Becoming an Artist Part 1

Hello my Devils, this is the first of several little blog posts that I hope will help other artists and possible clients.

With everything going on, there is a massive new generation of artists and creators that need some advice and just a little bit of guidance in order to make this their new side hustle or even a possible career path.

First I want to say that I am no expert in this, but I am willing to share the things I have learned over the years so at least you, my dear reader, can at least form the correct answers and not struggle for as long as some of us had to get to where we are now.

This post is going to cover some of the primary topics, in no particular order, that I always get asked and well, that I wished someone else was able to tell me when I asked; and hopefully in a way that is not patronizing and encouraging. I am going to assume that those reading this have already some artistic talent or, at least, aspirations, otherwise you wouldn’t be asking these questions.

The format we are going to approach this is as a question and answer, like a more informal FAQ.

>I like being an artist, but I don’t like making art, should I do this for money?

The short answer to this one is kind of obvious. No.

The long answer is a little more grey than most of us want to admit. Not all of us who do this kind of work do it for the simple thrill of being an artist and the love of the craft we are doing. Some of us are in it for the paycheck. Like with any other profession, this is work. It will consume significant amounts of time and personal energy to commit to. It’s the personal cost that is hard to equate and define in the end, but we will talk about that later. If you need quick cash or you are doing this as a side hustle between other things, then okay; go ahead and bite the bullet and deal with it for however short term this is planned to be; but when it comes to longer terms; no.

The personal costs will always outweigh the value of the task.

>Should I do this as a profession or should I just keep this a side hustle?

That is really up to you. If you like what you do, then there isn’t any reason you couldn’t, but it depends on how much time and effort you are willing to put into your craft. Its not as cut and dry as it may seem. Being an artist or creator takes a lot of time and effort (the personal cost we talked about last question) and because of that it may not be feasible to do it as a full time professional. That said, it isn’t unreasonable to start off with it a supplemental income and slowly transition it to a more full time gig. That is actually how many of your favorite artists got into the positions they are in. So it really just depends on if you are able to dedicate more time and energy into it and if it can reasonably sustain your lifestyle to do so.

>Do I need a degree?

It honestly depends on what you want to do, who you know in those industries, and the basic entry requirements. Generally, an art degree of some sort is good to pad a resume. It’s a piece of paper certifying that you are knowledgeable in your craft. Without it, in more professional settings such as the art department for a larger, more structured company, it may be needed as they have to handle many different applicants and many different people need to be sure that you are qualified to perform your job without having to constantly evaluate portfolios and the like.

If you are striking out on your own, no. It may take longer, and you would have to be a one-person-band as it were, but like many of your favorite independent artists, professional certification is not a requirement for entry. You will have to work at maintaining and cultivating your client and fan bases.

>Okay, I’m in. Where do I start?

The big thing to focus on is your goals. You hear that a lot when it comes to planning, but it is extremely important in the long run and will help prevent burnout (a topic we will cover later).

Goals come in three general flavors; your short-term goals which can be accomplished within a few weeks or a few months, medium term goals which can be accomplished within a few months but mostly within a year, and long-term goals that may take years to fully accomplish.

The approach I like using when setting these goals is to see what the big picture is and then figure out the steps to get there. If you main goal is to become a professional creator whose primary income is their craft, that is the long term goal from there, you will break down the best path for you.

But for now, lets start with a simple example: Starting a webcomic.

Your primary goal is to be the creator of a webcomic series (it might not be but pretend). You need some basic things in order to accomplish that goal. You need a story, characters, the comic itself, and a host in order to share it and whatnot.

A short-term goal with that is the creation of a premise. The seed of an idea like a comic about post-pubescent martial artist mutant reptiles that live in the sewers of Chicago. The medium-term goals would be coming up with the characters and the world they live in. The long-term would be actually putting in the physical work of pulling the comic together.