{new tricks}

So I'm one of those weird people that loves to learn new things, but at the same time gets super anxious about starting because I worry that I'll fail.

I know...kind of weird. Or maybe not so much?

Is there something that you really want to learn or do, but you are scared to take the first step because it might not turn out the way you expected, or it might be harder than you thought? 

This art journey has given me lots of those "anxious to start" moments, but thankfully I'm such a hopeful go-getter that I keep doing it anyway. 

Like right now I'm in the middle of a really awesome class offered by artist Jessica Swift called Pattern Camp. She's teaching lots of artists how to turn their art into repeat patterns to be used on anything from fabric to wrapping paper to items like journals and mugs. For as long as I can remember I've been obsessed with patterns, especially on paper goods. I've even created a few of my own lately like this...

But I'm almost completely self-taught in Photoshop and Illustrator, and I know I've been doing a lot of things the hard way. I didn't even realize until this class that I could use Illustrator to color my doodles...total newbie I tell ya. 

And I was scared to sign up for this class, and honestly I'm still scared as I begin each lesson. But so far I'm loving it and I've learned how to create my own color palettes using photos and other images as inspiration...

And I colored my first doodle in Illustrator!

My mind is completely blown...it is SO much easier and the result is SO much better than what I was getting using Photoshop to do this. And I haven't even gotten to the pattern-making lessons yet. Super excited to see what I can come up with and share it with you!

And remember...even if you are scared, do it anyway! :)

XO,