My New IPad + Procreate + Skillshare + Learning Forever

In November I purchased an Ipad Pro (I got the 12.9" model). I had been hearing about the Pro for a while and thought it would be helpful tool for my work and art. II also purchased an Apple Pencil so that I could draw on the Ipad. 

I bought the app from the App Store called Procreate for $9.99. I had also been hearing about Procreate too via many of the artist accounts I follow in Instagram. I figured I would give it a go. Over the past couple months, I have been watching YouTube videos to learn more about the Procreate app. (You can also get Procreate for the Iphone for $2.99.) 

I have found the channel "Stayf Draws" on YouTube. Stayf is a Dutch artist, illustrator and animator. His videos on drawing in Procreate are really good. 

There has been a bit of a learning curve to master Procreate. I am by no means mastering it but it feels really good to be stretching my boundaries and learning something new. My main reason for learning Procreate was to make the workflow on my pattern illustration a little easier in Adobe Illustrator. (I have been designing a lot of surface patterns lately - more about that soon.) I have figured that out somewhat with the help of an on-line teacher named Bonnie Christine. This woman is something else. She just relaunched her website and you can check it out here. Last year I took an on-line class with Jessica Swift. I am finally putting it all together. 

I discovered Bonnie Christine on Skillshare after I took one of her classes. She has several classes on Skillshare. Do you know about Skillshare? It is a fantastic on-line learning site. There are over 18,000 videos which are produced by people just like you and me. Most of the classes I have watched aren't fancily produced. Teachers are from all over the world. Sometimes the lighting and sound is less than professional but the general learning experience is decent. 

The way Skillshare works is you can buy a monthly membership ($15) and watch any of the videos you want. They also just offered a yearly membership for $99. The teachers are paid by the number of people who watch their videos and the number of minutes watched. They also have some FREE classes.

Right now, I am watching videos by On Mar Win - a British illustrator. She is a good teacher. Check her classes out here. I also watched a video on Designing Repeat Patterns in Procreate. It was a good class but I decided that I would rather design in Illustrator considering I know it and I get the outcome I need. I have been working in Illustrator since the 1990's or so. I am by no means a pro but I know what I need to know to get my work done.

Adobe Illustrator is difficult to learn but once you learn it, there are all kinds of uses for it. Illustrator is perfect for pattern design because it is vector based. That means that any digital design can be increased in size infinitely and will always look good. (Photoshop on the other hand yields digital files that will look pixelated if they are increased in size.)

The main thing I am using Procreate for now if drawing outlines of shapes and flowers that I am bringing into Illustrator and then making into patterns that I can upload to Spoonflower. It has made things a little quicker for me but it is still not an automatic thing that I am quick at. 

I am sharing all of this with you because I want to encourage you all to try to learn something new - whether it be art, textile crafts, baking, gardening..... You are never to old to learn. 

Learning a new skill opens up all your senses and makes you think differently. Looking at things I have always looked at with a new slant is good.