online learning

Shutterstock Launches Online Learning Platform for Creatives

Whether you’re a designer, photographer, artist, videographer, multimedia journalist, or independent author, the need to learn new subjects or software seems never ending. The newest provider of online courses for digital professionals is Shutterstock — a company that is best known for providing high-quality licensed photographs, vectors, illustrations and videos to businesses, marketing agencies and media organizations around the world.

SkillfeedLogoTheir new platform called Skillfeed offers subscription-based access to thousands of videos on topics including: 3D and motion graphics, web development, graphic design, photography, video, audio, and business. Courses and tutorials cover more than 50 different programs ranging from Ableton Live, Access, and Acrobat to Word, WordPress, and Xcode and everything in between, such as Digital Publishing Suite, Maya, Premiere Pro, and Ruby.

At launch, Skillfeed features more than 10,000 videos from over 100 instructors. Select from comprehensive courses such as “Learning to Build Apps for iPhone and iPad” or “Skill Snacks” such as “How to Make a Vintage Circus Poster in Photoshop” or “How to Use Motion Templates in Final Cut Pro.”

SkillfeedScreenGrab

The comprehensive courses (with videos that last 20 minutes or more) are designed to help you develop professional skills in selected areas. The Skill Snacks are short videos you can watch on your lunch break to pick up new tips and techniques.

“We’ve learned a lot about the benefits of a global, crowdsourced marketplace model from Shutterstock, and applied that knowledge to online learning,” said Shutterstock’s Founder and CEO Jon Oringer .”The idea evolved from our existing customer and contributor communities and quickly expanded to include all digital professionals.”

“Skillfeed is a natural extension for Shutterstock since we already serve an active, paying community of more than 750,000 professionals who view us as a trusted, creative resource,” adds Oringer. “We are excited to offer yet another way to help digital communicators succeed in their work.”

To celebrate the launch, Skillfeed is offering a free one-week trial. Subscriptions for unlimited video access start at $19 per month.

If you have skills you would like to share, you can register to become a Skillfeed instructor. You will get paid every month based on how many minutes your instructional videos are viewed by Skillfeed members.

LINKS

Skillfeed

How to Become a Skillfeed Instructor

 

Creative Pros Can Learn Skills or Teach Courses on Skillshare

Do you need to expand your photography, design, writing, illustration, or entrepreneurship skills? Or: Can you teach any photography, design, or technology skills that might make life easier or more creatively fulfilling for others? Either way, you might benefit from Skillshare.

SkillshareLogoLaunched in 2011, Skillshare is a global learning community that offers a low-cost way to learn real-world skills from anyone, anywhere. All classes are focused on skills that you can use immediately, either in your career or on personal projects.

Teach

If you have knowledge to share, you can promote your own local, in-person classes on Skillshare. You can set your own fee for the classes your list on Skillshare, keeping in mind that most Skillshare classes cost around $20 per ticket. Skillshare’s goal is to keep the classes affordable and accessible to as many people as possible.

If you can teach a course in photography, film, design, illustration, fashion, or technology, you can apply to teach an online class. The classes can’t be promotional and must involve the completion of a hands-on project that enables students to show what they have learned.

The online classes are still in beta, so only a limited number of applications are being accepted. But the Skillshare approach looks promising.

In November, 2012, Mattan Griffel became the first Skillshare teacher to earn $25,000 in ticket sales for one online course. He teaches students how to code, using Ruby on Rails, one of the hottest programming frameworks for building websites. By the end of the five-week course, each student must use Ruby on Rails to build a basic web app.

Learn

When looking to refresh or expand your own skills, you can find new classes listed on Skillshare every day. Business topics include everything from entrepreneurship, website design, public speaking, and digital-marketing to graphic design fundamentals, visual storytelling, coding, and app store optimization. For a relief from the daily grind, enroll in a Skillshare course on cooking, gardening, or wine tasting.

More Details

Skillshare is based in New York City, but Skillshare classes can happen anywhere. Local classes enable students to meet their teachers live and in person. Online classes happen on Skillshare.com and attract students from anywhere in the world.

The online teachers provide guidance, resources, and interactive lectures and office hours. Students can work together, share questions and ideas, and exchange feedback throughout the duration of the class.

LINKS

Skillshare Classes

Becoming a Skillshares Teacher

YouTube: Learn Differently with Skillshare

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Learn Animation Art and Business Skills from Pixar Experts

In partnership with animation, story, design, and creative leaders from Pixar, Disney and other notables, The Art Department has launched a new, multi-track collegiate animation program.

The Art Department (TAD) is a career-driven online-centric art and entertainment development college for both digital and traditional media. Created as an alternative to traditional art schools, it enables you to study exclusively online or choose a hybrid program that fuses online classes with biannual workshops at one of The Art Department’s state-of-the-art studios in Austin, Kansas City, or Richmond.

Like all of TAD courses, the new animation program will be led by a top industry professional. The department chair is Pixar Directing Animator Andrew Gordon, who has contributed to films such as A Bug’s Life, Toy Story 2 and 3, Monsters Inc., Finding Nemo, The Incredibles, and Ratatouille

“I want the best animation program in the world,” said Gordon. He notes that the program will teach students what they need to know to be great storytellers, directors, animators, and visual artists: “Everyone involved wanted the program that we wished we had when we were in college. That is what we built and it does not exist anywhere else.”

Courses will span five tracks: Directing, Animation, Experimental, Games, and Visual Effects while covering 3D, 2D, and Flash-based media options. Along with foundational training in drawing, painting, and problem solving, students will learn to create effective characters, visual narratives, meaningful stories and personal creative voice. Plus, students will gain insights into some of the business, finance, legal, planning, marketing, and promotion skills that are critical for long-term success in the animation industry.

The animation classes and major start August 27, 2012. The school’s website is currently accepting applications for merit-based tuition awards, including full-ride scholarships.

“Having Andrew Gordon and esteemed animation faculty lead this innovative international program brings true knowledge and deep practical experience to our students,” said Jason Manley, president of The Art Department. It also connects students to people who are capable of delivering life-changing opportunities.

“Our animation program is rooted in history, tradition, and visual storytelling. It is highly focused on creativity, visual expression and entrepreneurial spirit,” said Manley. “Plus, it can be attended by students anywhere in the world, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.”

About The Art Department

The highly flexible programs at The Art Department are delivered synchronously online. This means that classes are conducted live (in real-time), allowing you to interact with the instructors as if you were in the same place of study. The Art Department’s proven tools allow students and faculty to seamlessly collaborate and learn in applications like Autodesk: Maya, 3DSMax, Painter, Photoshop, and Art Rage. In addition to attending live demonstrations and presentations, you will have your work critiqued by leaders in the field.

The founders of The Art Department believe their online-centric model not only gives art students a better education, but also put students and their families at less financial risk. Online learning and collaboration can help you avoid the mountainous cost of traditional art-school education, particularly at one of the top-ten US art schools.

The online model also makes it possible for anyone around the world with Internet access to take advantage of The Art Department’s classes. The school’s students and instructors hail from 24 countries and 6 continents.

“Art school education has been broken for decades,” says John English, CEO of The Art Department. To help solve this problem, he says, “The Art Department brings accurate and current industry knowledge, lower tuition costs, practical skill building, and career opportunities to any student wishing to learn from those who truly do what they teach.”

LINKS

The Art Department Animation Program + Pixar Artists

What is The Art Department?