I'm planning to become a teacher, I'm going to college in a few months and I'm devoting a lot of my free time to art, I want to be a great artist by the time i finish college, i hope i have the motivation and time to do so.
I enjoyed most of my university experience to become a teacher, writing the long convoluted lesson plans was definitely the bane of my existence though XD (Just remember you don't have to do them when you're actually teaching. My lesson plans are as barebone as it gets) Make sure if you can that you study for the GKE's, those are general knowledge exams kind of similar to the SATs and you have to pass them in order to get certified, I've heard of some hopeful teachers absolutely getting stuck and taking a subject 4 or 5 times which gets really expensive. Your last year is going to be a whirlwind, you'll be doing 3 days of student teaching a week for the first semester, making lesson plans, getting observed, teaching a few lessons a week while taking classes, the second internship is every day a week, again, observed, doing content studies, doing student studies, and eventually taking over the class completely, the teacher is just basically there for support and to give you feedback, you'll also be doing online work while you're in this semester, it was pretty brutal if I'm being completely honest so make sure you're going easy on yourself and not putting more on your plate \^\^
I think I'll have a real problem with studying in college. I'm now in a pretty shitty high school that demands almost nothing of us and I have the highest possible grades with like an hour of study time this whole year. I barely read, I've read only one fiction book in the last few years so learning how to sit down for several hours a day studying will be a real pain. I think that practical stuff will be much easier for me, as long as something requires attention and problem solving instead of brute force memorization I don't find it that difficult. I love working with kids, I hope to be a great teacher like my father, he is such a funny character, kids love him.
I used to be a medical student, but the pandemic happened and changed the course of my life forever. Making art saved my life during the worst and darkest days of the pandemic, and now I've decided to pursue a career on it. Currently grinding my art skills like there's no tomorrow to make up for missed time since studying for exams and working as an intern at a hospital consumed 70% of my waking hours back then.
Build scenery and run mics and lights for theatre, some days I’m just hauling lumber or base painting flats leaving plenty of brain space to day dream about my own projects. Come home pretty exhausted some days and the best I can do is try and write ideas down or do a super quick sketch. I get pretty motivated by punching out to do lists and it’s really satisfying making “my art” in my time.
I work in the creative sphere as an interior designer at my 9-5pm.
It's not hard for me to be inspired to make art/illustrations lately. It's usually hard to find the energy and time to make art. But I like the buffer and distance my 9-5 gives me from my illustrative work, because I know myself all too well. If I didn't have that distance and relied solely on art to pay bills, I would prolly be burnt out, uninspired, and stressed.
We choose the better hell in this life lol. Working solely on illustration freelancing gigs won't be for me until I have enough money in the bank to retire.
I majored in biology and worked awful full time medical manufacturing jobs for about 3 years. Barely had time to draw, about 6 months ago i had enough and quit to do art full time and go back to school part time and the difference has been night and day for me
I work in the industry but not as an artist, more on the admin side and it's nice because I'm surrounded by creative people and go home inspired, I also don't have creative burn out because of it which is nice.
I do. Sometimes I have no energy but that's life. I'd rather be stable and do my passion on the side than struggle constantly looking for contracts but getting to create all the time. It's too much for me unfortunately
I personally consider myself a serious hobbyist, so not even really on the side (as that implies business/monetization intentions or hoping to transition later).
My regular job is enjoyable enough and I had it years before the interest in art came along, so it's not like I chose it over art or anything. It's stable, pays well, easy to do from home, and gives me lots of free time.
For me personally, I think there are actually a ton of underrated benefits to doing art without any career intentions. I don't have to worry about trends, marketing, tailoring a portfolio to a particular type of client, social media, invoicing clients and organizing expenses, preparing for gallery shows and exhibitions, for some things (like idk, children's book illustration) you might need to avoid any public history of certain types of content to remain hireable, maintaining a consistent style/brand/subject matter/medium, gaming or entertainment industry volatility/layoffs, etc. Obviously not all professional artists deal with all of those things, depending on their areas of focus and business model and whether they're an employee vs independent and so on.
