€197
Create Collections 9
This course is a rerun of Create Collections 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7 and 8
with a BONUS exciting design brief.
Five-week course, next starting Mon, Mar 3rd, 2025.
Registration opens Thu, Feb 13th, 2025
Lifetime Access to the Classroom.
If you've already done the course and would like to join me again just for the Facebook group and new brief, email me here and I'll send you a link for a great re-takers discount!
↑ None of us artists would ever actually say this—but we might as well—because getting our artwork out there and making an impact seems like an uphill struggle.
Browsing in your favourite shop, daydreaming about seeing your work on that tea towel? Or that birthday card? Or that journal cover?
Feeling deep down that your designs would look just as good on those products?
Wishing you knew how to realise your dream?
And maybe you’ve already tried working in collections but you’re hazy about a few things…
Which motifs can be repeated and which can’t?
How do you keep the colours cohesive?
Why do your designs all look the same? Or worse, why do they look like five different people created them?
How many placements and how many patterns do you need?
How many designs should there be in a collection?
Should you be following some sort of secret formula?
^^And that’s only a fraction of the vast commercial art market.
Individual designs from collections can be sold to different clients.
A whole collection can be sold to a single client for a range of products.
Working in collections makes you create more and think less, using colours and concepts more than once.
A portfolio featuring commercial themes captures the attention of a wide range of clients.
By focusing on cohesion and story in your collections, you’ll solidify your style.
Collections create an impact. Each design merchandises the next.
INTRODUCING
Create a collection of cohesive artwork that impresses art directors. Use your unique taste to tell a story, solidify your style and increase the chances of selling your art.
Weekly assignments that keep your creativity flowing and fit into your busy schedule.
A reusable framework you can adapt to your pace and your style.
Insider knowledge on how to balance trends with your creative vision.
A cohort of talented artists to share resources and encouragement with.
The kind, supportive advice of a surface design professional.
A commercial collection for your portfolio that you can feel proud of.
You’ll also get instant access to:
The online classroom featuring written course materials (lifetime access).
Five design briefs—one per week—all downloadable as PDFs.
Glossary of industry terms PDF.
The Colours I Love template PSD and JPEG.
The Collection Planner.
The Story Continuity Checklist.
And four presentation templates.
This is where experienced and beginner designers share insights, discoveries, feedback, and encouragement.
This is a live course and I’ll be inside the group daily giving feedback and encouragement for the 5 weeks.
The course has left me feeling so inspired and has also given me a much better understanding of what art directors are looking for and how to present it. In fact, Victoria's course helped me to shape my new fabric collection called 'Dragons & Lanterns in collaboration with Cloud9 Fabrics which is out later this year.
Don't hesitate to sign up for this course. I found it really invaluable.”
It just reinforced in my mind that this is definitely the way I’m going to produce work from now on.
I highly recommend taking this class - whether you’re just starting out or if you’ve been working as an artist for some time. Victoria is so generous with sharing her knowledge and experiences in the licensing world. I’ll definitely be doing more of Victoria’s courses in the future.
(click the arrows to see them all)
“My struggle has always been choosing a color palette focusing on what I should be doing to create a cohesive collection. This course gave me all of that! I was also floundering and found that my creativity was at a standstill but I found that every Monday, which was when a new session was posted, I was recharged and excited. I'd even find myself thinking of designs before falling asleep at night! Best of all, there's so much support from Victoria as well as the group taking the course. If you're new or struggling with your art, this is the course to get you going!
Thank you, thank you, Victoria!”
“Victoria explains the concepts and breaks down everything so well! Her approach to creating collections is quite different from what I had heard before (creating repeat patterns). She puts emphasis on creating exceptional artwork and explains with a lot of her personal examples of why that is the most crucial aspect of your portfolio. She is very active in the Facebook group and provides honest, valuable feedback.
I would highly recommend this class. Thank you so much, Victoria for sharing your knowledge with us!”
“I really enjoyed Victoria’s Create Collections course. It was so informative yet manageable at the same time. It changed my idea of what makes a successful collection.
Victoria also opened my eyes to thinking outside the box when working on the layout - I was trapped thinking things needed to “make sense”. Her approach to building a signature color palette also came in handy - as I ended up with a varied and cohesive collection I am proud of.”
“Create Collections (along with all of Victoria's other wonderful classes), has been an absolute life-changer for me. I started taking her online classes with my very old, outdated, and underwhelming portfolio in hand.
A little over a year later, I have an entirely new body of work (that I'm proud of!) a solid understanding of the field of surface pattern design and licensing, and the confidence to make more and more. Each class is clear, easy to understand, and so much fun.”
“This is my first time taking Victoria's classes and I really enjoyed the course. The course is well structured; all the lessons are clear and easy to understand.
Another differential is that Victoria provides valuable feedback in the Facebook group which helped me to evaluate and improve my pieces. I also had the opportunity to meet talented classmates. I highly recommend this course.”
“Victoria is excellent at presenting a ton of practical industry information in a very engaging and accessible way. I feel so much better prepared to create marketable artwork. I’m always so inspired to create many pieces in her courses and they are pieces that represent some of my best work. Thank you, Victoria!”
“I really enjoyed Victoria's Create Collections Course.
She gives lots of useful information and practical advice on how to move forward with your style, creating new and strong pieces with cohesion and consistency.
Victoria also provides valuable feedback and you can learn as much with your own work as with your classmates. Highly recommended!!”
“Victoria is like an alchemist, her lessons guide you, and challenge your curiosity…which creates this wonderful atmosphere for learning,
I also appreciated Victoria’s participation in the Facebook group, giving valuable suggestions and clarification.
Thank you Victoria …. Can’t wait to create my next collection!”
“It helped me to understand color, cohesion of my collection, and how to make all that happen. It was the perfect pace so I didn’t feel rushed or pressured.
We were provided with briefs and I was able to refer back to them and dissect them to really understand what was needed.
The Facebook group was wonderful with suggestions and lots of support. Victoria was also there to offer support and guidance when we asked for it.
This class is great for beginners or more experienced artist, I would highly recommend it for anyone!”
“If you are an established designer looking to be more productive and have better direction and flow to your process, this course really helps you to think about how to progress from one piece of work to the next and then collection to collection.
If you are starting out and looking to make more coherent work and understand what makes a strong collection, again you will find this course very helpful.
Highly recommend this course, wherever you are on your design journey.”
Hello! I’m Victoria Johnson.
WITH OVER 24 YEARS OF COMMERCIAL ART INDUSTRY EXPERIENCE, I KNOW FIRST-HAND WHAT IT TAKES TO CREATE COHESIVE COLLECTIONS THAT CAPTURE THE ATTENTION OF ART DIRECTORS AROUND THE WORLD.
I’ve seen many artists struggling to overcome confusion and lack of confidence when trying to create outstanding portfolios while also living busy lives and I know how that feels. That’s why I put together Create Collections.
I’m sharing my knowledge in powerful but bite-sized lessons that have helped nearly 2000 students increase their chances of selling their art by creating strong visual stories, without compromising their unique style.
See you inside.
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.
Create Collections offers lifetime access. Create Christmas and Explore Florals are available for a limited time.
Until further notice, yes.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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
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.
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…
