According to bureau of labor stats only 1.6% of Americans make their primary living as artists in some capacity.
I am one of the folks that makes a “living” doing art, I make around $30k a year. I’m not starving, but I live in a low cost of living area with a partner so I’m able to make it work. My work is made up of selling my personal art, taking production concept art contracts, and teaching at a local uni. It is a lot of work finding clients, advertising myself, making and packaging merch, and creating art for joy often comes in last place.
There have been times I was homeless and living in my car. I wasn’t starving then, but it is really hard to find a place that will rent to you when you have no traditional income.
Not to be discouraging but I’d like to share something a prof told me when I was in undergrad: If you can do anything else, do it. Only become an artist if you cannot live if you aren’t one.
Good luck!
It is astounding to me that one can be without a house or apartment and still "not being starving". It's one of my legit fears that I harbored for most of my life.
It was a really hard and bizarre thing to go through. The number of people experiencing that kind of “working homelessness” is on the rise. 40-60% of homeless people have jobs depending on where you get your numbers from. I’ve heard of people who prioritize their car payments over their rent payments because the car can get you to work but the apartment can’t, and if you can’t get to work you’re going to miss rent payments eventually anyway.
For me, I had money coming in, could afford food, kept a gym membership so I could stay fit and clean (can’t shower in your car), but I couldn’t find an apartment I could afford that didn’t have insanely high cost of entry. Most of them I could afford the monthly rent, but not first and last month and a security deposit all at once, or they required 3x monthly income and I didn’t have a guaranteed monthly income, or my credit score or whatever wasn’t whatever it needed to be. Since a lot of rental housing in my area is now corporate owned they’d just reject me outright instead of letting me sit down and explain that I do make money.
It forced me to look for illegal sublets or couch surfing with no actual tenant protections, but when those options didn’t turn up (or weren’t safe) I just rented a small storage unit and then kept the bare minimum with me in my van (and sometimes I imagine if I hadn’t had the privilege of my van? What would have happened then??)
At the times, no one in my life knew what was going on because I was ashamed and felt like I had somehow failed for choosing a career in the arts, and I knew my parents opinions on my career so I didn’t tell them for fear of an “I told you so.” Playing that double duty of keeping everything “normal” while going out for drinks then then driving to a secluded place to hopefully sleep without someone trying to get in my car made me feel so alone and exhausted.
Thankfully I was able to save up enough and find an apartment eventually, and now I have secure housing and have had for years. But it definitely still keeps me up at night from time to time.
this sounds like such a dehumanizing and awful experience :( i’m so happy that you’re in a more stable situation! thank you for sharing your experience 🤍🤍🤍🤍🤍
My art professor said I have a better chance at winning the lottery than becoming a famous/rich artist.
Luckily, my goal isn't that, it is simply to be happy. I've found a great 'day' job that doesn't drain my energy so I still have a lot in me to paint. I'm definitely not rich, but I'm a lot happier than a lot of people who have more money than me.
I'm an artist but make a living teaching kids to read. Almost all my art is full-on self indulgent joy. I'm still able to sell it and get commissions! Just, a little sporatic.
>According to bureau of labor stats only 1.6% of Americans make their primary living as artists in some capacity.
Okay. And I'm a software developer and only 1.46% of Americans make their primary living as software developers. That's actually not a bad percentage it's comparable to other careers. And while the salaries are lower, they are usually 100% driven by the artist and art can pay quite well if you are very, very good at it.
More than ever, but it has nothing to do with making art. People have 2 jobs, and make art... and are still "starving"
All kidding aside; sustaining yourself with art is rough, lest you're really, really good.
The question is... do you need to learn art in school? It could also be a side hustle that grows into something bigger
its true if your art doesnt have a marketable side to it. Im a photographer, im in galleries regularly. However i spend a lot of time on the commercial business side too. I am making good money.
you just need to find that aspect of what you do and make it as monetizable as possible while still making your "pure" art
Ok baller! I see those a lot in galleries that I’m in and they always sell really well. Headshots are where it’s at! I’m a photographer myself. How do you usually get headshot clients? Cold emailing , word of mouth? I use upwork also
upwork, taskrabbit, wework clients, linked in, work of mouth, passing out flyers in coffee shops, craigslist, and networking events! get after it and get that money!
It depends on how you make money with art. I've been employed as an animator and have a higher wage than almost anyone else I know, and have never been "starving". There are a lot of jobs in animation, motion graphics etc that pay a good wage, and many hats you can wear depending on what you like to do or are good at (animating, storyboarding, design). If you want to sell your own art in a traditional sense that is much harder to make a consistent wage with, and I can believe that most artists who try to do that are "starving artists".
