Skillshare Classes Roundup: 10 Most Popular of October 2022

The leaves have fallen, the clocks have changed and the last jack-o-lantern has been taken inside. No doubt about it: it’s Thanksgiving time.

Whether this time of year fills you with thoughts of family, football or finding a great Black Friday deal, everyone can be thankful for the chance to express themselves creatively. This collection of October’s most popular Skillshare classes is here to help you find your voice—or maybe another new hobby!

Music Classes

Music Fundamentals: Explore & Create Your Unique Sound

An overhead shot of teacher Jacob Collier playing the piano. His hands are visible on the keys; beneath the piano is a hardwood floor. — Expressing yourself through your music is about to get a whole lot easier.

Musician and content creator Jacob Collier sees music as a language, and he’s here to invite you into the conversation. With his guidance, you’ll discover what makes your music sound like you. Collier will also show you how to create a melody, walk you through concepts like lyrics, rhythm and time, and teach you a powerful lesson in trusting yourself.

Self-Care & Creativity Classes

Mindful Digital Art: 5 Creative Prompt to Reflect and Meditate

A split-screen; on the left, a self-portrait of Nichols, where she’s laid a photo of herself over an abstract pink and purple design. On the right, an overhead shot of Nichols creating this portrait on her iPad. Overlaid across the image are the words “Using art to connect.” — Morgan Harper Nichols seamlessly bridges the gap between creativity and healing, and she can’t wait to show you how it’s done.

Creativity is vital, beautiful and important—but it can be difficult, too. Artist and writer Morgan Harper Nichols knows that when it comes to art, it’s easy to get in your own way. Join her in this mindful artistic practice and learn to break down the barriers within yourself, all while creating vibrant pieces that tell your unique story.

Illustration Classes

Master Textures in Procreate with Your Own Brushes and Texture Overlays

An iPad running Procreate. On its screen, an illustration of a duck is visible, as well as a drop-down brush library. — All that stands between you and mastery of Procreate’s texture features is a little time, energy, and guidance from Mel Armstrong.

Have you ever tried to create something in Procreate and found that, no matter how close your illustrations got to what you were imagining, you never quite achieved the look you were going for? Illustrator Mel Armstrong knows what you’re going through.

Mel’s work showed her that when it comes to texture, you have to take matters into your own hands. She learned to jazz up her illustrations by creating her own patterns and overlays. Now, it’s your turn to brush up the details in Procreate.

Drawing Is Important: Develop a Sketchbook Habit in 30 Days

An overhead shot of two hands and a notebook. The right hand is drawing an illustration of the left one in the notebook, using a large black marker. — Break through a creative block, build a daily creative habit, and learn to love drawing again.

Do you want to draw more? Grow your creativity? Discover your artistic voice, or develop an audience for your work? Don’t worry—a daily drawing practice can help you do all of that and more.

Join illustrator Tom Froese as he walks you through everything you need to know to create and maintain a consistent sketchbook habit. He’ll give you the tools you need to make this practice part of your life, and crush your creativity goals.

Drawing Vintage-Inspired Color Palettes in Colored Pencil

An overhead shot of a notebook. A hand is visible, holding a colored pencil, which is creating one of many colored squares in a palette she’s creating. On the left hand side, some reference images, such as an eye and some stylized letters, are visible. — Artist Marie-Noëlle Wurm knows her way around a color palette, and she’s ready to show you how to create breathtaking vintage shades.

Exploration of color is one of the joys of creating art. You can capture and communicate so much with the shades you choose to work in, and your options are almost endless.

But even when it comes to color, you can find yourself stuck in the same old routine. Artist Marie-Noëlle Wurm shows you how to approach a color rut, using objects and other outside sources to build fresh palettes. She’ll demonstrate by creating a vintage 1920s color palette. The method you’ll learn is one you can apply again and again, whether vintage is your style or not.

Film & Video Classes

Beyond the Logo: Storytelling with an Animated Logo & Brand Video

Successful graphic designers know that branding and storytelling go hand in hand.

In an oversaturated, overstimulating ad market, what makes one brand stand out from the others? That’s simple: the story it tells.

Graphic designer Khadija El Sharawy has been obsessed with storytelling since she was a child, and she’s learned to bring that obsession into her work. Follow her as she takes you through the creation of an animated brand video, from the first kernel of an idea to the final product. You’ll learn about storyboarding, music selection and how to get the most out of Adobe After Effects.

Learn Filmmaking from Beginner to Pro

A still photograph from a film set. In the distance, you can see the people who are on camera; in the foreground of the shot, you can see the camera capturing them, and the man operating it. There’s a little arrow next to the man operating the camera, under which are written the words “This is you.” — With the right tools and information, anyone can make stunning, professional-level video content.

What’s standing between you and filming the videos of your dreams? If your answer is lack of knowledge, fear of failure or uncertainty about where to start, then you’re in the right place.

Filmmaker Jordy Vandeput details the building blocks of great filmmaking, starting with common questions about how to use your camera and compose shots. Jordy’s enthusiasm, knowledge and eagerness to teach will help you make your filmmaking dreams a reality.

Design Classes

Key Principles for Making Outstanding Patterns

An overhead shot of an iPad displaying a blue, pink and purple floral pattern illustration. Artist Di Ujdi’s hands, one of which is holding an Apple Pencil, are visible in the shot. — With a few simple rules, illustrator Di Ujdi makes pattern design easy, approachable and fun.

If you’ve ever started learning a new skill, developed it quickly at first, and then reached a point where you stopped making any visible progress, then you’ve experienced something called the plateau effect. It can happen to anyone learning something new, and pattern design is no exception!

The good news? Illustrator Di Ujdi is here to guide you off the plateau and back to the path forward. Intermediate pattern designers won’t want to miss her expert guidance on everything from creating a good repeat to putting together a perfect client package.

Painting Classes

30 Days of Dreamy Watercolor Landscapes: Embark On A Creative Journey With Me

Artist Zaneena Nabeel sits at a desk, holding a paintbrush and a palette of watercolors. She is working on a watercolor scene of the seashore at sunset. In the background, her brushes, water cup, and other paintings are visible. — When it comes to nurturing and developing your creativity, one month of painting can have a larger effect than you’d imagine.

When life gets chaotic, it can be hard to find time for a daily painting practice. Zaneena Nabeel knows this all too well. Between balancing motherhood and her career as a teacher and artist, she knows how valuable each minute can be.

Still, maintaining a daily painting practice hasn’t added to the chaos of Zaneena’s life. Instead, it’s brought her calm, peace, and a chance to nurture her artistic skills. Even—in fact, especially—if your life feels too busy to learn a new hobby, you’ll want to give this creative journey a try.

Embracing Tracing: Transferring Reference Images for Watercolor

An image of a wolf, broken into a grid of nine squares, is held over a piece of paper and a white wooden surface by artist Denise Soden’s hands. In her right hand, she’s also holding a red pencil. — Tracing might have a bad reputation, but watercolorist Denise Soden knows it’s a technique worth working on.

After teaching thousands of students, watercolor artist Denise Soden knows that a solid drawing foundation is key to a captivating painting. Transferring photos using reference images and tracing a sketch onto a paper are skills that can help you improve your watercolor work. Denise will walk you through every step of learning these techniques, and even help you move past any mental blocks you may have.

A Bountiful Harvest…of Knowledge!

Thanksgiving only comes once a year, but the skills you develop while exploring your passions, discovering your creative side, or learning something new? Those are forever. Now is a perfect time to be thankful for what you’ve learned already, and it may be the right moment to start a new hobby, too—after all, winter is coming.

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