So You Want to Be an Artist, eh?

I'm often asked to look at the work of a high school student and to assess whether they have "the stuff" to make a go of it in the art world. I figure that if s/he has asked, then s/he really wants to know the truth, but most don't really like hearing it.  I try to keep the news as positive as I can, weighing both pros and cons, but it isn't all pretty.

The "Bad" News
Degrees in Visual and performing Arts comprise 6 percent of students in any college's graduating class, but only two percent of that number actually *do* art after college. And most artists who begin as artists don't persist as artists. They give up after about 3 years... or do it only sporadically.

Many, if not most, artists who are "professional" artists have day jobs-- teaching, working in print shops, working as a layout designer, etc.-- that bring home the bacon, but don't always offer an artist the time to make their own work. (Women artists are most often "ghettoized" in the children's illustration market, which is regrettably low-paying and requires fast turn-around for completions. That said, if you can break into a more competitive genre-- editorial, or F+SF, gaming or film animation -- you have a better chance of making more money. That is, if you don't have children --or if you do, you need an awesome spouse, a nanny, a maid, and a cook.)

So, art is like a calling to the monastery: don't do it unless there's nothing else that will *quite do*, because the obstacles are Sisyphean. Your own self-doubt will provide to be one the biggest boulders to roll uphill. Count on it taking about 5 years after college/ school to break into a very competitive industry and to begin to gain some sort of industry recognition.

So do you have the "stuff" to make it? Here are some Illustration specifics that one has to be able to handle pretty well:  being self-employed means meeting deadlines on time,  working alone, keeping distractions and interruptions at bay, being diligent with your work hours, keeping receipts for taxes, paying for advertising and self-promotion, paying for one's health insurance and planning for "retirement" (whatever that means), budgeting for lean times, paying quarterly self-employed taxes, being able to communicate well and deal amicably with art direction (even when it occasionally goes against your aesthetics or sensibilities). The uber-social person may find it to be lonely; the uber-anti-social person with few people skills may find him/herself at a disadvantage.

The industry has withstood big changes in the last 20+ years, most of which can be seen in the current digital age of e-Books and self-publishing. Companies have severely limited the scope and hire of artists for their publications. It means that those book covers you have had your eye on doing, twenty years ago used to pay an artist $2000; they now pay $750 -- or in the case of romance novels, $75. Illustration fees have not only remained the same in a generation, they've actually decreased. Digital media has had much impact on the art in the industry.

So why the heck would anyone want to be an artist anyway? Oh, I know: to express yourself, right? Let's be serious; you can do that with a video-camera, or a blog, or a FB page. Being an artist as a profession or occupation requires a dedication that goes beyond merely expressing oneself. It's a mission that goes deeper that just having an interchangeable day-job that you can shrug off; it requires years of practice to build the necessary skills, and demands constant vigilance and navigation.

Don't pay any attention to the occasional story of the rock-star, overnight-success artist. This kind of rare story only fuels the Myth of the Artist and creates unrealistic expectations for would-be creatives. It creates a false expectation of freedom, glamour, fame, and fortune that is just nowhere near the reality for the day-to day artist which is just a lot of work. Sometimes more work than is fair and less pay than is fair, but that's the way it is. Most artists, even if they are self-employed full-time, live quiet and unassuming lives as conscientious workhorses. The odds of being made The Big Shit are pretty low.


Hey you... Are you still here, muttering foul curses at me under your breath and vowing to achieve your dream despite my splash of ice water? Well then, you are either a glutton for punishment or a damn fool. Welcome to the club.


Some "Good" News
As an artist, you are the creator, the generator of new ideas. Whether you're in the publishing industry as an illustrator or as a writer, or working as a fine artist to sell work directly to clients, or whether you're a basket maker or potter, or sculptor, YOU are the one generating new content-- you have a voice in shaping your culture. Therefore, it is *possible* to have complete creative control over what you make if its content/ story is yours. (this is harder in the illustration industry where it's often someone else's story /content). See Tony DiTerlizzi's Spiderwick Chronicles for a fine example of an artist writing and illustrating his/ her own story.

What this also means is that you  have the ability to create your own income with original work and content you generate. It means that it's also possible to set your own hours and schedule as well. This self-directed-ness is a really nice feature of being self-employed.

What about the fine art industry? While there has been a sideline business in the illustration convention industry to entice fine art buyers and dealers to purchase original finely-crafted works, many artists who have an illustrative style, have sought to sell their work within fine art venues only. (However, when repped by a gallery, complete artistic control over one's work isn't always possible if the gallery owner has contractual say about the content and style that the artist is producing. They can and will often dictate that you continue to produce the kind of work that sold well in the past.  They have specific clients looking to buy art with that particular "look" so experimenting with changing your style or content to keep your practice sustainable and happy for you can be a bad thing for them. This goes double for the illustration industry, and or agents who might represent an artist to their clients. if you suddenly change your style or content, you will shift your market and lose your client base. Okay, so that was more bad news.)  The good news is that even if you lose some clients by changing or updating your style/ content, you can gain clients elsewhere. That's the nature of freelancing: you can work for whomever you want.

Additionally, most importantly-- you get to be a lifelong student of the world.  All of your interests can be dovetailed into your art and can help generate relevant work. This is what it means to find your "voice". I would recommend that if you are still unshaken in your desire to be an artist, then get exposed to as many subjects as you can-- history, philosophy, feminist studies, biology-- and be able to see what all of the world offers and that ideas and art are interconnected. One cannot make art in a cultural vacuum. So much to consider, right?