Table of contents
Written by:
Martin Barrett
Last Updated:
15 Best Skillshare Art Classes You Can Try Today

15 Best Skillshare Art Classes You Can Try Today

Skillshare has some amazing courses, especially for artists, but it can be difficult to find the best one among so many options. 

If you’ve tried taking IRL 60 min classes but found out that taking classes online suits you more, then Skillshare classes are made for you.

Whether you’re a beginner or want to hone your skills, you will find what fascinates you on Skillshare.

In this article, we’ll show you 15 of the best Skillshare art classes available, from digital illustration to the basics of color theory.

1. Logotype Masterclass by Jessica Hische

Jessica Hische, a letterer, illustrator, and type designer, will reveal how she personally updates type-based logos.

You’ll be studying under one of the top practitioners in the field; Jessica is renowned for her personal work in addition to her work for well-known names like Wes Anderson, Victoria’s Secret, and Daily Drop Cap.

Check out how to polish vector logos in Adobe Illustrator, advice on maximizing freelancing and client work, creating your own checklist of artistic goals, and much more, whether you want to improve an existing project or start from scratch.

Don’t be put off by the term “masterclass”; both inexperienced and seasoned designers can benefit from this course.

2. Doodle Design by Jon Burgerman

Jon Burgerman, a master of doodle art, has charmed us with his witty Instagram posts, huge murals, and his recently published children’s book, It’s Great to Create.

The English illustrator with a studio in New York City enjoys drawing simple, bright, and funny drawings that may turn into anything from stickers to home décor designs.

Learn how to make your own screen printable or art printable doodle illustrations in his Skillshare course.

You’ll start by drawing at random, then edit the drawing using Photoshop and Illustrator to produce a digital graphic suitable for a variety of outputs.

3. Learn to Draw: Daily Practices to Improve Your Drawing Skills by Gabrielle Brickey

One of the most well-liked artists on Skillshare is Gabrielle Brickey and for good reason.

She is an accomplished professional artist, and an outstanding instructor and her Skillshare classes have high production values.

This course will teach you how to draw from life or observation using tried-and-true techniques.

It’s beneficial to watch Gabrielle’s class because you can see her perform the exercises in person, which is something you can’t do with a book and makes it perfect for beginners.

4. Poster Design by: Ellen Lupton

Watch these video tutorials with Ellen Lupton if you want to learn how to create your own captivating movie posters or increase your skill level.

She is the director of the Graphic Design MFA program at MICA as well as the curator of modern design at the Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum in New York City.

In addition, she has written a book, and numerous essays on design, and received an AIGA Gold Medal.

This Skillshare course is taught by Ellen using examples from the museum’s amazing collection of more than 4,000 old and new posters.

Learn how to simplify, concentrate the eye, and convey a story to make your own eye-catching movie poster.

5. Drawing Fundamentals: Form Modeling by Mark Hill

From the way Mark conducts his studies in his Skillshare classes, it is clear that he has academic expertise.

By the end of each video, the outcomes speak for themselves.

Throughout each session, he produces a stunning study and walks you through the entire process from beginning to end.

Although his instruction and production quality falls short of that of other Skillshare teachers, he is still a skilled tutor and offers many more academic drawing sessions on the platform, all of which feature the same high-caliber work.

6. Graphic Design Basics: Core Principles for Visual Design by Ellen Lupton and Cooper Hewitt

Ellen Lupton offers another incredible class on Skillshare with fellow designer, Cooper Hewitt.

Their class is ideal for you if you are a design novice who appreciates the creative process.

An overview of five fundamental design principles that form the basis of striking graphics opens the course.

Also included are aspects of outstanding designs, including symmetry, framing, scaling, and hierarchy.

If you want to sharpen your design abilities, this Skillshare course is a wonderful place to start.

After you complete this course and further develop your talents, there are a variety of job opportunities that could someday be yours, including multimedia artist, creative director, user interface designer, and graphic designer.

7. Dynamic Anatomy for Artists by Robert Marzullo

In each of his dynamic anatomy lessons, Robert goes into great detail on drawing particular body parts, mostly focusing on particular muscle groups.

His work is stylized because he uses both male and female models in the majority of his Skillshare classes, with an appearance that is inspired by comic book figure drawing.

His Skillshare classes contain tutorials on how to draw eyes, ears, noses, mouths, and hair, as well as the muscles of the chest, arms, and legs, among other topics.

If you want more drawing classes that break down the various muscles in the body, there aren’t many alternatives to these on Skillshare.

