Today we're venturing into something new and different for me, and perhaps for you too... the world of digital art. Laurie Russell, a professional graphic designer with a love of doing by-hand paper art, be it quilling or papercutting, will show us the way.
Laurie's expertise with the Procreate app led to her developing a Skillshare digital quilling class, as well as her own Course + Community site. At either place, she effectively and efficiently teaches how to create digital paper art and gives examples of what can be done with the beautiful projects you design.
For example, simply use as a layout for an actual paper project or send as e-cards, post to social media, and print as wall art.... there are many options!
Laurie also teaches landscape papercutting and papercut typography courses that utilize the Procreate app. For all of her courses, she recommends a working knowledge of your iPad and Procreate, but regardless, Laurie makes herself available to offer guidance.
Having had an enjoyable sneak peek at the quilling course, even though I have never used Procreate, I could see that familiarity with the app would certainly be beneficial, but not essential.
I asked Laurie to tell us about the path that took her from using actual paper quilling strips to the digital kind.
"I first learned about paper quilling from seeing
Yulia Brodskaya’s art probably ten years ago. I absolutely fell in
love with it! I’ve made hundreds of traditional and on-edge paper
quilling/papergraphic designs over the years, sold them at craft fairs,
done commissions (mainly monograms and other typography), and I love
seeing my work framed and hung around my home and in my family and
friends' houses."
"However, as a professional graphic designer, working
on the computer and using my hands all day long, I began to notice that I
couldn’t sit down to quill for more than an hour without significant pain due to the pinching, rolling, tweezers, and
other fine motor actions needed. This was so sad and frustrating for
me, since I LOVE this craft!"
"I'd
begun to do more artwork on my iPad, mainly with Procreate, and I
wondered if there was a way to quill digitally. I’d tried to
create digital quilling in Adobe Illustrator earlier, but couldn’t find a
process I liked (this was before I was using a stylus - the mouse was
too clunky and not intuitive). Now with Procreate, I’ve fallen in love
with the easy way I can translate traditional art styles into digital
art - acrylics, watercolor, chalk, etc."
"After a lot of trial and error,
I created a process and some brushes that have enabled me to digitally quill on my iPad! I’ve had a couple of these printed to see how they
look on paper and canvas and the effect is really nice. The digital
shadows and highlights give a 3D look to the 2D print."
"I
knew I couldn’t keep this to myself, so I worked hard to create an
online course that anyone can follow to create their own unique,
beautiful DigiQuill designs. It’s live on Skillshare right now (
link here),
but starting today, I’m also so proud and excited to announce that the
Digital Quilling course, as well as my Digital Papercut Typography
course, are available on my own Course + Community site (
link here)."
"It’s
been my goal since I started teaching digital art to have an online
community where students could come together to share their art, ask
questions, get feedback, and make connections in a safe, friendly space.
I’ve never been a fan of Facebook groups, as I feel there are too many
distractions, ads, politics, etc. that can get in the way of real
connections."
"I knew I wanted to have my online community on a separate
platform and, ideally, integrated with my courses. I found one that fit
all my needs and I’ve been working hard over the last few months to get
everything ready to welcome new students."
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