Sorry for putting all these questions here, but I am very intrigued by all the course options. I love them and learn a lot, at the same time I need some help structuring the whole experience.
I wondered whether the courses (coloured pencil to be precise) build up on earlier lessons.
Outside the course I mainly focus on portaiture, so now I’m working on something and I just can’t get the skin colour right. I wondered whether to jump ahead to portraits and then go back to the other earlier lessons. I am adamant, however, as I fear I might miss out on vital information.
Did anyone just pick and choose certain lessons or change the order of the lessons based on interest? If so, did it work out?
I can only speak for myself, and what I feel to be current needs. So, I started with the 25 days intro course. Once completed I will move to whatever area interests me at the time.
Not only do I feel that Matt will make for a very good instructor, the manner in which the site is setup is perfect, allowing to me “jump” to areas as I may wish. This may not be the most effective manner to learn, yet my aspirations currently are to move from “considering being a beginner”, to “beginner”. If you ever view my work, you will see the dilemma I face.
So, for myself, I intend to pursue courses more “elementary”. All of this will take practice, and practice takes time. Fortunately, I am not in a rush and every day I learn a bit more, practice a bit more regardless of outcome, is a perfect day.
I am currently on day 22 of the 25 days, almost there! I love this course and learned a lot doing an exercise daily.
I am pondering at the moment whether to keep the order of black and white which is basically the list of courses in order, whether to jump around like you are planning to do or whether to combine one coloured medium course with black and white.
This is some really good advice, you are absolutely right: the most important thing is to enjoy what I am doing. Looking forward to seeing your results from the course. I really loved it (2 more days) but there is some really challenging stuff, especially day 24.
Hi Jennilein. I’ve been drawing and painting for awhile now, so I’m more at an intermediate level rather than beginner. Sometimes the lessons I decide to work on is determined by what art supplies I have on hand. But that supply has grown significantly since being a member here for just over 2 years. Overall, this is totally for fun, so when I see a lesson I like, I go for it. I have not taken any of the courses, but have personally focused on individual lessons. I really LOVE THE LIVE LESSONS, even if you watch them sometime after they were first finished. And watching LIVE and participating in the chat on Wednesday nights is a great way to ask Matt and Ashley any art related questions you have. (No live lesson on Dec 27th because of the holidays.) The other recommendation I have is to watch the MEMBER’s MINUTE every week (or even the older ones when you have time). They are less than 1/2 hour long, you see art from various skill levels, the media and subject matter is varied, and you always LEARN A TON. It might even inspire you as to the direction you want to go from here. By the way, colored pencils require a lot of layers and patience. If you are a beginner you might want to consider using pastels before the colored pencils. They are much more forgiving. Hope this is helpful.
Terri Robichon
Thank you for the detailed recommendations. I really wanted to participate innthe live lesson and then got the flu… I will catch up eventually, I’m sure. Maybe with the holiday break, I’ll finally manage, although it’s really really early in the night for me, but I might actually set an alarm in case I slumber of
I have watched several of the member’s minute and agree that they are great.
I feel like I have much more experience with coloured pencil, I have used them for years. While I also love pastel, I think I would have a harder time with learning the medium so I don’t know if the benefit of them would be canceled out at my current level. I want to learn everything apart from oil painting eventually.