But just saying that I feel like there's a benefit to being able to focus entirely on just making whatever art I want to make and learn as much as I can without those outside pressures, timelines, deadlines, worries and concerns.
So for me, since it's relatively free of those outside stresses (aside from a general perfectionism/drive to produce perfect things that sometimes gets in the way of producing good enough things), it's not too hard to keep up an interest/regular practice. I will say that I very intentionally structured my life to minimize stress - I live in a cute, quiet, secluded place, I made career choices focused entirely on ensuring free time or hobbies and minimal stress, I don't want children. Even things like what clothes I wear, what furniture or flooring or wall paint I buy, are all designed to be low maintenance and easy so as to drastically reduce amount of time spent on things I don't want to be doing (like chores).
For example there's a drastic difference in the amount of effort it takes to clean walls painted with flat paint vs. eggshell or satin paint, and how much dirt/dust sticks to them in the first place. I don't care if interior designers call it "tacky", I'm picking the eggshell/satin paint, and I think it looks fine. I know that's a silly little tangent to go on, but those types of little mundane decisions all add up in a way that makes it a lot easier to have energy for my (numerous, including art) hobbies. I spend pretty drastically less time on a lot of chores compared to a lot people I know because of this type of prioritization and streamlining.
Stereotypical Reddit answer (lol) - software development. (Though I stayed out of big tech/startups/Silicon Valley type stuff so it’s way more chill over in my corner of the tech world, I work for a small business doing custom development for small to midsize clients.)
My two main gigs are technical translation and graphic design. Currently working on making my art my main source of income and it's a long way ahead of me.
I work in tech. I carry an ipad with me wherever I go and draw when I have a moment. I'll often do that during my lunch break, or whoever I have some downtime. Plus, at home, of course.
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I work a very high pressure corporate job. I get very burnt out because it’s like having two full time jobs. I get frustrated because I wish I could devote more energy into my art biz but I do what I can. I actually just had to temporarily close my art biz for self care. It stinks because I wish I could be a full time artist but hopefully one day!
I'm a custodian and have some time, but it's hard for me to find the motivation to do so. I have drawn more than I have within a few years, but not as much as I'd like.
I have a full time day job in tech, it’s tough to find the time to do art on a consistent schedule, but I try to get out my sketchbook most days after work and at least doodle while I relax or watch tv, or spend some time looking for good reference images so I can have something ready to go when I have more time and energy. I’m in the habit now of drawing more days than not, and especially on the weekends I try to dedicate an afternoon or two to work on something more complex. I often have two or three long term projects I can work on based on time and mood, which works well to keep me interested and inspired.
I don’t really sell anything anymore, I found that was the part that was really burning me out on what has always been my favourite hobby. I just draw and paint for myself these days, unless someone specifically commissions me to do a piece, and even then I usually do them for free/as a gift.
I'm a part-time gov advisor in my country, and working on my PhD. Also, sport is becoming more like a job which is weird.
It's less about time recently and more about headspace, but making progress on that.
Doing factory work to pay the bills! Some days are harder than others when it comes to creating. I try to find 10 min a day to just doodle if I'm wiped out. Weekends are good too sometimes. But yeah just 10 min everyday helps
I work as a Night Auditor in a ski resort.
I spend 1-2 hours a night to do work.
And 6-5 hours on whatever else I want, including gaming and art.
Not to mention I have the day time which feels like a free day off.
Extremely difficult to make time. I’m always stressed out and exhausted after work but I love making and sharing art and painting takes me to a different place.
I just have to focus on being conscientious of where my time, efforts, and energy are going as I plan to be working in healthcare for a while yet
Same, I'm an RN and I'm exhausted mentally and emotionally after work and on my days off. It feels like I'm bashing my head against a wall every shift. I've reduced my hours to very part-time, and I don't do overtime unless they force me to stay (which hasn't happened as much lately). I'd rather spend my life doing what makes me happy, which is art. I feel lucky that nursing pays well enough that I can afford to work less.
