My top Skillshare picks for Surface Pattern Designers: Part 1

One of the platforms I’ve used, and still use to this day, is Skillshare, and I use it for specific skills: a new technique, a style I’m curious about, or a different piece of software.

Skillshare is an online learning platform with classes on illustration, design and other creative subjects, all taught by independent creators. The variety is huge, and there are some real gems, especially if you’re just starting out as a surface pattern designer.

If you’re after a comprehensive, start-to-finish course instead, that’s not what Skillshare is for. You can read my honest review of the course I took for that here.

Here are a few of my favourite classes:

This is my absolute favourite and I return to this class over and over again. Beautifully presented and Angela is a joy to watch and learn from. Make sure you check out her amazing art.

Watch Painting for Pattern Design

@ohkiistudio

Barbell is an incredible educator and surface pattern designer. She inspired me to dive deep into historical patterns, and traditional crafting techniques. Barbell offers a fantastic lineup of courses on classic pattern design, all of which are linked below

Watch Indian Floral Patterns

Watch Arts & Crafts Part 1 and Arts & Crafts Part 2

Watch Toile du Jouy

Watch Damask

Watch Paisley

@bearbellproductions

This is a wonderful class for anyone interested in creating floral chintz patterns! Vinita does an incredible job walking you through the entire step-by-step process of designing a hand-drawn, Chintz-inspired print. I highly recommend it to anyone who loves this timeless style.

Watch Floral Chintz in Photoshop @vinitaupadhyadesigns

My main medium is mostly traditional, watercolour and gouache paint. But I do like to experiment with digital art and Ouss Mezher's class on Procreate's Symmetry Drawing Guide is fantastic. Watch How to create a symmetric patertern in Procreate

@ouss_mezher

I have done a number of Mel's classes. She is a fantastic educator and I encourage you to check her other classes on Skillshare. This one is a new class that I really enjoyed as I'm currently exploring Affinity as an alternative design software and the medium used in the class is gouace which is one of my favourite mediums. Great class.

Watch Gouache Florals to Pattern

@melarmstrongdesign

I love seeing how other designers work, and Genna’s class is fantastic! She shares her complete workflow for creating illustrations in Procreate and vectorizing them in Illustrator. Such a unique and beautiful style, highly recommend,

Watch From Procreate to Adobe Illustrator

@gennablackburn