Spent $200 on a digital art course that was just recycled YouTube videos

I mean, I bought this 'pro secrets' course last fall hoping to get better at character design. It was basically just a guy reading off slides and linking to free brushes you can find anywhere. I felt so dumb after the third video, it was all stuff I already knew. Has anyone found a course that's actually worth the money for learning something new?

3 comments

3 Comments

olivia_allen1mo ago

Ugh, that's the worst feeling! I got burned on a painting course that was the same deal. What I do now is look for teachers who post long, free sample lessons first, so you can really see their teaching style. If they're just summarizing basics, it's a skip. Also, checking if they update their content matters a ton, because a lot of those courses are just repackaged from five years ago.

gonzalez.reese1mo ago

My brother bought a course on fixing vintage radios that was just a guy pointing at circuit boards with bad lighting. The best stuff is usually free if you dig around forums for a bit. He ended up learning more from a retired engineer's blog.

blake_bell291mo ago

Been there with a photography course that was just the same old tips. What finally clicked for me was finding a small online group where we shared work and gave real feedback each week. It cost less than a bad course and forced me to actually apply the lessons. Gonzalez.reese is right about forums and blogs having the good free stuff, you just have to sort through it. I started treating paid courses like a last resort, only after I've hit a wall with all the free material. The community part made a bigger difference than any pre-recorded video ever did.