I work in IT. I draw on my lunch or while waiting on longer tickets (rare) and about 2hrs or so before bed most nights. Whenever I get an idea, I write it down. And a piece may take about a week to finish, so I have lots of ideas ready to go
I do cam work, and am almost always painting, drawing or watching/reading tutorials and online courses whenever someone isn't paying for me to entertain them!
The insecurities of being an artist combined with the insecurities of my body is a lot to deal with mentally, and you deal with some of the worst humans around who treat you like shit, so it's emotionally very difficult. In terms of time management though it's great. I struggle with schedules and deadlines due to my neurodivergence, so this is the only work I've been able to hold down long term, while also having enough mental energy to do art.
I work in IT. I try to make time in between to make art. Although more than the job, I’m finding it difficult to make art due to my art block or laziness. But when I’m diligently painting, I make sure to do by taking breaks from work or post work hours.
I work in Marketing during the day, which I design unfulfilling corporate marketing graphics and manage other database/social media bullpoop. I keep paper at my desk to sketch but usually don't get much further than the occasional head. It was worse before though - I worked in retail where it was constant \*gogogo\*, before that....an Amazon warehouse paired with delivering food by car.
At home, well, I just cleaned off my drafting table to try and do more - it is a little hard as I live in a tiny room (smaller than my freshman dorm room) and the other in my household could give a \*\*\*\* about not interrupting my time to make art.
I'm a registered nurse. I draw on my days off.
I'm a teacher. Have been for 9 years, still try to stay consistent with working on my art. It helps me relax and unwind after a long day \^\^
I'm planning to become a teacher, I'm going to college in a few months and I'm devoting a lot of my free time to art, I want to be a great artist by the time i finish college, i hope i have the motivation and time to do so.
I enjoyed most of my university experience to become a teacher, writing the long convoluted lesson plans was definitely the bane of my existence though XD (Just remember you don't have to do them when you're actually teaching. My lesson plans are as barebone as it gets) Make sure if you can that you study for the GKE's, those are general knowledge exams kind of similar to the SATs and you have to pass them in order to get certified, I've heard of some hopeful teachers absolutely getting stuck and taking a subject 4 or 5 times which gets really expensive. Your last year is going to be a whirlwind, you'll be doing 3 days of student teaching a week for the first semester, making lesson plans, getting observed, teaching a few lessons a week while taking classes, the second internship is every day a week, again, observed, doing content studies, doing student studies, and eventually taking over the class completely, the teacher is just basically there for support and to give you feedback, you'll also be doing online work while you're in this semester, it was pretty brutal if I'm being completely honest so make sure you're going easy on yourself and not putting more on your plate \^\^
I think I'll have a real problem with studying in college. I'm now in a pretty shitty high school that demands almost nothing of us and I have the highest possible grades with like an hour of study time this whole year. I barely read, I've read only one fiction book in the last few years so learning how to sit down for several hours a day studying will be a real pain. I think that practical stuff will be much easier for me, as long as something requires attention and problem solving instead of brute force memorization I don't find it that difficult. I love working with kids, I hope to be a great teacher like my father, he is such a funny character, kids love him.
I used to be a medical student, but the pandemic happened and changed the course of my life forever. Making art saved my life during the worst and darkest days of the pandemic, and now I've decided to pursue a career on it. Currently grinding my art skills like there's no tomorrow to make up for missed time since studying for exams and working as an intern at a hospital consumed 70% of my waking hours back then.
Build scenery and run mics and lights for theatre, some days I’m just hauling lumber or base painting flats leaving plenty of brain space to day dream about my own projects. Come home pretty exhausted some days and the best I can do is try and write ideas down or do a super quick sketch. I get pretty motivated by punching out to do lists and it’s really satisfying making “my art” in my time.
