Only a few lessons in and I learned so much about bringing illustrations to life through color.

Today was another day of blocking out time to specifically work on this course. Could I have found other things to do? Absolutely! Did I have laundry and toys to put away? Yes I did! What this course (or any course) comes down to is being consistent in showing up for it. Choosing to learn surface pattern design and sacrificing other things so that you get the most knowledge.

Here are some ways that help me show up consistently for Bonnie Christine’s Immersion course:

1. Charge my computer every night. Charging it while I sleep gets it ready with no hang ups for the following day.
2. Mentally set aside blocked time to show up for course everyday. Today, I knew it would be nap time for my children.
3. Have a notebook or sketchbook ready and writing supplies to take notes during the course. I know this is old school, but it is applying the learning more by writing it down.
4. Illustrator stays open on my computer for quick access.
5. Make sure you have taken care of what matters most before sitting down for the course. My children are fed, my husband doesn’t need me, the house is relatively picked up

Color within Illustrator was expounded upon in much detail. For a year, I have been part of Flourish (Bonnie Christine’s resource library for steps to becoming surface pattern designer). This is very different from the Immersion course simply because the Immersion course is Illustrator in detail. Piecing together how to color my artwork in Adobe has been fun, but I simply didn’t know all the ways I could recolor. Bonnie Christine goes in detail with several ways of coloring artwork and how to get the most out those tools through the different options available. Let’s just say that I had a lot of “Oh!” moments as she went through the various tools.

My thoughts for today consisted of:

1. Bonnie Christine knows Illustrator in depth and has opened my eyes up to tools I was afraid to click on before.
2. She emphasizes the importance of applying the skills learned on the videos within Adobe Illustrator.
3. Recoloring artwork brings artwork to life, but that process can be streamlined for proficiency.

If you’d like to see my blog from day 2, check it here! There is such a difference between today and yesterday within the Immersion course.