ShoutCreate
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ShoutCreate Academy · free · progress saved in your browser

Master the whole studio in four sessions

Four hands-on training sessions, each around twenty minutes, each ending with something real you made: a badge logo, a painted postcard, a pattern wrapped on a mug, and an animated logo video. Work through them in order — every step is a tick-box, and the Academy remembers where you got to.

Start Session 1 → Open ShoutCreate in another tab
Pick your session
1 · Vector essentials Design a badge logo · ~20 min 2 · Pro Paint Studio Paint a sunset postcard · ~25 min 3 · Pattern → product Seamless pattern on a mug · ~20 min 4 · Animate & publish Animated logo video · ~20 min
Session 1 · Vector essentials

Design a sticker-style badge logo

Shapes, perfect alignment, combining, colour and effects — the core of the whole studio. Click a step to tick it off.

  1. 1
    Open the designerPress Open the app (top-right of this page). First time? It just asks for an email and a PIN — your work saves against that.
    ✓
  2. 2
    Draw a perfect circleChoose the Ellipse tool (O) and drag while holding Shift. Click a bright colour in the palette strip along the bottom to fill it.
    ✓
  3. 3
    Add a smaller circle on topDraw a second, smaller Shift-circle in a different colour. Switch to Select (V) and drag a box over both, then in Align press both centre buttons — they snap perfectly concentric.
    ✓
  4. 4
    Punch the ringWith both still selected, open Combine and press Subtract — the top circle cuts a hole, leaving a ring. The top shape (or a whole group) is always the cutter.
    ✓
  5. 5
    Drop a star in the middleStar tool (Y), drag one out, then pull its orange inner handle to restyle the points. Centre it on the badge with Align again.
    ✓
  6. 6
    Add your nameText tool (T), click and type. In the Text panel, open the font menu — type in the search box to filter, and your last picks wait in Recently used. Try the AA case button for capitals.
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  7. 7
    Gradient the baseSelect the big circle (hold Ctrl and click to grab it inside the crowd), open Fill → Gradient and drag the on-canvas handles until the light falls nicely.
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  8. 8
    One-tap effectsSelect everything, open Effects and press the Sticker preset, then Soft shadow. The chips above the sliders show what’s on — press a chip’s × to remove just that effect.
    ✓
  9. 9
    Group itSelect all (⌘A) and Group (⌘G). Now it moves, scales and copies as one badge.
    ✓
  10. 10
    Make a sticker sheetDrag the badge — and while still dragging, tap the right mouse button. A copy drops behind you each tap. Three taps = a sheet.
    ✓
  11. 11
    Save and exportSave project keeps a real file you can re-open. Then Export ▾ — pick PNG for sharing or the Logo export pack for the full kit.
    ✓
  12. 12
    Stretch goal: make it 3DRight-click the badge → Make it 3D. Your logo arrives in the 3D studio as an extruded object. Press 9 for the hero view and just look at it.
    ✓
Session 1 complete — you can draw, align, combine, colour and export. That’s the backbone of everything. Next: painting.
If something goes wrongUndo is ⌘Z, up to 500 steps. You genuinely cannot break anything.
Session 2 · Pro Paint Studio

Paint a glowing sunset postcard

Real brushes, layers, masks and non-destructive adjustments — natural-media painting in the browser.

  1. 1
    Open the paint studioPro Tools → Pro Paint Studio. In the size dialog pick the HD 1920×1080 preset.
    ✓
  2. 2
    Learn to move around firstCtrl+wheel (or trackpad pinch) zooms at your cursor. Hold Space and drag to pan. This is the difference between fighting a canvas and flying around it.
    ✓
  3. 3
    Gradient skyGradient tool (R): drag top-to-bottom, deep orange into dusty pink. The second colour well swaps with X — set it once, flip forever.
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  4. 4
    Sun on its own layerPress New layer in Layers. Round soft brush (B), big size (] grows it), one warm blob. Smudge (S) around its edge to melt it into the sky.
    ✓
  5. 5
    Mountains in watercolourNew layer again. In Brush pick the Painting category → Watercolour. Paint a dark ridge line; closer ridge = darker layer on top. Layers keep every ridge editable.
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  6. 6
    Steal colours as you goHold Alt and click anywhere to sample that exact colour mid-stroke — no tool switching.
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  7. 7
    Wet mix & stabiliseIn Settings push Wet mix up and strokes smear like real paint. Shaky lines? Stabilise smooths your hand.
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  8. 8
    Mist with a maskOn a mountain layer press Add mask, then paint with black at low opacity along the base — the ridge fades like morning mist. Paint white to bring it back. Nothing is destroyed.
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  9. 9
    Warm the whole sceneIn Adjustment layers add Curves and lift the reds gently. It sits above every layer, re-editable any time — double-click it in the list.
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  10. 10
    Birds, two strokes eachSmall dark ink brush, quick ticks in the sky. Mistake? ⌘Z — you have 50 steps.
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  11. 11
    ExportExport → PNG at 2× for sharing, or layered PSD if you want to keep editing in other software. Save project keeps the layered .scp.
    ✓
  12. 12
    Stretch goal: paint over a designBack in the designer, put any artwork on the page, then reopen Pro Paint — your design appears underneath as a faded, locked reference layer, with your saved colours as a Design palette. Paint texture straight over it.
    ✓
Session 2 complete — brushes, layers, masks and adjustments are yours. Next: patterns.
Session 3 · Pattern → product

