Dan Shipton – Intro to Digital Painting Course

Having already taken Chris Sotomayor’s Intro to Comic Book Coloring, which sharpened my previous knowledge of colour theory and application, Intro to Digital Painting was something I thought would hone my abilities even more. I was right – it further honed my knowledge of colour and blending and choices. And I was wrong – it blew me away with the differences between colouring something, and creating an image with colour – no inks laid down, just a pencil draft to work from. Having to make my darkest blacks to lightest lights and everything in between was new and required me to turn my brain on its side and approach things differently. The projects / homework are fun – you could practically feel the excitement through the computer screen for some of the projects, chomping at the bit to get at them. ‘Homework is fun’ – yes, that IS an actual statement with these courses, and Scott’s is no different – it plays at your inner-child while seducing your mature-self into new approaches and learning practical skills and theory that, whether professional, just doing it for fun or anywhere in between, you continue to use what you’ve learned.

Worried about the tech specs and programs? Worry not. While yes, it looks like the teachers use Photoshop [I used Manga Studio], there are free alternatives – The Gimp, Paint Tool Sai, for example, [I think Photoshop Creative Suite 2 version is now free?] that will enable you to work alongside and submit your work for critique.

Ahh, critique. ‘Be honest, but please be nice about it!’ …your teachers are creative folks like you – they are empowering, not demeaning. They show where you can improve and suggest how you might achieve said improvement. They work in the professional end of the creative spectrum, so they’re not just spouting opinionated-gibberish, they’re giving you solid advice from a hard-working professional point of view.

Expensive? Maybe, but not compared to taking the equivalent knowledge from a college. These classes are worth every penny. Personally, I saved up for 2 years to afford the first class I took. If memory serves me, they have a payment plan available, or something similarly applicable. Let me leave you with 4 simple words that succinctly sum it up: It. Is. Worth It.