New year, new skills! From starting a blog to learning animation, here are the top creative skills to brush up on in 2023.
ByHelen Alexander|Updated February 21, 2023
Want to make 2023 your most creative year yet? Make your resolutions more rewarding by learning new skills or building on your existing knowledge. Get to grips with graphic design or explore illustration – whatever area you decide to focus on, you’ll find everything you need onEnvato Tuts+.
Not only can learning a new skill give you an enormous sense of satisfaction, but it can also give your career a boost. So take the time to get 2023 off to a great start – personally and professionally – by exploring our library of free tutorials. Every online lesson and how-to video is free, easy to follow and guaranteed to supercharge your skillset.
Read on for our round-up of the top creative skills to learn in 2023 and tutorials to kickstart your learning journey.
Top 10 Creative Skills to Learn in 2023
1. Get Started with Digital Illustration
Whether you spend your spare time scribbling in sketchbooks or have never picked up a paintbrush, digital illustration is a creative endeavor that anyone can try. Adobe Illustrator makes it easy for beginners to get started. Thisdigital illustration tutorialtakes you through the basic techniques – from introducing the drawing tools to using color and patterns and ultimately exporting your artwork.
2. Design a Book Cover
Ensure your publishing project jumps off the page by learninghow to design a book cover. This comprehensive tutorial outlines the design software you might use, talks you through templates, and shares creative inspiration to ensure your imagery and typography are guaranteed to make a statement on any shelf.
3. Create a Digital Watercolor Painting
Calling all artists! Add an analog element to your online creativity. Check out this guide to achievingwatercolor effects in Photoshop, and you’ll soon be making waves. Even if you’re familiar with Adobe’sAdobe’s image editing, graphic design, and digital art software, embracing a new Action is always a good idea. This lesson takes you through creating brushes and backgrounds and adding texture.
4. Start a YouTube Channel
Whether you want to showcase your skills or share inspiration with viewers, video is an increasingly valuable communication tool, so it’s worth tuning into thisYouTube tutorial. Before you start recording, editing, and uploading content, be prepared to promote your channel with this guide to picking a profile picture and coming up with eye-catching banners and thumbnails.
5. Learn How to Draw a Portrait
Ready to learn a new creative skill? Then discover digital drawing with thisProcreate portrait tutorial. Revel in realism or come up with something absurdly abstract – the most critical thing is you’ll have the confidence to make a sketch and create custom brushes using the digital illustration app.
6. Design a Business Card
As part of your self-improvement, keep self-promotion in mind. Learn how to use Adobe Photoshop to create captivating business cards featuring your logo design. Thisvideo tutorialshares three concepts and all the techniques you need to design your business cards and get them print-ready.
7. Start a Blog
Starting a blog is another excellent way to boost your personal brand. ThisWordPress-focused tutorialexplains everything you need to establish yourself on the publishing platform – whether you want to promote your portfolio or share your creative process. Always stand out from the crowd with ourbranding trends blog, which contains tops tactics for designers, freelancers, and small business owners.
8. Learn Animation
Animation is a surefire way to add a dynamic element to your graphic designs and digital drawings. Add marvelous motion to your skillset by watching thisAfter Effects tutorialand discover moregraphic design trendsin our blog, which covers the latest looks from maximalism to dreamy muted gradients.
9. Create a Music Video
Rolling several rewarding creative skills into one, learninghow to create a music videois a super cool creative skill. It involved laying out lyrics, adding text effects and animations, and selecting an awesome font. It might sound like a lot, but you’ll find plenty of easily accessible assets and templates onEnvato Elementsto get you started.
10. Design a Website
These days, having an online presence is no longer optional – and being able to offer your clients a web design service could give your CV a boost. Even if you want to get more internet-savvy, thisbeginner’s guide to becoming a web designerintroduces the key differences between UX and UI Design. It explains essential online elements you need to consider. Continue your online odyssey by checking out our blog onwhat’s trending in the world of web design.
To upskill in a range of other areas – from code to business strategy and even game design theory – head over toEnvato Tuts+to make the most of the free how-to tutorials and online courses. And for assets to practice with and templates that provide inspiration and speed up the creative process, go toEnvato Elementsand subscribe to make use of unlimited downloads of thousands of stock videos, music, photos, and more.
