2d And 3d Design Courses

Graphic design can be challenging at times, especially when figuring out how to "break into" the design industry.

Are you looking to start your graphic design journey, or are you just wanting to take your current skills to the next level? Either way, nowadays, there are no barriers to gaining knowledge from the best universities or specialists.

You just need to choose the educational course that best suits your current graphic design skills and your goals for further development.

We've searched for some of the best graphic design courses online to help you learn how to become a professional-level graphic designer.

But, as you may know, there are many graphic design courses out there, and it can become challenging to know which course to take or which one will be the best one to help you reach your graphic design goals.

Several courses online are offered by universities, online course hubs, graphic design experts, and so on. We have carefully selected ten graphic design online courses that will help you elevate your graphic design portfolio.

These graphic design classes will help you with layouts, creative process and introduce you to some design trends. Some of these courses also offer certificate programs that will provide you with a certificate after completing the course.

Here are 10 of the top graphic design courses designed to facilitate your comprehensive development as a specialist, so let's dive in.

1. Graphic Design Certification By Calarts

This course is available on the Coursera platform and is in high demand within the field of design. It is best suitable for those who already have at least a basic knowledge of graphic design. As part of the course, students will be able to learn how to create more complex projects.

In this course, you will learn principles of design, the history of design, and how to communicate through image-making and typography. You will also learn how to work in interface design, motion graphics, and editorial design.

The fundamental skills you will learn through this course can also help you complete a university capstone project. In addition, all of the designs created through this course will be perfect for adding to your professional portfolio.

Coursera's graphic design specialization offered by Calarts includes five courses:

Fundamentals of Graphic Design
Introduction to Typography
Introduction to Imagemaking
Ideas from the History of Graphic Design
Brand New Brand

At the end of the course, you will have a finished project that you can proudly add to your portfolio. In other words, there will be practice, not just theory. In addition, the Coursera platform provides a certificate of completion, which you can add to your resume.

2. Professional 2D Game Graphic Design In PS

If you already have a lot of experience in Photoshop and drawing, why not try creating games? The course duration is 6.5 hours and was developed by renowned illustrator and designer Jaysen Batchelor. This tutorial costs €23.99, but the price may vary due to discounts.

The 2D Game Background Creation Course will help you build high-quality stylized backgrounds from scratch in Photoshop, which you can use for games and animations. By the end of this course, you will learn how to create game graphics and profit from your new skills.

If you don't have Photoshop skills, it is better to return to this online learning platform later, as you will need at least basic knowledge of that tool.

Other requirements include having basic drawing skills, a drawing tablet, and access to Adobe Photoshop. If you do not have Adobe Photoshop, you can get a free 30-day trial.

So what are you waiting for? Join over 60,000 learning students and elevate your graphic design skills within one week. Professional designers who haven't explored the world of gaming and animation yet, are also welcomed to join this course!

3. Udemy: Introduction to Graphic Design

Udemy has always been an attractive platform for those who are eager to gain knowledge in various fields. In addition, they have a fantastic free design course.

The course is designed for beginners who want to learn design. It does not require any special software or skills, making it ideal for those who want to get started from scratch and get a first impression of graphic design. You will learn the basic principles and elements of design.

This course includes 11.5 hours of on-demand video, certificate of completion, and access on mobile and TV. The price may seem a lot at first since it costs €94.99. However, once you pay this price, you will get full lifetime access.

Since you will learn fundamental skills and study core design principles, the main requirement for this course will be a desire to learn new graphic design skills. You will also need to have Adobe Photoshop access.

This course is perfect for anyone who wants to build a successful career as a graphic designer. However, this is not the only design course on this platform. After completing this course, additional tutorials that will match your interests will be suggested to you.

4. Instagram Illustration From Skillshare

This Graphic Design and Illustration Class from Skillshare is a good option for anyone looking to advance their skills in graphic design.

It will allow you to look at social media as a great and promising opportunity for all designers. You will learn how you can create projects with just an iPad and use them on social media.

Creating visual designs for social media will be especially promising if your graphics are backed up by the top-notch content created by the Best Writers Online on the writing services review platform. It can be a good start for complete beginners who want to earn revenue from their creations.

The course consists of 12 lessons, with a total course time of 1 hour and 13 minutes. The lessons will include a course in basic elements of design where you will learn about fundamental principles and how to use essential tools and creation tools.

The course will then explore how you can develop palettes that express your emotions. Experienced designer Sophia Yeshi teaches it. She will also offer various tips and tricks on making your Adobe Illustrator effects more fun and exciting.

One hour and 13 minutes will be more than enough time for you to develop your creative skills, understand the content, and start practicing graphic design elements.

Nic Squirrel, an artist and illustrator from the UK, also has a Skillshare class about how to create patterns in the leading iOS graphic design platform Vectornator.

Nic Squirrel Skillshare Class on Vectornator

5. Udemy's Logo Design Fundamentals

Creating logos is an essential part of every designer's job, and it's always a challenging task. So don't miss the course that will allow you to learn everything about creating a branded logo.

This course consists of 15 lessons that will tell you how to create a logo and teach you how to interact with customers properly. This course also covers the issue of branding as well, which has a direct connection with logo development.

Udemy's Logo Design Fundamentals course will prove that you do not need hours of video lessons and long expert-created video tutorials.

With only 49 minutes of on-demand video lessons by course teacher Lauren, you will:

Understand the entire logo layout
Learn the fundamentals of logo design
Learn the step by step development process of a branded logo
Finalize a branded logo
Finish your design project and get it ready for print or a client

For this course, you will be required to have Adobe Illustrator and Reader and some basic understanding of a logo design cycle.

