7 free classes to unleash your creativity

Did you make any New Year's resolutions? If learning, growth and creativity are on your list, check these 7 free online classes!

I am a learner at heart and I can spend hours perusing course catalogs (yes, you read that correctly: hours...). Since I have more free-time now that I am working freelance, the temptation is too great to learn ALL THE THINGS! The problem is: with internet there is virtually no limit to how much content you can access. With online learning, it is not easy to find what is worth your time...

I wanted to find top-shelf courses that I could access for free in fields related to creativity and arts. This is my short list!

I would love to know if you are planning to sign up to any of those. Let me know in the comments!

Fashion and Design:

Fashion as Design - Free Online Class - Paola Antonelli, MoMA. Class inspired by the 2017 exhibition "Is Fashion Modern" at the MoMA. The teachers will use a list of 111 items of clothing that had a strong influence on the world in the past 100 years. Being passionate about both fashion and design, I am very excited about this course. NOTE: This class started enrolling yesterday (22 January 2018) and will run through 7 weeks. Don't miss it!

Photography:

Digital Photography - Free Online Video - Dan Armendariz, from Harvard. A technical intro in 12 modules for the Ivy League enthusiasts. Will take 10-15 hours to complete for a solid basis.

Introduction to Digital Photography - Free Online Video - Marc Levoy, Stanford/Google. The Bay Area version of the above, even more technical and complete: 21 modules (dare I say we are overachievers?). You will need a good camera and some math skills, but this may propel you to the next level if you are an amateur. I find it complex and I tend to skip through the formulas to go straight to the illustrations and Q&As... I find these visuals very helpful.

Drawing:

The Elements of Drawing - Free Online Video - Stephen Farthing, Oxford University. Course based on John Ruskin's work. In 8 short lessons with guided exercises of increasing difficulty. To start grab a sheet of paper, your pencils, and a leaf (yes, you read that correctly).

Film:

Introduction to Film Studies - Free Online Video - Free Video Download - Pr. Aysha Iqbal Viswamohan, IIT Madras. Excellent course on Cinema with a trove of information and references in 40 modules. This course should finish to convince you to apply to Film School. Of course, you can also cherry pick a topic of your liking before you go to that cocktail party in Hollywood. Or just, you know, elevate your "Netflix and chill" game and catch up on the classics.

Writing and literature:

Writing what you know - OpenLearn. No video for this class which relies on reading materials and a good amount of activities and audio. This makes for an interesting introduction to descriptive writing. You could easily spend 8 hours on perfecting your craft with this one. It can be difficult to stay motivated with the lack of interactive content, but still a good resource.

Creativity:

Creativity, Innovation, and Change - Free Class on Coursera from The Pennsylvania State University. 200 000 people already registered to this course. Their goal? "Help you develop your creative potential, so you can enhance and transform your business, your community, and your personal life". With such a program, I signed myself up for their 2018 course starting on February 12th. Will you join me?

Let me know in the comments if you found these useful. I wish you a wonderful year full of creativity. Enjoy!

Do you know of any other worth recommending? Share your suggestions below!

New year, new you!