8. Beginner Color Theory by JWLearning

A good introductory color theory series is offered by JW Learning. In the first lesson, which covers the basics of color theory, words like hue, value, saturation, and other terms are explained.

15 Best Skillshare Art Classes You Can Try Today (1)

The second lesson takes a closer look at value, light, and shape and how they relate to color theory.

It covers similar concepts to those covered in basic drawing classes that teach rendering, but from the viewpoint of painting.

These classes can help you improve your acrylic and oil painting skills.

9. Ink Drawing by Yuko Shimizu

Yuko Shimizu, a Japanese illustrator based in New York, has been producing stunning ink drawings for years and has amassed more than 325,000 online fans in the process.

She has found time between her fine art, illustrations, and special projects to teach an entire course on fundamental inking and drawing skills for Skillshare online art classes.

In these 90-minute Skillshare classes, you will study the principles of inking, drawing, Asian vs. watercolor brushes, illustration textures, sketching and scanning processes, and basic brush, nib, and ink techniques.

10. Composition in Art by Kristy Gordon

You will learn about composition in Kristy’s course and observe her expert theoretical dissection of well-known works of art.

This course covers a wide range of in-depth explanations and investigations of the compositional elements and theories used by past masters to produce well-composed paintings.

There is very little demonstration in this class, which is nearly entirely theoretical and analytical, but when combined with our earlier suggestions, they should both help you gain a strong grasp of how to compose works of art.

11. Character Design: From First Idea to Final Illustration by Jazza Brooks

Jazza is a charismatic instructor, and each lesson is well-presented and structured, with him narrating his process.

Jazza explains the steps he takes to develop characters for a bigger production.

While he occasionally uses odd presentations, it doesn’t detract from the instruction’s quality.

He discusses the relationships between the characters, builds a convincing environment, and fills it with interesting personalities.

He makes thoughtful decisions that shape their personalities and accurately reflect their character.

12. Introduction to Photoshop: Digital Painting and Illustration by Damien Mammoliti

Throughout this course, Damien doesn’t actually describe his approach in great detail and occasionally skips over explanations of what he’s doing in digital painting. 

But this lesson excels at demonstrating the entire process of making a superb digital still life from beginning to end.

It’s important to pay attention to what he does, including the brushes he uses and when, the addition of layers, and how he arranges them.

Just by observing the decisions he makes and his digital tools, you can pick up a lot of knowledge.

13. Learn Watercolor Basics with 5 Minute Paintings by Bianca Rayala

We liked Bianca’s watercolor classes the most, despite the fact that there are many more popular watercolor Skillshare art classes and teachers on the platform.

She has complete, in-person demonstrations of her own five paintings during her initial session, which is centered on creating a 5-minute watercolor painting every day for five days straight. It’s a great and simple way to practice watercolor painting every day and learn new skills.

We believe Bianca’s 5-minute painting technique is a great place to start if you’re new to watercolor painting and want to gain some confidence with the help of painting classes.

14. Animated Illustrations by Jamie Bartlett

This course is all you need if you’ve always wanted to learn how to make animated illustrations.

You will be led by Jamie Bartlett through the process of drawing a commonplace object and then animating it in Photoshop.

What’s great about this course is that you’ll master three different animation techniques, each with its own distinctive style.

One thing to keep in mind is that Adobe Photoshop and a ready-made illustration are required to participate in this workshop, so it might be more suited to advanced artists.

15. Drawing Animals: From Anatomy to Rendering by Geoffrey Jacobs

Geoffrey is our personal hero in this case because there aren’t many animal anatomy Skillshare classes available.

To ensure you are ready for the main portion of the session, Geoffrey first reviews the principles of drawing.

He then gives you practice tasks to develop your form drawing and observational drawing in his drawing classes.

Then he describes how a variety of mammals, including cats, hippos, and a few birds, are built and rendered in their final forms.

He shows how to draw things like fur and feathers and shows them from various angles.

Final Thoughts

Skillshare is a great place for creatives and there are so many Skillshare art classes taught by masters of the trade for you to brush up on your skills or learn new ones! Give them a try and expand your artistic knowledge today.

Course
Every writer has their own story – what’s yours?  As writers, we’re all on different journeys and have different skill...
Course
Want to kickstart your career in online python classes and computer programming? If so, you’ve probably heard of Python programming...
Course
Whether you are looking for a way to boost your employability, or just for something fun to do to fill...
Course
Online course platforms, such as Skillshare, are the easiest and most convenient ways to learn something new. If you want...
Course
Drawing is one of the most popular hobbies in the world but if you really want to master this skill,...