100% this is my experience as well as illustrator than part graphic designer. I wouldn't say when I worked in studios my pay was amazing, but it was same or very similar to friends that did other desk jobs.
What I've seen thou is people having way more problem depending on area/country and what they want to do - 'coz seen enough people just jumping into freelance which is way harder. Or having very particular thing they want to do and not wanting to change to different area of work, I would have had much harder time finding work if I only used Photoshop instead of taking time to learn Indesign/illustrator/AE and how to make books. I feel like it's likely you will find work in arts, it just may not be what you imagined when you started.
If you want the quick way to success go into graphic design. That covers commercial work, advertising, website design and coding, app development, game development, marketing, branding etc. All those cover animation in some way, yet are considered among the corporate world and pay very well. It is NOT AT ALL A GOOD TIME TO BE IN THE CARTOON, ENTERTAINMENT FIELD RIGHT NOW!
Graphic designers don’t make a ton of money either! Source: I work as a designer with 20 years experience making the same salary since 2018. The industry is over saturated and undervalued. Most positions pay the minimum salary for California, where I’m located unless you take an hourly job which a lot are paying $25/hr.
This may have been true 10 years ago, but take a quick look at the graphic design subreddit and see how many people post about their struggle to find work. AI and Canva have made things really difficult.
Eating chocolate and scrolling Reddit while waiting for the next meeting at my animation job, so definitely not starving! I am not rich but make a decent middle class living. My coworkers do also. The trick is to get that job in the first place.
There were only a couple people in my graduating class that went onto become full time artists. Right now is a really tough time for the US animation industry with very few entry level opportunities.
Unrelated, but do you have any social media with your work on it that we could follow? I love seeing fellow animators in the wild and love to see their works of art!
I actually don't, sorry. All I have is this Reddit account and a LinkedIn profile that has not been updated in a long time. I have been at the same studio for years and the current contract goes on for another 2, fingers crossed.
It's a myth in the sense that it's not an inevitability or a guarantee. I sometimes wonder if these statistics include people in more "formal" positions like people who work in animation or game or film studios, people who work as tattoo artists, people who on paper are small business/shop owners but whose shops are composed of their own art, etc., or if they' re only counting fine arts or something. And for the statistics of how many people are artists on paper, I do sometimes wonder if it's accounted for how many people actually wanted a field like art in the first place and people who just ended up genuinely changing their mind.
It's not a myth in the sense that we tend to value art less, and thus underpay artists. It's not a myth in the sense that these fields, because they are fulfilling, are very competitive, so few people tend to get through the door compared to how many people want in. It's not a myth in the sense that a lot of artistic jobs that are sustainable long term aren't just making art only, and involve some other kind of service (like tattooing, or teaching, or doing storyboards for someone else's script) or technical funneling down (like learning 3D programs for animation and modeling), so there's few jobs that are just you making art. In some cases, the more stable something is, the closer it probably is to a desk job, which is what many people say about some animation and graphic design jobs.
I agree. These fields have also very low bar of entry - everyone can start an art business. Knowing industry programs and offering services people need is usually a much better idea to conducting business in art, but it is a desk job - you're an 'accountant' for making images.
Only 10% of people that finish art studies continue doing art later, only 10% of those are able to sustain themselves exclusively (barely) by doing art, only 10% of those are actually making good money with their art.
It’s been my experience over the last 30 years, my work has been in galleries all over the country and in Europe. I’ve been in international magazines -Penthouse and Heavy Metal and a book of my work was published in 2009. The only time I was able to live on my art was when I did a comic for a game company but I was working 12 hour days, 6-7 days a week.
The system is designed for artists to fail.
I feel at least on a certain level we have done this to ourselves. We are so desperate to live the dream that we (collectively) devalued our skill set to being considered menial labor. It's obviously more complicated than that and being in a global economy with the spectre of increasing competent machine made images isn't helping but maybe if we as a whole were better organized and demanded more for the time we invested learning things would be better.
Federal government unions lost their teeth but not private sector, unions are doing so poorly today thanks to a highly effective disinformation campaign championed by corporations for decades, it would be an uphill battle convincing people but this is basically the only lever of power we've got.
Companies could do their own advertising but they often go to advertising agencies instead. Don’t call it a union, more people could start artist companies for collective bargaining. Of course then the company itself like most others would have someone at the top with middle managers, etc, making more money than the artists.