A seamless pattern, wrapped on a mug

Design one tile, repeat it forever, then see it on a real product — the full surface-design workflow.

  1. 1
    Draw three little motifsBack in the designer: a leaf (squash an ellipse, then right-click its end point → Make corner for a tip), a berry (two circles), a small star. Simple is better.
    ✓
  2. 2
    Drag the repeat tilePattern tool (K): drag a box around your motifs. Ghost copies appear all around it — that’s your repeat, live.
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  3. 3
    The seamless trickDrag a motif half over the tile’s edge. Watch the ghosts: the cut-off half re-appears on the opposite side automatically. Overlapping edges is what makes patterns feel professional.
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  4. 4
    Go half-dropIn the Pattern panel switch Repeat to Half-drop — every other column slides down half a tile. It instantly looks like bought wrapping paper.
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  5. 5
    Preview at full sizePreview full page tiles it across the whole screen. Slide Repeats across to zoom the repeat in and out.
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  6. 6
    Recolour everything at onceRight-click one berry → Select same fill — every berry is selected. One click on a new colour restyles the whole pattern.
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  7. 7
    Fill a shape with itDraw a big rectangle, then in the Pattern panel press Use as shape fill. The half-drop is baked in exactly — no seams, no cheating.
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  8. 8
    Export for print-on-demandTile PNG with the size set to 3600 px is exactly what Spoonflower-style sites want.
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  9. 9
    Wrap it on a mugPress Wrap on a 3D product. The 3D studio opens with your pattern loaded — pick the Mug and it wraps on automatically.
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  10. 10
    Light it and frame itTry a lighting preset, then press 1 for a straight-on catalogue shot and 9 for the three-quarter hero view.
    ✓
  11. 11
    RenderRender PNG for the product shot — or Spin for a 360° turntable video you can post.
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Session 3 complete — tile, repeat, recolour, product shot. That’s a sellable workflow, end to end. Next: motion.
Go deeperThe full Pattern Design Course covers colourways, brick and mirror repeats, and print PDFs up to A0.
Session 4 · Animate & publish

An animated logo sting, exported as video

Bring Session 1’s badge to life and export a real MP4 — titles, motion and timing included.

  1. 1
    Open your badgeLoad the Session 1 project (or any shape you like). One page is all you need to start.
    ✓
  2. 2
    Choose your doorPress Animate. Three doors appear — pick Make something move. Only the controls you need stay on screen.
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  3. 3
    First effect, instantlyPress ＋ Appear, then click the badge. It plays the entrance immediately — that little preview happens every time you add an effect.
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  4. 4
    Give the star attentionHold Ctrl and click the star inside the group, then ＋ Attention → pulse. Different parts, different effects.
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  5. 5
    Send something travellingSelect a small shape, press ＋ Travel along a path and click dots across the slide to draw its route. Tick rotate so it faces the way it flies.
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  6. 6
    Time it on the timelineThe timeline along the bottom shows a purple bar per effect — drag bars to change when things happen, drag their ends to change how long they take.
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  7. 7
    Add a closing slide+ Add page, write a thank-you or web address on it. In the Animate panel set the transition to Morph (magic move) — shared shapes glide between slides.
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  8. 8
    Set the pacingHold is how long each slide sits before moving on. Two to three seconds reads well.
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  9. 9
    Watch the whole thing▶ Preview plays the full animation, transitions and all.
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  10. 10
    Export the videoExport video… → MP4, 1080p. That file posts anywhere — no other software touched.
    ✓
  11. 11
    Stretch goal: stop-motionTry the third door sometime: + Frame duplicates the page, you nudge things, onion-skin shows the ghost of the last frame — flipbook animation, the honest way.
    ✓
Session 4 complete — and with it, the Academy. You’ve designed, painted, patterned, mocked-up and animated. You know the studio.
Keep goingThe Animation course and 3D course take each studio much further.

Ready to make something of your own?

Everything you make in ShoutCreate is yours to keep, export and sell.

Open ShoutCreate →