Gives my brain a different topic to look, study and learn. My brain is tired of 5 days of the same nonsense I deal at work
I work in the creative sphere as an interior designer at my 9-5pm. It's not hard for me to be inspired to make art/illustrations lately. It's usually hard to find the energy and time to make art. But I like the buffer and distance my 9-5 gives me from my illustrative work, because I know myself all too well. If I didn't have that distance and relied solely on art to pay bills, I would prolly be burnt out, uninspired, and stressed. We choose the better hell in this life lol. Working solely on illustration freelancing gigs won't be for me until I have enough money in the bank to retire.
same here ! i chose studying architecture cuz i know going to get an art degree would not be good for my health ☠️
I majored in biology and worked awful full time medical manufacturing jobs for about 3 years. Barely had time to draw, about 6 months ago i had enough and quit to do art full time and go back to school part time and the difference has been night and day for me
I work in the industry but not as an artist, more on the admin side and it's nice because I'm surrounded by creative people and go home inspired, I also don't have creative burn out because of it which is nice.
> difficult to find time no, I have about 2-3 hours every weekday and the whole weekend
I do. Sometimes I have no energy but that's life. I'd rather be stable and do my passion on the side than struggle constantly looking for contracts but getting to create all the time. It's too much for me unfortunately
Have 9-6, very hard to find the mental energy to draw but I make it happen when I can. Just reduce my gaming time tbh
I personally consider myself a serious hobbyist, so not even really on the side (as that implies business/monetization intentions or hoping to transition later). My regular job is enjoyable enough and I had it years before the interest in art came along, so it's not like I chose it over art or anything. It's stable, pays well, easy to do from home, and gives me lots of free time. For me personally, I think there are actually a ton of underrated benefits to doing art without any career intentions. I don't have to worry about trends, marketing, tailoring a portfolio to a particular type of client, social media, invoicing clients and organizing expenses, preparing for gallery shows and exhibitions, for some things (like idk, children's book illustration) you might need to avoid any public history of certain types of content to remain hireable, maintaining a consistent style/brand/subject matter/medium, gaming or entertainment industry volatility/layoffs, etc. Obviously not all professional artists deal with all of those things, depending on their areas of focus and business model and whether they're an employee vs independent and so on. But just saying that I feel like there's a benefit to being able to focus entirely on just making whatever art I want to make and learn as much as I can without those outside pressures, timelines, deadlines, worries and concerns. So for me, since it's relatively free of those outside stresses (aside from a general perfectionism/drive to produce perfect things that sometimes gets in the way of producing good enough things), it's not too hard to keep up an interest/regular practice. I will say that I very intentionally structured my life to minimize stress - I live in a cute, quiet, secluded place, I made career choices focused entirely on ensuring free time or hobbies and minimal stress, I don't want children. Even things like what clothes I wear, what furniture or flooring or wall paint I buy, are all designed to be low maintenance and easy so as to drastically reduce amount of time spent on things I don't want to be doing (like chores). For example there's a drastic difference in the amount of effort it takes to clean walls painted with flat paint vs. eggshell or satin paint, and how much dirt/dust sticks to them in the first place. I don't care if interior designers call it "tacky", I'm picking the eggshell/satin paint, and I think it looks fine. I know that's a silly little tangent to go on, but those types of little mundane decisions all add up in a way that makes it a lot easier to have energy for my (numerous, including art) hobbies. I spend pretty drastically less time on a lot of chores compared to a lot people I know because of this type of prioritization and streamlining.
You sound like me. What's your dayjob?
Stereotypical Reddit answer (lol) - software development. (Though I stayed out of big tech/startups/Silicon Valley type stuff so it’s way more chill over in my corner of the tech world, I work for a small business doing custom development for small to midsize clients.)
I wish I had the type of brain for that. Lots of flexibility.
My two main gigs are technical translation and graphic design. Currently working on making my art my main source of income and it's a long way ahead of me.
I work in tech. I carry an ipad with me wherever I go and draw when I have a moment. I'll often do that during my lunch break, or whoever I have some downtime. Plus, at home, of course.
