Are You Taking Too Many Online Art Courses? (And How to Actually Learn From Them)

We’ve all been there: the thrill of clicking “buy now” on a new course, the promise of fresh skills, the dream of finally unlocking our creative potential. And yet… many of those courses sit unopened or half-finished.

Cue the shame spiral.

But let’s be real: not finishing a class doesn’t mean you’ve failed. It means you’re human.

Today let’s unpack why we sometimes collect more courses than we complete, how to shift our mindset around learning, and how to make the most of every class we take.

Hey there! 👋 I’m Carrie and I’m here to remind you: you’re already an artist.

Here on Artist Strong, I help creatives stop feeling like a copyist or hobbyist, so they can create their first real series of artwork and start building a portfolio they’re proud of.

If you’re ready to stop the DIY learning and get the support and structure to finally draw and paint with your unique voice, I’m here to help.

Sign up and watch my workshop, How to Transform Your Ideas Into Artwork That’s Uniquely Yours. To date, thousands have joined the community. The workshop is completely free, and the link is in the description below.

Why I buy

I buy a lot of courses for online business and marketing because I enjoy them. It’s a topic I knew little about when I started and I sought support and guidance from people who knew what they were talking about. Obtaining new knowledge, testing, and applying new ideas is exciting and fun. I feel good when I’m learning.

Artists are curious by nature. We want to learn, uncover, understand.

The danger is when we start to search for the one thing that will magically make our art click. Finally, I will understand the human face. Finally, I will create a series of artworks that are inspired by my skillful figure drawing. Finally, I will draw in public without fear.

We justify our purchase (hello scarcity thinking) by saying, “this will be THE class that solves our problem.” Then, of course, when the course doesn’t solve all of our problems, or we don’t finish it, well, something must be wrong with us. And it becomes a reason to stop showing up for our art. I mean, “why bother,” right?

Here’s the thing: any art we make comes from the amalgamation of ALL of our learning. Everything we learn from, even the courses we have yet to complete, has helped us reach toward the artist we want to be. So why do we buy so many classes and feel so bad about it?

Why We Buy So Many Courses

It feels good

It’s the same as going to an art supply store and getting a new, shiny supply: it feels good. The simple act of buying a class gives us a hit of dopamine: we are excited by the possibilities, the vision of us making art we’re proud of… which gives us a sense of progress before we’ve even touched a canvas.

And that’s where the danger can lie. It feels good to anticipate the work we’ll create with new supplies or classes, but it’s a lot harder and more uncomfortable to learn new things and apply them.

I’ve talked about this before. It’s uncomfortable to learn! Discomfort is a requirement for growth. But in our perfectionist culture, we often use it as an excuse to stop trying. Because if we were good at it, it wouldn’t be hard.

It’s much easier to buy a course or more art supplies than to do the work that will actually help us start believing in ourselves and our work.

To feel qualified

Another reason we buy so many classes is that we hold ourselves to impossible standards. I especially see this in overachieving women (and that achievement can be professional or in our home lives, or both). We think we need to master every technique before we can move forward to make the art we really want to make. 

It’s why so many women will spend time getting certifications and additional degrees; it’s a way to communicate competence and have outside affirmation of our skill and value.

Here we need to sit with the question: what will actually make me feel qualified to call myself an artist? What do I want my art life to look like? And, what do I need to do to get there? If you don’t have answers to these questions and are feeling stuck with your work, this is the place to start.

FOMO

I have to admit, I have purchased one or two classes that I regret buying. Mostly, because I realized they weren’t actually aligned with my goals or interests. Instead, I was caught up in the excitement of their launches and was worried I was missing out. I wasn’t. And when I engaged with the content, it wasn’t relevant for my work.

FOMO, or fear of missing out, is real. We see a new class by someone our friends are signed up with, or we see a lot of online chatter and wonder if we should want it, too. This is where it’s also important to reflect back on the questions I just asked you about being an artist. Your decisions should be aligned with your goals and values, not something you feel a social pressure to join.

Which reason do you feel most reflects your course-making decisions: it feels good, to feel qualified, or FOMO? Maybe a combo? Tell me yours in the comments below.

What Are You Really Seeking?

What do you want for your art?
What will it take for you to finally call yourself an artist, and with your whole heart believe it?
What do I want my art life to look like?

When we get clear on what we want for ourselves and our art we can make decisions, including which classes we choose, from a place of confidence. When we get honest with ourselves about what we want, and get specific, that gives us something to reach towards. It lets us get specific about the steps we need to take to get there.

Before buying another course, ask yourself: What do I want to actually learn or be able to do with my art after this?

Sometimes we need inspiration and want to study the style or techniques used by another artist. Sometimes we need some structure and accountability and creative prompts to get us going.

ALL of these are good reasons to invest in a course.

This kind of reflection can help you become a more discerning learner and ensure you invest in courses that are right for you.

Rethinking Success

I see some creatives who feel bogged down by their unfinished projects and their unfinished classes. I’m curious: do you have to finish every course to benefit from it?

Think about it like this:

• Do you need to master an entire technique to grow, or is one takeaway enough?
• Could you measure success by what you tried, rather than what you completed?

Sometimes a single “aha” moment from a class can change your art forever. I read one book called Secrets to Drawing Realistic Faces, and just one or two tips in it changed forever how I study faces.

It feels like perfectionism to pressure ourselves to tick off every lesson. It feels like FOMO, that worry you’ll miss the one lesson that solves everything. And for some classes, like my program Self-Taught to Self-Confident, when you have lifetime access, why not savor it and focus on the lessons most pertinent to your goals right now?

Treat Your Courses Like a Library

This is exactly what I tell my students in Self-Taught to Self-Confident: treat the lessons like a library. Each lesson is its own story, each module a book.

