One of the more challenging aspects of my job has been introducing new digital art programs. When I started teaching 4 years ago, I was literally one day ahead of the students.
Not only that, but I would also be teaching the Adobe Illustrator (or Photoshop) program and constantly have to stop to help students with technical difficulties. I felt like a chicken with my head cut off for the better part of an hour whenever I had to introduce the Adobe programs to students. I found myself dreading teaching new techniques in any digital platform.
This is no longer the case today. I don’t credit myself as an expert; there are still aspects of all the digital programs I use that I continue to tweak and change year by year. However, I have found something that I think you will find truly helpful, especially if you are just starting out.
In that first year, there was one thing that became obvious to me: YouTube had become my best friend. I truly do not know how anybody taught without it. There is a YouTube video out there for everything! The tough part is finding the right YouTube video.
After a few years of muddling through the internet, I finally decided to make my own instructional videos. This decision became a necessity when I was preparing for maternity leave and found that there were no ready made videos that taught exactly what I wanted to teach.
I wanted a video series that would teach not only the Adobe Illustrator (and eventually Photoshop) program, but also taught the fundamentals of design, or the elements of design.
I soon found that the students not only responded better to this method of teaching, but they actually enjoyed the learning process. With these videos, I could introduce to the topic, have a short discussion with the students, and then let them loose on the series.
This meant I was free to roam around the room and answer questions as they arose, instead of making the whole class wait for one or two students who were having issues. Students could work at their own pace and they learned the material much more readily.
I am working to make this series available to you. FOR FREE. I want your feedback. I want to know what you like, what you don’t like, what you think should change.
At the beginning of November, I will have a FREE Adobe Illustrator video series. In this series, I will be teaching how to use the Adobe Illustrator program and use the elements of design. This is unique to anything that I have found online.
Click the link below to sign up for my email list to be informed of the release of my FREE video series.