Learn With The Best! Skillshare Student Spotlight: Art & Illustration Edition

Skillshare would be nothing without our amazing teachers—and their wonderful students! We talked to three prolific students to find out how they get the most out of their Skillshare membership, learning art and illustration. 

Dandi Things

Dandi has been a student on Skillshare for over five years. With over 200 projects under her belt, she is a daily user of the platform.

Dandi’s Top Tip: Look for classes by browsing student projects. You can access student projects with the Browse feature and then select All Student Projects. (Or simply click this link!) You can sort these by Trending, Most Liked, and Most Recent. You can also filter by category if you're looking for a specific type of class. For Dandi, that's Art & Illustration!

She told us that she enjoys classes with clear projects because clear directions and ideas save her from the tricky step of thinking about what to create. Lucky for her, Skillshare is packed with daily challenge classes and project-based classes with clear outcomes. She told us, “One of my favorite attributes of Skillshare is ‘post a class project.’ It is an innovative call to action that gets me excited as a student.“ Her favorite class is also project-based, so let’s take a look at it.

Dandi recommends Floral Lettering Fun with Free Fonts in Procreate with Top Teacher Rebecca Flaherty.

Why To Watch: “Rebecca is brilliant in this class because she takes time to make students comfortable with following along exactly as she is presenting or experimenting if you have more experience,” said Dandi. “Wherever you are in your learning path Rebecca is generous and gives you the foundation to be successful.

“I appreciated that in this one class, I was able to relax and practice the skills I already possessed, and I could reach and grow my skills. It is a gem of a class that can provide students with both simultaneously.  If you would like to see my projects you can find them here.”

Diana Vodjansky

Next up we have Diana, a Skillshare student since 2023. If you have ever shared a project on Skillshare, there is a good chance you have heard from her! With almost 3000 posts, she is one of our most prolific commenters and loves hanging out with fellow Skillshare students. 

Diana told us she also uses Skillshare daily, saying, “If I’m not doing my own creative art I’m still checking online to chat with students and teachers. The student projects page has been the biggest gear for me to lead me where I want to go next.”

So where to go next? Diana will point you to 3 of her favorite teachers: Jane Davies, Will Elliston, and Krzysztof Kowalski. For her, their skill and engagement are key reasons why she likes them. She says, “The student projects page has been the biggest gear for me to lead me where I want to go next.”

Diana recommends Landscapes: A Free-Flow Watercolour Masterclass with Top Teacher Jane Davies

“This particular workshop being a free-flow class meant I was in for a challenge, which was exactly what I was seeking. My innate tendency is to concentrate on capturing intricate details, so the idea of loosening up and painting more freely piqued my interest. As I dove into the class, I quickly realized it was the ideal environment for my artistic growth. Jane introduced her unique technique of applying watercolor directly from the tube, which opened my eyes to an innovative way of creating landscape paintings.

“As I dove into the class, I quickly realized it was the ideal environment for my artistic growth. Jane introduced her unique technique of applying watercolor directly from the tube, which opened my eyes to an innovative way of creating landscape paintings. Initially, the process was somewhat daunting; finding the right balance of water to spray was my biggest hurdle… Throughout the class, I gained a deeper understanding of how pigments interact with water, which added another layer to my artistic knowledge.”

Check out Diana’s completed projects from the class here.

Sharon Vallis

Sharon has also been on Skillshare for a few years now—she uses the platform a couple of times each week to keep up her creative practice. In that time she has published 23 class projects! She told us that her love of art keeps her returning to practice her watercolor painting skills.

Sharon recommends Rhythms of Color: Painting Expressive Watercolor Portraits with Passion with Top Teacher Will Elliston

Why take this class? Sharon says, “Will's class caught my attention and interest since I had never attempted a portrait before and I was apprehensive. After looking at the way Will taught this class and the way it was broken down beginning with the sketch and each step explained thoroughly, I felt confident to try it out myself.

“It was an amazing experience and I thoroughly enjoyed doing the painting and completely forgot about my fear of attempting a portrait! Following Will's instructions I was able to paint the portrait with ease and was very happy with the result. This was my first attempt and since then I have developed my skill in painting portraits all thanks to Skillshare.“

Check out Sharon’s project from the class here.

Want to find more ways to learn with us? Join our weekly conversations! Follow Teach on Skillshare to receive our weekly teacher conversations every Wednesday, and community conversations for teachers and students every Friday.

Written By

Nicola Balkind

Nicola manages Content and Community Programs at Skillshare.

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