6. Graphic Design Course From The University Of Colorado On Coursera

Since this course is shared by the Coursera platform, it is free. This course is an excellent option for beginners or those who want to make sure their knowledge is up to date. The course does not require any preliminary preparation, so it may suit you if you want to determine whether a career in graphic design is the right one for you.

The course is also perfect if you are a graphic design student who needs to earn university credit or develop their graphic design skills for their capstone project.

The materials of this course will be enough to prepare you to start working with real projects. The instructor of the course is David Underwood. He has worked as an illustrator, designer, lecturer, and teaching consultant at the University of Colorado Boulder since 1988.

The course is an excellent base and starting point for those who do not have a budget to pay for training. So be sure to pay attention to this course, even if you already have experience. Perhaps you can emphasize something new for your professional activity.

If you are up for a design challenge, this course is also a great one. It will introduce you to fundamental design theory, graphic design history, and how the development process of a design project goes.

7. Will Paterson Graphic Design Tutorials

Will Paterson is a freelance graphic designer specialized in Logo Design and Brand Identity. In addition, this graphic designer and illustrator uses his YouTube channel to offer free graphic design tutorials to learn how to use leading graphic design software and products.

His tutorials are an excellent and highly accessible way to learn the basics of how to start your graphic design journey. In addition, his other content provides a wealth of information for intermediate and advanced designers as they progress in their skills.

Will's course about Vectornator is ideal for learning how to work with a graphic design program. He also offers tutorial series for many other leading platforms, such as the products offered by Adobe Creative Cloud.

If you want to learn how to use Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Illustrator, Affinity Designer, Adobe CC, or any Adobe creative suite of products, Will's tutorials will be the place to start. Be sure to subscribe to his channel if you find his content helpful!

In this video tutorial example, Will will show you to use the Pen Tool in our free Vectornator app on iPad and Mac.

8. Canva Design School

If you're involved in the graphic design community, you've probably heard of Canva. This app is used not only by designers but also by content writers from the Online Writers Rating custom writing reviews platform, bloggers, etc.

However, only a few people know that Canva is also a storehouse of valuable resources. There are tutorials, articles, and guides that will be useful to beginners and those who already feel confident in the graphic design field.

In addition to practical guidelines, you can also find out how to promote your blog and services.

In this article titled "Yes, creativity can be learned," you will learn nine tips to develop your creative skills. The article will show you that creativity is not a special skill that you either have or don't. It is something that can be learned through practice.

They have numerous lessons for beginners who want to learn graphic design basics. If you are interested to learn more about color theory, icon design, and conceptual tools, Canva has plenty of tutorials on graphic design basics.

This platform is dedicated to helping users learn how to grab attention with their graphic design projects and find their unique style.

There is also a course called "How to Build a Brand," which will cover the theme of the logo, the choice of palette, graphics, and everything else you'll need for brand development. It will be helpful not only to create your brand but also to create branded graphic designs for others.

9. CreativeLive

This resource is suitable for both designers and artists. They have both paid and free courses that are perfect for beginners and experienced users looking for personal development and developing their design skills.

If you want to start learning for free, you can also do so. Free materials are available in the form of video tutorials. And you can choose to reserve a spot for their live and on-air events. The CreativeLive platform has also decided to extend its Health and Wellness classes for free to the creative community.

Other course materials are only available with the purchase of the entire course. The full course is usually in the $30-50 price range. But if you want the best value option, you can subscribe for $25 a month, giving you access to an unlimited number of courses.

Creative Live will help you learn more about image editing, product packaging, as well as how to use color palettes and custom shapes to your advantage.

To give you an idea of the variety of topics and course they offer, here are some upcoming free online events:

Adobe Spark: Create Engaging Social Media Posts In a Snap
Adobe Stock for Illustration: A Head Start to Your Project
Working Successfully with Clients: A Class for Illustrators and Designers
Digital Guides, Products and ePDFs with Adobe InDesign
Custom Resumes with Adobe InDesign
Workflow, Time Management and Productivity for Creatives
Color Fundamentals
Adobe Illustrator CC: The Complete Guide
Drawing Fundamentals: Tonality and Shadows

10. Graphic Design From Massachusetts Institute Of Technology

This is not a full course, but it is a lesson from a full-fledged design course. These exercises are freely available and helpful to novice designers who want to dedicate a few hours per week to learn some graphic design foundation skills.

The Massachusetts Institute of Technology courses can also help anyone who wants to develop their skills for their graphic design specialization.

This short guide will allow you to learn graphic design techniques and concepts. The essence of the exercises is that you can analyze and understand everything in practice by using examples.

Another exciting course is Color Design and Typography. It will help you learn some design principles and explore color design and typography

The step-by-step lessons and in-class activities will be helpful to practice everything you learned during these courses. You also have the option to download the course materials so you can learn in your own time.

The Bottom Line

Using the courses from this article will help you on your journey to develop your skills and grow as a graphic designer. As you can see, many of these courses are available for free, which means that you have the opportunity to improve your skills and professionalism without financial investment.

If you are thinking about a career transition and want to learn some foundational skills without getting a graphic design degree through formal studies, you can start with the courses offered for free.

Later on, once you see some personal development, you can join a graphic design bootcamp and take some advanced study lessons. Finally, if you see that this is the career for you and you feel good about your progress, you can also get a premium membership for some courses to achieve advanced graphic design skills.

Choose the one that suits your knowledge and goals best, and get started right now, since the competition in the field of graphic design will only become stronger under the pressure of the rapid development of the digital space.

If you're looking to learn graphic design, you should be using the most intuitive vector graphic design tool on the market! Give Vectornator a try today!

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The cover includes artwork by Oksana Lehaieva , made with Vectornator.

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