Skillshare Classes

Are you looking to learn new design skills? Cool tricks in Illustrator and Photoshop? Are you interested in creating new work for your portfolio? Check out Abby's classes on Skillshare. When you use the links below to sign up, you'll get 14 days of free access to these classes and thousands more!

Warm Ups: 7 Quick Exercises to Boost Creativity

You don’t need to be a skilled artist to benefit from a creative practice. Creativity is useful for anyone looking to approach their work in a fresh way, regardless of their field, and to solve problems creatively. In this class, Abby shares 7 simple exercises to get your creative juices flowing. These exercises are quick and easy to complete, and can be used to form a daily creative habit or to help you break through when you’re stuck on a project.

These exercises will help you to explore different approaches and solutions in an engaging way, and will train your brain to find creative connections in your work and life. No artistic skills or special tools required.

Pattern Design: Creating Seamless Repeats in Illustrator

Join Abby as she takes you through the creation of a cohesive pattern collection. In this class, you will learn how to create a moodboard as well as the different types of patterns that make up a collection. You'll also learn how to create spot graphics within the theme of your collection.

This class is designed for those who want to take their pattern design skills to the next level and add a marketable collection to their portfolio. Students should have a working knowledge of pattern creating in Illustrator or Photoshop. If you're just getting started in pattern design, be sure to check out Abby's introductory pattern design classes for Illustrator and Photoshop.

Pattern Design: Creating Seamless Repeats in Illustrator

Seamless repeating patterns are a versatile way to use your artwork to create a variety of products. In this class, you'll learn to create two kinds of seamless repeating patterns in Illustrator. 

Lessons will cover: types of repeats and directionality, arranging motifs into a square repeat, how to create a half-drop repeat, and testing your repeats to ensure they are seamless.

Basic Adobe Illustrator experience is required.

Lettering with Motifs: Using Graphics as Type to Create a Themed Postcard

Join Abby as she shares her process for creating high-impact, beautiful lettering from icons and motifs. Using existing letters as a template, you will arrange motifs drawn by hand or digitally into lettering for a postcard.

Lessons will cover: research and brainstorming, digitizing your hand drawn artwork, adding color to and recoloring your artwork, and arranging motifs to create letterforms that are readable and beautiful.

Basic Adobe Illustrator experience is required.

Fake It 'Til You Make It: Create Realistic Product Mockups To Promote Your Designs

Creating realistic product mockups is a great way for designers and artists to show their work to clients and potential customers without the expense of making prototypes. Whether you’re selling digital products, creating freelance work for clients, or pitching concepts to a potential collaborator, product mockups are an excellent way to add some dimension to your portfolio and to share your artwork in an exciting way.

Basic Adobe Photoshop experience is required.

Year-at-a-Glance: Design an annual calendar 3 ways in InDesign

In this class you will learn how to showcase your style in a yearly calendar. You will learn an easy way to typeset a whole year’s worth of dates in InDesign, and learn 3 styles of calendar layout.

Since the purpose of this class is ultimately to build your skill set and add to your portfolio, you’re encouraged to work in the way you normally do. If you're a painter, paint away! If you like to draw, that's great too. If you typically work digitally, please do for this class as well! Abby will be demonstrate layout digitally in InDesign, but you can create the artwork however you like as long as you have a way to get it onto your computer.