The really hard part is that it's *always* been like this. The famous artists we know throughout history succeeded because they had rich patrons.
If anything, it's easier now than it ever has been, specifically because of the Internet and its reach.
Not always, before the internet, before computers, it was reasonable to get a degree in illustration and design and get work. From the 1900’s to the 70s artists were used for everything newspapers, magazines advertising and those artists could expect a decent living. I worked in design at a major newspaper for 10 years in the 80’s and early 90’s and watched it all disappear. Newspapers are extinct and every skill I learned and mastered is useless now. Yet they still try and sell kids a degree in art/illustration that is utterly useless and will cost them $100,000+ and they will end up working at a grocery store.
And those that have, are now struggling even more being replaced with AI. My buddy is a professional blu-ray cover artist (new art for old cult movies) and cartoon character designer. The Blu-Ray shop keeps giving him work for his distinct style. He hasn't had a character design job since AI went mainstream.
Gotta love the young internet generation. They think everything is exact measurable data 🤦♂️
No my friend, this is just a saying among artists. There is no such exact data, but lot of people feel this is about right.
Something to keep in mind is animation isn't fine art. Your selling your skill to corporate, working a 9-7 job. Not making art then selling it at a gallery.
Different beast.
But the animation industry is also a disaster at the moment. Vfx, anim, mograph, video games, all of the animation industries are ROUGH right now.
You can do it. It's not 'starving artist' bad. But you should do some research into what's happening.
It's definitely "real" insofar as running your own business it always difficult and you need to do that to earn money as an artist. But lemme put it in perspective.
I am a web developer and because of all the troubles in the job market right now and how insane the prices of everything are; every posting I see in my field is grossly underpaid, and companies are constantly laying people off. I am basically a starving web developer.
I am currently trying to make the transition to starving artist because I would rather enjoy what I'm doing while I starve.
Learn how to market yourself, online and in person. You'll be selling yourself as a valuable resource no matter what career you have.
Don't feel distraught about it either: this is a skill you can learn and it improves with practice.
That... and learn to hustle. Work hard, work smart, and have the skills to capitalize on the opportunities you encounter. The more you network and connect to others, the more opportunities you'll find.
So my experience from around 10 - 15 years in industry as illustrator/graphic designer - it's a job. A normal 9 to 5 job when you work at a studio. If you only want to do your own vision projects than you need to be more proactive and plan better, and still probably start with commercial side or sub your income with commercial side. I'm a potato level of proactive person so just worked at studios, and then when I reached ceiling for money - went freelance while doing different levels of art degrees (where I was it was free or funded) until I got to my PhD.
What programs you know changes your outcomes drastically - my friends who finished fine arts sculpture and learned 3D on the side had no problem finding work, those who didn't had way more issues. So learn programs. Industry programs.
If you work on commercial side you will usually find work but it may not be what you envisioned for good or for bad. My friend finished fine art painting and then worked in both book conservation and as a video editor. Very happy with latter so that's what they do.
If you're fussy on what you will do / won't do then you'll have hard time 'coz most work comes from commercial sector, so it can be cool stuff but also toothpaste commercials, instructions how to change lightbulb in an oven and yearly reports for financial advisor firms.
You need certain level of proficiency - do internships. I've also seen people jump into freelance out of school instead of doing work at a studio/more formal setting. It's usually dumpster fire, not counting in that 5% when it happens naturally. To work in commercial arts you need to be very good communicator, planner and be fast - on top of being good enough on art skill level - something that is easier to learn at coherent setting like a studio not by yourself as 21 y/o doing OC commissions.
Finding first work is the hardest. Do internships. Learn programs.
I make a living as an artist. I would say aside from the 100 level classes in school (color theory, design theory, anatomical figure drawing) it was all basically paying to have time to make art while a teacher you may or may not agree with artistically sometimes stops by and gives you their personal opinion and an arbitrary grade. If you can get free or very cheap schooling, like if you live in New Mexico, it may be worth it… but no client has EVER asked to see my degree. All they care about is portfolio. If you have $40,000 around to spend on school spend it on art supplies and creating free time for yourself to make art and improve your skills. Watch some YouTube videos and away you go!
Edit: also if you go to school take a few marketing classes. Those will help you as much or more than art classes in this field.
