Domestika courses, are they worth it? - A review
Domestika has a wide range of courses from social media skills, to art, design, and craft. I purchased a few courses that caught my eye and was very impressed with the quality and content. All Domestika courses are by teachers who have a proven track record within their particular industry. So for example illustrators who've worked with big brands, magazines, selling and marketing their work.
The courses are properly structured with an explanation of the materials required, skill building to learn how to use them, leading to a final project based on what you've learned. Often there are little extra tips about styling work for your social media, or perhaps looking at other uses for the finished work. If you want to work through the course and share that there is a forum for each course. For older courses the forum can be quiet, but it's a chance to see how other students have tackled the tasks.
All the videos are professionally shot, so when the teacher is demonstrating you can clearly see what they're doing and how they're doing it, something that can be problematic with self made video because it's not easy! You get lifetime access to the courses you purchase so there's no need to rush through. I particularly like the fact that after the teacher introduces themselves there's a video about their influences, I've discovered some new artists through it. The teachers also give useful resources in links and pdf downloads.
To date I've purchased around twenty courses ranging from photography for Instagram, to art and illustration courses. Since I'm a working artist I tend to follow the course informally, taking things from each one and incorporating it into what I'm doing day to day. Another way I use them is when I'm in a stale patch, watching the course videos can help me with new ideas and often revives my enthusiasm for creating. Quite often I enjoy a coffee break and watch a couple of course videos, which are generally between five and twenty minutes.
No matter what stage we're at in our artistic development there are always things to be gained from going back to basics, and I find it fascinating to get an insight into how other artists work. Domestika courses are often on offer for 9.99 or you can get a bundle of courses for a set fee, when they're that price for the quality you get I don't think you can beat the value. I'm not sure I'd pay the full RRP simply because some courses are lighter on content than others, that said there are frequent offers on prices and as a Folksy Plus member I get a further discount which has been well used! I'll continue to use Domestika because I feel I've grown significantly as an artist since I discovered them and I see them as the equivalent of doing weekend workshops for continued improvement of my skills.