We start the program off by assessing your goals and your skill to create a personalized practice plan that guides your learning. Because if you are more interested in landscapes it makes more sense to focus on those lessons instead of negative space in portraits.

But as you grow, there are more resources you can refer to as you continue to develop your skill and voice.

Think about recipe books or an encyclopedia (yes, those old-school volumes lining entire shelves):

• You don’t read every book cover to cover.
• You return to favorites when you need them.
• You can skim for what you need at the moment.

What if online courses weren’t a checklist but a resource, like books on your shelf?

Your courses can work the same way. Instead of racing through them, revisit them over time, pulling out insights as you’re ready to apply them.

Is this a new perspective for you today? What new perspective can you take away from today’s conversation? Tell me more in the comments below.

What About Courses with Limited Access?

This is where knowing your goals for your art is super important. What do you really want out of the course? Why did you sign up?

Because if you really want to do every lesson and you think it’s super important to work through it chronologically (and some courses do need this), then prepare for it. Give yourself time and build space for the course in your life. Work on a lesson every day. Or work through a chunk once a week. Consider yourself, your needs, how you learn, and plan time for it.

I hope you’re noticing a thread throughout this conversation, which is making choices from a place of awareness and intention.

Making the Most of Every Class

Now that we’ve talked about why we might have more classes than we have time to finish, let’s talk about how to maximize your investment in learning:

Do a Baseline Assessment

Before starting a class, make a quick sketch, painting, or journal entry. Be sure you choose something you’re about to learn. Then repeat it after the class. (Read more about baseline assessments here).

For example, say you’ve signed up for a class on urban sketching and it’s about buildings. Before you take any of the lessons, draw a building. Then take the class. And revisit the same image reference or actual building. Try it again.

You’ll see how you’ve grown. This will really help you see its value.

Find Three Takeaways

After finishing (or even pausing) a course, identify three things you’ve learned for your art.

Sometimes we sit in shame with a harsh inner critic because we haven’t taken the time to reflect on what went well. It’s in our nature to assume the worst or focus on the things that went wrong. But if we take even a few minutes to think about what new things we can now do for our art, we can start to see the positives that have come from our investments.

For me, even one lesson proves it was worth it.

Create a Practice Plan

Instead of trying to apply everything at once, choose one or two techniques to focus on. Build them into your regular art-making.

Some people learn best by dipping into multiple sources at once, others by deep-diving into one, be sure to consider your learning styles as you create your plan.

Challenge Yourself

Want accountability? Challenge a few friends to take the class with you. Share your progress and keep each other motivated.

Know Your Tendency

Using Gretchen Rubin’s Four Tendencies framework can help. Whether you’re an Upholder, Questioner, Obliger, or Rebel, tailor your learning approach so it matches your motivation style. This will absolutely help your follow-through.

This isn’t just theory.

Take Lydia, one of my students. She applied to a county fair on a whim, something she never thought she’d do. Not only did she get in, she won three ribbons!

She wrote to me in disbelief, but I wasn’t surprised at all. This is what happens when artists shift their mindset from “I must finish everything” to “What can I learn from this?”

Growth doesn’t come from perfectly completing every class. It comes from using learning as fuel for your own art.

Give Yourself Grace

Now perhaps we’ve been through all this and you’re still feeling a bit down. Maybe you feel you didn’t see the progress you hoped for in a class, or ran out of time for a limited class.

I’ll admit I carry shame around some courses I never finished. But most of the classes I’ve taken have shaped my skills and expertise in meaningful ways.

And when they didn’t? That’s okay, too. It taught me to be more discerning, to choose based on alignment instead of impulse.

Basically, I see two choices when it comes to this problem of “too many classes.” You can:

1. Release yourself from the unreasonable expectations of making use of every single class, or
2. Create a plan to work through them.

With the first one, it’s kind of like a digital declutter. You could opt to fully release any and all expectations that you will visit the content. But as a recovering perfectionist I’m all about the grey area. What’s the middle ground? 

Go through your programs and choose 3 that you want to work from based on those goals we talked about earlier. Choose topics that relate to what you most want to explore right now. What excites you? Let that enthusiasm guide you.

This is also an example of creating a plan to work through them. Right now, I have a personal limitation on buying new art supplies. I’m only supposed to invest in new materials if I use something up. This rule isn’t hard and fast, but it’s guiding me to spend more time using the copious supplies I already have. And it’s helping me think creatively about the materials I’ve already purchased.

You could have some kind of limitation like this, but if it’s coming from a place of shame, it may do more harm than good. I don’t want you avoiding your art or studio: we are here to make more art! So, what strategies will help you show up and make that art? 

Just like wine, the more courses you try, the more your taste develops. You become better at knowing what truly nourishes your growth.

My biggest concern is when creatives punish themselves for buying too many or finishing too few classes.

Please don’t punish yourself. What does it serve? Will it help you make more art?

Shame does nothing to help us grow, learn, or do better. In fact, shame does the opposite: it’s a horrible, mean voice that tells you you’ll never be good enough and that all these classes are just more evidence of wasted time and money. Shame tries to get you to give up things you care about.

Making time for your art and making art is what you do. It’s part of who you are, and there’s no shame in that at all. That’s something to celebrate.

The Big Picture

If you’ve ever felt guilty for not finishing an online class, hear this: it’s not evidence you should give up…it’s evidence you care.

So:

• Let go of the shame.
• Measure success by what you’ve gained, not what you’ve completed.
• Use your courses like a library.
• Keep showing up for your art.

Because every single step, finished or unfinished, adds to the artist you’re becoming.

Thanks so much for watching. If you enjoyed today’s topic, please like and subscribe to Artist Strong. And tell me something new you’ll use in your art practice in the comments below.

Remember: proudly call yourself an artist.

Together, we are Artist Strong.