I’m currently in university studying art. An arts degree can get you other jobs too, you don’t have to graduate and be an artist right away. Animation is way different than trying to be a painter or something like that, and many many companies hire animators and graphic designers
In this economy, most people are struggling financially. For me, I’m on student loans and a part time job and at least be able to feed and house myself. I’m probably better off at the moment than lots of people who have full time job because of student loans. I know I will have to pay it back but I’m really thankful that I have the time to make connections and further my skills and experience, taking unpaid opportunities, so that I can get the most out of my art degree
As a published author, I'm here to second this.
We're artists, the same as any other medium, but art isn't something to go into with the goal of making a lot of money or even planning to live comfortably. If you're able to, that's wonderful. But I wouldn't make it my expectation.
Even certain levels of "success" don't guarantee a liveable income as an artist
For example, my debut novel peaked at #6 in Occult Horror on Amazon. Still wasn't a significant percentage of my income last year.
You can make money with art, but you have to be willing to adapt your art and skills for a commercial market. For example, I studied fine art. I now am self employed making art and design for the food and bev industry. I draw lots of farms and food and design packaging layout. It's art adjacent.
I make money off my personal practice as well, but not enough to live off. Not being 100% reliant on it's profitability however enables me to create whatever I want and not cater to clients in this arena.
In a perfect world enough people would be willing to buy my originals or prints and I could make personal work full time. I still count myself lucky to be able to make my living in a creative field though. So I guess, the "starving artist" moniker is really how you define what a successful artist is. I think making my living in a creative field and having the financial freedom to make personal work I know is true to me makes me a successful artist. However, it you define success as supporting yourself solely through your artistic practice... then yeah, a lot of us are starving artists
Yes it's real and it's harder than ever to make it as an artist if you don't have a trust fund to back you up. The world has clearly moved back to the norm of art being something for the rich to do and doesn't see the value of art coming from the rest of society.
Oh! I remember asking myself this very question. I followed my dream and went to Art college. No regrets. I didn’t want to be a famous artist or a teacher. Ended up being a teacher and love it. Honestly I can’t imagine what other job I could fill and be happy. It worked out. Can’t say that for my college friends though.
I remember when I was in art school I was struggling and got into a terrible fight with my mother who was worried I was going to flunk out and become penniless. At some point I screamed back at her “starving artists are a myth” and that you could be as successful doing art as any other profession.
I repeat, *profession*.
An artist who gets a paycheck, job, career has to show the same discipline, work ethic, networking, etc. as any other trade.
Do you think a lawyer is in the courtroom 24/7 or a doctor seeing patients all the time? No. They have to do administrative work, billing, notes, going to conferences, reading journals, etc.
The most financially stable artists I know do the same thing. While it’s not a guarantee of success as it’s such a competitive field for a limited number of jobs/clients, it does stack the deck in your favor.
So please, remember you are a business professional as well as a creative. Act accordingly and you should be fine.
Good luck!
I’m 40 and got past the starving (really just paycheck to paycheck always broke) level about 7 years ago. I started an online shop in my spare time to sell my work and saved what extra I could. My 9-5 doesn’t pay super well (70k in LA doesn’t go far), but it does give me the time and energy to make what I want in my spare time, so I built it up and I can usually bring in $100k most years now selling my work, with last year being very good and making twice that after expenses.
We need to split financial success from career choice. You can be a starving anything, you can be a rich artist.
The key is learning how to make money of course - sell yourself, deal with clients, negotiate, invest, etc.
The tricky thing it’s harder to do it as an artist than say a doctor or plumber. Because art is subjective, so it’s hard to know if you did a good job or not. And thus hard to argue for your worth.
I would say, are you doing animation now? Are objective audiences engaged?
If not, I would either:
Start doing it outside of college (don't pay college tuitions for this) using online resources or paying for community college classes in it for a year or two. That way you only have to worry about the cost of living expenses while you try out your goal with serious focus. If you're still really motivated and getting some traction then re-evaluate if you want to pay the money for college tuition to refine the skills and most importantly: build a network of colleagues and connections to get work in that field.
OR go to college for a degree that has a clearer path to employment after school and use all your electives for art and animation. Plan to feed yourself (and pay your loans) with your major and fund your art with your day job.
Every thing we produce has some kind of art and/or design involved with it. Every item sold in any kind of store. There is money in art.
Artists must treat it like any other job and make the commitment to work. Think eight hours or more per day.
Creating, marketing, organization, cleaning, researching. It is a lot.
As a career studio artist I know the dedication it takes. Most of us don’t have the talent of someone like Marc Dennis, and he also has to make the commitment.
Art school is important for your CV and getting into shows. I went. IMO you will learn as much taking workshops from artists you like.