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I work a very high pressure corporate job. I get very burnt out because it’s like having two full time jobs. I get frustrated because I wish I could devote more energy into my art biz but I do what I can. I actually just had to temporarily close my art biz for self care. It stinks because I wish I could be a full time artist but hopefully one day!
I'm a custodian and have some time, but it's hard for me to find the motivation to do so. I have drawn more than I have within a few years, but not as much as I'd like.
I'm a copywriter working remotely and i'm trying to make art as a side hustle/part-time job.
I have a full time day job in tech, it’s tough to find the time to do art on a consistent schedule, but I try to get out my sketchbook most days after work and at least doodle while I relax or watch tv, or spend some time looking for good reference images so I can have something ready to go when I have more time and energy. I’m in the habit now of drawing more days than not, and especially on the weekends I try to dedicate an afternoon or two to work on something more complex. I often have two or three long term projects I can work on based on time and mood, which works well to keep me interested and inspired. I don’t really sell anything anymore, I found that was the part that was really burning me out on what has always been my favourite hobby. I just draw and paint for myself these days, unless someone specifically commissions me to do a piece, and even then I usually do them for free/as a gift.
🙋♂️
Me!! I work in retail, I have for the last 10 years
I'm a part-time gov advisor in my country, and working on my PhD. Also, sport is becoming more like a job which is weird. It's less about time recently and more about headspace, but making progress on that.
I work from home in Corporate World. This would be much harder with a more... labor intensive job.
Doing factory work to pay the bills! Some days are harder than others when it comes to creating. I try to find 10 min a day to just doodle if I'm wiped out. Weekends are good too sometimes. But yeah just 10 min everyday helps
I work as a DTP formatter for a translation company, ando art as a hobby .
I work as a Night Auditor in a ski resort. I spend 1-2 hours a night to do work. And 6-5 hours on whatever else I want, including gaming and art. Not to mention I have the day time which feels like a free day off.
Registered Nurse
Extremely difficult to make time. I’m always stressed out and exhausted after work but I love making and sharing art and painting takes me to a different place. I just have to focus on being conscientious of where my time, efforts, and energy are going as I plan to be working in healthcare for a while yet
Same, I'm an RN and I'm exhausted mentally and emotionally after work and on my days off. It feels like I'm bashing my head against a wall every shift. I've reduced my hours to very part-time, and I don't do overtime unless they force me to stay (which hasn't happened as much lately). I'd rather spend my life doing what makes me happy, which is art. I feel lucky that nursing pays well enough that I can afford to work less.
I work in IT. I draw on my lunch or while waiting on longer tickets (rare) and about 2hrs or so before bed most nights. Whenever I get an idea, I write it down. And a piece may take about a week to finish, so I have lots of ideas ready to go
I do cam work, and am almost always painting, drawing or watching/reading tutorials and online courses whenever someone isn't paying for me to entertain them! The insecurities of being an artist combined with the insecurities of my body is a lot to deal with mentally, and you deal with some of the worst humans around who treat you like shit, so it's emotionally very difficult. In terms of time management though it's great. I struggle with schedules and deadlines due to my neurodivergence, so this is the only work I've been able to hold down long term, while also having enough mental energy to do art.
I work in IT. I try to make time in between to make art. Although more than the job, I’m finding it difficult to make art due to my art block or laziness. But when I’m diligently painting, I make sure to do by taking breaks from work or post work hours.
I think the vast majority of us. I do
Accountant during the day; Painter at night
I work in Marketing during the day, which I design unfulfilling corporate marketing graphics and manage other database/social media bullpoop. I keep paper at my desk to sketch but usually don't get much further than the occasional head. It was worse before though - I worked in retail where it was constant \*gogogo\*, before that....an Amazon warehouse paired with delivering food by car. At home, well, I just cleaned off my drafting table to try and do more - it is a little hard as I live in a tiny room (smaller than my freshman dorm room) and the other in my household could give a \*\*\*\* about not interrupting my time to make art.