Editors note: I jumped on the chance to share the Inspired Doodles online workshop for our February theme and invited Stephanie to tell us about her story. She did a wonderful job sharing her journey from doodler to full time artist. This course looks like heaps of fun and I can’t think of a better way to show your inner artist some love then investing in it!
As an artist, I was a bit of a late bloomer. I had never taken an art class, although I was an avid notebook margin doodler. In 2003, when I was 24, a good friend of mine who noticed my propensity for doodles gave me a sketchbook, some pencils and a book on drawing cartoon characters. Although I was a bit shy at first, I blasted through that book in a short time and found that I was hooked on drawing. And even though I started out studying dance in college and ended up graduating with a BA in history, I found my true passion in life as I filled up that first sketchbook.
Many sketchbooks have been filled up since that first one, a whole big stack of them. I spent the three or four years following that first sketchbook reading art books, browsing through artists’ portfolios and searching for tutorials. I learned as much as I could about techniques and mediums and I got in the habit of drawing every day, trying to find my personal style as an artist.
Eventually, I got brave and started selling some of my work, first on Ebay and then eventually on Etsy, and finally in 2008 I found myself so busy with illustration work that I was faced with the decision of either quitting my day job or possibly having an nervous breakdown. Obviously, I ditched my day job.
Since then my little art business has been growing and stretching constantly. I still haven’t taken an art class, but I’m always exploring and learning and I still draw every day. Sometimes my success seems a bit surreal, but then I remember that I’ve worked really hard these past few years so it only makes sense that my career would be thriving.
These days, between running my shop and keeping up with my freelance illustration projects, I’m often busy to the point of feeling overwhelmed, but even so I’ve developed a passion for sharing my experiences with others who also have big creative dreams.
I’ve spent the last few years teaching Flourish, which was an e-course dedicated to helping others get started with their creative businesses. I was so inspired by my Flourish students that I decided to share the other side of my creative business as well: the actual creative part of it! Enter Inspired Doodles.
I taught two sessions of Inspired Doodles last year and both were a big hit and they were both big fun too. This year’s session of Inspired Doodles will run from February 6 to March 2 and although it’s about *this* close to be full, I’ve opened up a few extra slots for Oh My! Handmade readers. Through the Inspired Doodles online workshop, I’ll be sharing my experience as a self-taught artist and more specifically, I’ll be sharing insight about how I improved my skills and developed my own personal style as an artist.
Keep in mind, this isn’t a how-to-draw-like-me workshop; instead, it’s about learning to draw like you!
The course is presented in the form of 3-4 written lessons each week, along with short creative assignments and daily sketch prompts. And as part of the course, you receive a lifetime membership to the Inspired Doodles Community Forum where you can ask questions, leave comments and interact with past and present Inspired Doodles students.
And did I mention that it’s a blast?
If you’d like to take part, you can read the details here and you can sign up here. To save 10% off your registration fee, use the code INSPIRED10 during checkout.
I’m looking forward to working with you,
Steph Fizer Coleman
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