MAIL BAG: Advice for Kids Seeking a CREATIVE LIFE
The Insight I Wish I Had Known When Starting Out
I recently had a high school student ask me for advice on starting his path into art. Seeing as this kid had some serious skill, I thought I’d lay out what I could. What was important to me was keeping my experience in line with the current state of the world. My education came pre-internet, and even pre-Adobe Creative Suite, so it was crucial that I give them the advice that was universally helpful no matter what path one takes or what tools they choose.
My answers were as follows:
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Looking at the landscape of how to apply one’s art to the world to sustain a living is critical in shaping your path. The market has changed immensely from when I attended school in the early 90s. Even as I adapted over the years it was a never-ending cycle of chasing technology and constant learning. Which in truth is great for your brain.
But technology and the tools at hand are only one part of that equation. What we say and how we say it is what sets artists apart from each other. Life experiences, world experiences, and crossing the boundaries of other cultures is becoming more important than ever as now our competition for jobs is global. It used to be one only had to compete with other illustrators within a city or Tri-state area. Now it is so much more.
The internet is a small window. If I had to do it all over again, I would have taken a gap year, traveled with friends and focused on being in the presence of great art. You can not imagine clearly enough what it means to look across time to someone your age painting above and beyond even your skill set, knowing they only had daylight or lamplight to produce such works. Of course there is a romantic notion around this approach, but it’s this approach I don’t think most people get to have.
Remember, learning is different than knowing. One can only know something by truly experiencing it, and staying open to the emotion that wells up. It’s this emotion that is also a building block that will sustain your creative DNA for years to come. You’re still a sponge, soaking up a lot of input. Shouldn’t it be the best ingredients?
While traveling is not entirely inexpensive there are ways to do it, even within the U.S. I can recommend Museums and galleries to you if you like.
Here are some questions I wish someone would have asked me when I started my path:
What are your goals for school? Do you just want to graduate, or do you want more?
What are your goals for yourself after school? Into the future? When you retire (I know it sounds so far off but I started saving money when I was 25 and so thankful I did)?
If you were a business what would be your business plan? What services do you offer? What money do you need to operate? How will you market yourself? What needs have to be met in order to stay operational?
Even if you can’t answer these now, they are still important to keep in the back of your head.
Outside pressures aside, from family to friends, it’s good to set the healthy habits for yourself up in the beginning. This may sound weird but exercise is gonna be one of the most valuable tools you have. Artists are a bit too solitary, working for long periods of time in unnatural positions. Even as healthy as I am (I’ve been weight-training since I was 24) time and deadlines have had a negative affect on me. Yet, most of my friends cannot still go out for a long hike or bike ride or challenge themselves physically without serious consequence. Exercise is a huge insurance policy and a great mental cleanser for when you’re having a tough go of the craft.
Seeking out mentorship. Even while in school finding time to mentor with a more seasoned pro can fast-track your skills to a whole new level. I used to stay after school and talk with teachers, asking questions. Some would actually recommend me for jobs that I would have never gotten on my own. At some point in your life you may end up being a capable mentor or teacher…and that’s when your real learning begins. Oddly enough, when you’re ready, having the opportunity to teach will cement what you know and expose what you don’t know. It’s an interesting dichotomy, one that I found both scary and liberating. My work actually got better for it because I was living the lessons I taught.
One other thought, that I would really really press upon you that many of my friends and colleagues lament. I’ve read books on the business of art early on, and I took business classes in high school, BUT I would strongly encourage you to take both business classes and business law if only to understand and ground yourself as a business. There aren’t enough books on the subject that do the trick that I can point to. But I can suggest several if you’re down with that.
I realize I’m throwing a lot at you right now. There is a lifetime of reflection that I’m trying to distill down the best way I can.
Q: I was also wondering what your thoughts are on the merits of art school vs university, and what you think I should focus on to improve my own work?
