here’s what you’ll get:

• Weekly design briefs that keep students coming back time after time.

• Three downloadable industry information and research projects to help you understand this important market.

• A beautiful mood board, full of inspiring imagery.

• A unique, commercial colour palette.

• A cohort of talented artists to share resources and encouragement with.

• The kind, encouraging advice of a surface design professional.

• New Christmas designs for your portfolio that you can be proud of.

 What Students Have to Say About Create Christmas

TESTIMONIALS

(click the arrows to see them all)

let’s create. Let’s explore.

See you inside.

 Create Christmas Student Work Gallery

Sarah Papworth | Emma McGowan | Kate McFarlane | Anais Lee | Sam Rudd

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

• How is the course material delivered? Will we get videos?

  There are no videos in any of the courses (so far!).

  All course material is provided in written form. Create Collections has downloadable PDFs for all the course materials. Explore Florals and Create Christmas have limited downloadable material. 

• How long are the courses available??

  Create Collections offers lifetime access. Create Christmas and Explore Florals are available for a limited time.

• Does the Facebook group continue after the course? 

  Until further notice, yes.

• How much time should I set aside per day/week for the class?

  I issue a new brief every Monday and the goal is to complete one finished design/project per week—or more if you find time. I’d imagine an hour or so a day would be enough, depending on your approach.

• Do you offer a critique of artwork created by course participants? 

  I’m active in the group and comment frequently. I care a lot about what you’re doing and want to be encouraging and motivating. However, I don't (and can't!) comment on every single post.

  If you’re interested in an in-depth discussion with me, please visit my Consultations page.

• Is being on Facebook a requirement? 

  You definitely don’t need to join the Facebook group to take the course as it’s all provided in written form in an online ‘classroom’  but I highly recommend it as it’s such a supportive community. You’ll enjoy seeing what everyone else is doing and receiving kind, valuable feedback on your own work. I’m in the group commenting often.

• Can you tell me more about how a ‘live’ course works? Is there a schedule? Are there Facebook Live chats and do I need to be available at a certain time?

  By ‘live’, I mean that the course takes place within a set time-frame (the duration of the course) where everyone contributes to an active, private Facebook group - rather than it being an evergreen course that’s self-paced.

  There’s always a very engaged and supportive community. You can jump on at any time of the day and students come from all over the world and lots of different time zones.

  There are no FB Lives. All course materials are provided in written form.

• Do I need to know how to use Photoshop, Illustrator and /or Procreate?  All my artwork is just me, my paint, brushes, and paper. Does that mean I can’t take part in the course or work in this field?

  It’s definitely not necessary to use digital media to take my courses. A lot of designers create art for this industry by hand and I try to structure the courses so that they’re useful to everyone, no matter what materials they like to use. I do a lot of hand-painted art myself. I think it has a lovely quality to it!

  In order to sell hand-rendered images, you’ll need a very basic working knowledge of Photoshop in order to clean up your designs and present them as editable, digital files - but it’s easy to acquire those skills via online tutorials and you’ll need to learn less than a tenth of what the software can actually do. 

  For my courses, it’s enough that you can snap a pic and upload a jpeg so we can admire your work and support you! 

  On the other hand, lots of my students are brilliant digital artists. If you’re interested in learning more about digital art, you’ll enjoy seeing the fabulous possibilities.

  Have a look at the beautiful student art here. I think you’ll be surprised at the variety. 

• Will this class be too advanced or are beginners welcome?

  Beginners are very welcome.

  Some of the concepts may be completely new to you but a lot of beginners join me and find the courses worthwhile because they learn so much. I try hard to ensure the Facebook Group is kind, supportive and safe and this works well for beginners because the more experienced artists in the group offer lots of help.

  I think you’ll find this testimonial helpful. Roberta is talking about a Create Christmas class but I think a lot of artists have this kind of positive experience in all the classes.

  “I joined this class on a whim and then regretted it when I started to see the names and work of my classmates because I am just dipping my toes into the world of surface design and illustration. I thought I was going to feel horribly out of place with all the professional designers in the class, but as soon as the first brief was up I was totally inspired and went right to work. The only thing I didn’t like about the class is that it was too short. I had so many ideas of illustrations I wanted to do each week, I kept hoping the weeks would magically lengthen themselves.

  I never for one moment felt out of place. The whole class community was accepting and encouraging. If you are unsure if this type of illustration is for you - take the class. If you are currently illustrating but in a rut - take the class. You are sure to be filled with so many ideas you won’t be able to get to them all. If you are a seasoned pro and want a challenge - take the class. Get a fresh perspective on illustrating and industry insight to other possibilities. If you’re here reading this wondering if you should take the class - take the class. It is a small investment regardless if your focus is as a professional or hobbyist.”

  — Roberta Murray

• Will you be covering how to create repeat patterns?

  The course is not a technical pattern-making course in any way - but it’s full of information that will help you create cohesive, attractive and well-composed designs (including patterns) that will impress art directors.

• Do we get any help with how to contact agents? 

  That’s not within the scope of the course but have you downloaded my Free Guide to Getting Your Artwork In Front of Clients? You may find it helpful. Sign up here. I also offer consultations at certain times of the year.

 See you on Instagram…