshare instructor Lisa Bardot talks you through the unique qualities of paper art, explains how to digitally cut out shapes from real paper, and teaches you techniques for how to use shadows to make it look like your digital design is bending and creasing like paper. By the end, you’ll have digital illustrations that will look so real, you will think you can lift them right off of the screen! 

Skillshare instructor Chaitanya Limaye knows what it takes to illustrate dynamic, memorable characters—after all, he worked as an animator for The Jungle Book, Cinderella, and Guardians of the Galaxy. Now, he has adapted his process to Procreate, and in this course, he teaches you the keys to creating engaging characters in eye-catching settings. 

In this series of online classes, you’ll learn how to observe and capture facial expressions and body postures, use color to evoke emotion, and light a scene to create depth and dimension. By the end, you will have the skills you need to add nuance and life to your digital characters. 

Animation can seem intimidating if you’ve never done it before—but this class makes it easy to learn new skills in digital movement. Using Adobe After Effects, learn how to create four different looping text animations from scratch. By the end of the course, you’ll be able to make your typography jump, spin, and move back and forth or up and down. They may be simple movements, but they can go a long way to add some pizzazz to your graphic design work!

Whether you’re on a path to learn a new hobby or launch a business, you will inevitably encounter obstacles and failures. Fortunately, you can learn new skills, exercises, and mindset shifts to help you overcome those challenges. In this course, Skillshare instructor Nedra Tawwab guides you through a plan to identify your goals and fashion a plan to achieve them—all in just 50 minutes. 

Video editing can be a lengthy and cumbersome process. But if you’re a freelancer, time is money—so you simply can’t afford to be inefficient. In this class, learn how to optimize your workflow and expedite your editing process. The course walks through a variety of ways to simplify your process, including customizing your workspace, learning how to use proxies, creating templates, and more. 

Video editing is a powerful tool for effective storytelling. The right editing techniques can guide the viewer’s eye trace, change the video’s rhythm and pace, and help the audience connect with the story. In this class, learn how to create effective video edits and (perhaps more importantly) why they work. 

If you want to start a new hobby, consistency is key. This class doubles as a 14-day challenge to help you build a consistent painting habit. Each day, you will learn how to paint the landscape of a breathtaking travel destination—including locations in Italy, Denmark, Switzerland, Egypt, India, Japan, and more! But you won’t just copy existing paintings stroke for stroke; you’ll learn how to develop your own unique painting style. 

If you want to learn a new skill, the craft of crochet is therapeutic and practical—you can create everything from clothing to housewares! And, it’s surprisingly easy to learn online from the comfort of your couch. If you’ve never crocheted before, this is one of the best Skillshare classes for beginners. Instructor Toni Lipsey walks you through what you need in a crochet kit, how to choose the right yarn, the basics of crochet stitches, and tips for adding embellishments like stripes to your projects. 

While these are some of the most popular Skillshare classes, there are plenty more available to fit any interest, from cooking to photography. Whether you want to learn a new skill or advance your existing expertise, there are online classes that can help you meet your creative goals.