My follow-up to this is as follows:
You'll spend more money at a university than an Art School and you'll probably not get anything in the way of practical application of art in a commercial sense.
Most universities are tied up in people who are academically minded. Schooling begets schooling. They only care about degrees and tenureship and not practical real-world application.
That being said, there are some teachers at some universities that are still working professionals, but that's rarer than you might expect.
It's worth investigating schools like SVA, RISD, and Art Center College of Design to get a better understanding of how these schools set you up for a practical education.
There are online schools as well like CGMA, Schoolism, Learn Squared, etc.
And there are also atelier schools that provide the building block foundations and discipline that can be applied to any commercial setting. Meaning you will have a sincerely direct application of drawing, painting, color theory, and more that you can then roll into illustration or concept art. Watts Atelier comes to mind, Tenaya Sims has one here in SoDo as well. You could do a gap year and study with him and then decide what to do next. While I'm not a fan of Gage Academy Tenaya is a solid instructor. I know little about Cornish but it's probably worth investigating as well since it's in-state.
But all this depends greatly on your goals as an artist.
Do you want to be a gallery painter? A teacher? A concept designer?
Do you want to work in film? Video games? Editorial? Packaging? Greeting cards?
Do you want to start in one field and then migrate to another field over time?
These questions help frame the type of schooling and groundwork for you to lay down. It's not that you can't circle back around later, but I will say it's harder to do these things later as you become preoccupied with paying school loans, bills, etc.
Here's a snapshot of my career after art school:
T-shirt illustrator for the largest screenprinter in the country working on major licensing properties- 2yrs.
Package promotional designer for major national brands at a design firm- 7months (hated it)
Sculptor/Sculpting Director at a giftware and metalcasting company- 2 years
3D artist for a video game company-4 years
----Paid off school and car loans after 8 years of both working and freelancing (essentially working two jobs)----
3D artist/Concept Artist at another video game company-4 years
Art Lead at another game company- 7 months (bad situation)
Freelance artist for same company- 2 years
Freelance artist (I've always done freelance even when working for other companies since 2003)
Cinematic Director at a game company- 2 years
Illustrator/Concept Artist/Art Director for a game company- 3 years
Freelance for a solid 10 years where I worked as a storyboard artist, concept artist, comic book writer/artist, and illustrator for various projects
At 54 I'm mostly retired.
Working with people early in my career and dipping my toes back into studios helped build my network so that freelance was much easier. I never really had to look for work. People came to me. I realize this is a unique thing and I was very lucky. Trying to freelance right out of school is incredibly hard. You may have to get a rep at that point.
The work I do now is about creating products to sell through Etsy or at comic shows and a few comic projects that I would love to get to market.
I'm moving toward a career in fine art and have been reading up on the business and figuring out how I can apply what I know in this area. Sometimes people who've done a thing for so long can't shake that look or feel to make the crossing over into other fields. Being aware of that is hopefully my saving grace.
As a freelancer you have to live within your means.
Your success is based a lot upon your spending habits and lifestyle. Saying "yes" to everything is the freelancer's curse. Because if you say no, you may not work for months. Keeping enough money in your savings for a dry spell of 4-6 months is how we get by. These habits and saving money is how I was able to be debt free at 28. Freelance is not for everyone. It's a solitary existence that can only be countered with building community and being a part of something larger than yourself. You will have to figure out the kind of person you are. That comes with time and experience.
Try things. Take on jobs. Understand your value and worth (this takes time, and you will make some mistakes). Time is money and locking in what that value is can be crucial.
Reading books and blogs on the subject would be wise.
If you want to learn about the full spectrum of commercial art and pricing (though their pricing is sometimes not realistic as you have to adjust for market and region but it is a guideline) this book, Graphic Artist Guild of Pricing and Ethical Guildelines has helped shape my sense of value with my art.
As this conversation is perennial, you too may have questions you’d like answered. Feel free to comment below and I’ll do my best to get them to you.
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