Designer Class to Begin October 15

The word is out! Wow. I had not even made a formal announcement for this class and it is already filling up and the questions are coming in!

WHY?

There are many reasons why one might want to learn how to design digital scrapbooking elements and papers.

Maybe you just want to save money by creating your own designs. Rather than always looking for a kit to fit your photos, create your own papers and elements
to fit your photos.

Maybe you just enjoy the creative side of designing and sharing with others.

Maybe you have spied that glimpse of how easy designing really is now that you have gotten yourself familiar with Photoshop
Elements and are wondering if you could make it as a designer.

Maybe you have another related business, such as a photography or scrap for hire business, that requires you to create products that are copyright friendly.

Whatever you reason for taking this class with me, I am happy to have you join and do hope that you learn not only skills for designing, but skills to enable your scrapbooking layouts.

ABOUT ME - THE DESIGNER NOT!

I have dabbled in designing over the years, often wondering if I had what it takes to become a designer. I have always known that I do not have any artistic gifts. I enjoy the technical side of designing, as well as sharing, but do not feel that I am good enough to sell my designs.

I do feel that I have gifts of teaching. So, the question is: "How do I teach something which I do not consider myself good at doing?" I believe that I can teach you how to maneuver your program to create the basic papers and elements, but I cannot teach you how to be artistic. That is something that has to come from within you.

Therefore, please do not expect to come out of this class being a great designer, but rather come with an attitude of developing your skills.

WHAT TO EXPECT

Expect an interactive class. Those who are not actively participating will be removed from the class.

Expect hands-on learning, creating something new with each lesson. Lessons will mostly be in video format.

Expect to be prepared to share your creations for others to download. The best way to learn how to become a designer is to practice and share. In addition, it is the first step toward marketing, as well as to obtain feedback from those in the digital scrapbooking world.

Expect to be learning for months to come as we explore how to make many of the common digital scrapbooking papers and elements. This will be a very slow paced class. I have found that due dates and pressure can cause stress and stress leads to loss of creativity.

WHAT ABOUT?

What about programs? This course will be taught in Photoshop Elements. However, anything done in PSE can also be done in the full version of Photoshop. Please remember that the ability of PSE is limited. In the future, I hope to create additional lessons for the full version of Photoshop which will be an add-on to this class.

What about topics? This course will be for beginners and experienced designers alike. It will start with informational topics such as FTP uploads and sharing files, blogging, marketing, and move into basic papers. Thereafter, the course will continue with creating specific elements and more advanced papers. The course will begin with the very basic and easiest of designs and move into more difficult designs. Already designing? The earlier lessons will be a way to refresh and tune your skills while sharing and gaining tips from others in the class. With each lesson, you will be required to create and share the files.

What about cost? The only cost to this class is the $5.50 monthly subscription cost to the Subscriber Area. However, I am going to run these classes differently than other classes. This class will have a private area in the forum which only those enrolled in the class may have access to. I will be making these tutorials exclusive from the regular Subscriber Area. In order to continue to have access to the tutorial videos for this class, you will need to remain active in the class, sharing your creations online. Of course, any .pdf files provided will be downloadable. (The designing tutorials currently in the Subscriber Area will remain there, but new tutorials will only be available to active class participants).

Please read this page for details on how to subscribe.

What about time? At this point, I do not have any idea how long the course will be running. Do expect it to continue for many months. There are many types of files for us to learn to create. Until we reach the end of my long list, the class will continue. In addition, I do not plan to start another session of this course for at least 6 months, so if you are interested in this class, do not delay!

How do I sign up? Once subscribed, visit the class registrations thread (here) and leave me a note.