Lets start with when your stuck in a rut, and by rut I mean, you are tired of learning graphic design and practicing it. Yep you're not alone, it happens to the best of us. I personally have taken months to get out of this rut, but that's ok since I eventually got out of it. Now I am up and running learning more about graphic design than ever! But what did I do to get out of this rut? How can I help you re discover the joy of learning? Aah so now your interested, I have you by the hand now and am pulling you into the fact that you can enjoy learning. In fact, I have you waiting for my next paragraph just to figure out the keys! Well, as much as I would love to make learning so fantastic for you, my tips don't work for everyone, but they are certainly worth a try!
Finally I will tell you my tips for re discovering the joy of learning graphic design.
-Step one, take a break! Constant learning can cause you to forget why you are learning about graphic design
-Step two, take out a blank canvas and work on any project your heart desires. Do not work on a previous project or an assignment. Let the ideas flow and try your best not to concentrate too much on what you are making. Enjoy your project and if you get bored of it quickly, let go and start a new one.
-Step three, get online and download free brushes and fonts! This step may sound skippable but resist the temptation and at least download a couple of brushes. Trust me, you'll get into it. Once you download a few brushes or a ton of brushes and a few fonts or a ton of fonts, load them into your program and play around with them. It is always fun to have new tools to play with, kind of like a kid getting a new toy. This step always gets me excited to start learning graphic design again.
-Step four, find some awesome tutorials online for a specific image or design! Then, try those tutorials or just become inspired by them. I will post a few great websites below for these types of tutorials.
-Step five, pick up one of your old projects and continue it with your new brushes, fonts, and techniques.
-Step six, open a tutorial on a website or look through a book of how to learn graphic design. Even a picture can help you learn stroke techniques for paintings, or blending tools for blending images. Get inspired by tumbling through images across the web.
-Lastly, evaluate whether or not you are enjoying learning graphic design. If you are not, and you have completed all of these steps, consider picking up a new hobby for a little while and maybe come back to graphic design later. Learning something without enjoying it is completely pointless.
Alright, my little shpeal is almost over but hold on a little longer. I just want to tell you that loving learning is what keeps me alive and hopeful. Loving learning causes me to be so so proud of my artwork and skills. So keep enjoying what you are learning and if learning something is becoming boring, fix it right away before you fall deeper into your rut.
I recommend the following websites for steps three and four.
http://www.dafont.com/ - for some fantastic free fonts. (be sure to look if they are completely free or only free for personal use)
http://www.brusheezy.com/ -for a fantastic selection of free brushes for photoshop. If you use another program, check out deviant art and search for "your program" brushes. Of course be sure to check if the artist says they are free or not.
http://www.photoshoplady.com/ -this is my favorite website for specific tutorials, it is photoshop specific but most of the tutorials con be modified for your program.
Now scurry off and re-discover the joy of learning
Oh JOY! I re-discover joy most days when I get the chance to read your posts! I so appreciate your thoughtful posts. You have found a niche to allow your "voice" to come out strong. Somehow you have sparked an interest in the reader to get motivated to do something fabulous. Perhaps your positive zing that you add is the reason... perhaps it is your passion showing through.... Regardless, I enjoy your posts and love that you can share your passion with others.
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