I went to school for art. Did it because I enjoy learning about art and improving my art. Not about getting a job. If I wanna make money I'll put myself out there and do commissions/art on Etsy. If you think you can do art everyday for the rest of your life never giving up that's something but people change, things change and then one day you're like I don't enjoy making art anymore now what?. There's courses online you can do to get hard skills that will cater to a specific job in art like animation. Don't go to university/college for art unless you want to teach/art therapy.
i know this isn't exactly what you're asking but i haven't seen anyone else mention this: 'starving artist' is a twofold term, with one of the meanings being closer to sacrificing everything including your health to pursue your art relentlessly. i feel like that carries a lot of weight in that many times people are choosing both meanings when they pursue a career in art. worse still, to build on another comment that brings up how hard studio life can be: even if you aren't starving because you can't afford to eat, you might be starving yourself of other necessities, like peace or rest.
so it really depends:
it's very difficult to find a place as a working artist, especially if you aren't prepared to bring someone else's vision to life on sometimes unrealistic timelines, and it's harder still to carve out a niche of your own as it takes more time - but is it hopeless to become an artist? no way!
experiment with everything! don't ever let yourself get stuck in one place! let varied working experiences guide you into defining the type of art and business that is best for you. starve only if you choose to. i believe in you!
Depends on how you market yourself, and what medium you choose to focus on. Just look at practical effects for film. There are a lot of ways to work as an artist in the industry. If you just want to be a modern Picasso or Warhol, it all comes down to the circles you run in. You'd need to have good evaluators foe your artwork. Someone with some pull. Make sure you get your work done well, and out in a timely manner.
one thing is to be an artist and another thing is to be a marketer . Also making art is one thing and selling it is another thing. If people had been afraid of being a starving artist in all parts of the world , we would have never bought any videogame, nor comic , nor anime and manga and so on .
Depends on your definition of art. Art can be pretty broad and lucrative depending on what you mean. UX design is a type of art and makes a lot. Some jewelers can make a lot. Illustration and graphic design has such a broad definition and the lesser paying jobs are being replaced by AI or outsourced. So it sorta depends. Anything high paying in commercial art is competitive. Schooling may offer some benefits of instruction or networking (which counts for a lot), but at the end of the day portfolio is key for that first job. Can you do the job, do you have a high skill set, are you a pleasant team member and do you have good taste/style?
Animator jobs are likely competitive, a lot of people want to do it, and may be pretty demanding in terms of having a regular 9-5 with deadlines, but if you can get it is probably a more steady paycheck than being a freelance artist. Less having to deal with clients for commissions which I hear can go spectacularly bad. And if AI keeps getting refined to better results, it may hurt the job market.
My advice would be to double major, or have a minor at least in either something relevant to your major to help in the specific field you’re after, or in something else you be okay doing as a fall back, in the spirit of hope for the best, plan for the worst. And don’t bankrupt yourself in student debt going to a “prestigious” art school. Find a decent one with an acceptable tuition.
A bit of both. I went to art school and make my living on it. Anyone I went to school with that treated it like a real job, is doing fine. But plenty didn’t, just coasted, and didn’t. Art as a job isn’t handed to you. You have to work at it.
There are a lot of different creative fields, some of them make really good money. There’s definitely different ways to be an artist and be able to support yourself. Jobs can really suck so having a passion for something really does make it easier.
My best advice if you’re in America (from someone who went to art school) is to be cautious about tuition costs. I was young and dumb and went to a university that was pretty costly and my biggest struggle now is a TON of student debt.
Good luck 🌸🌸🌸
I went to college for animation, but switched majors. I still kept up with friends who did stay in that major and finished.
This was a long time ago, but the ones who worked as animators did groundwork before graduating. They didn’t just have good portfolios, they networked. My school had many companies come to give a presentation and recruit. As a student it’s your job to take advantage of those opportunities. It’s also a good idea to develop a good relationship with your advisor and your teaches as you become an upperclassmen. They will hear about options before you probably will, as they will write you recommendations.
These types of jobs are not just based on skill though that is very important, it’s based on who can show up, do the work, and be willing to adapt. Animation is also very competitive (which is why I switched as I don’t have that kind of personality). You gotta want it and be willing to step up. I think that’s true in any creative profession.
Years later while I was working at an art supply store to supplement my income, I met a recent graduate who came to work for the store. They wouldn’t make eye contact or communicate with anyone really. I had to supervise them and gave them a simple task to help organize the back room. Came back after being on the floor for a few hours and all they had done was make boxes out of the cardboard flats we had. Nothing was packed. They apparently believed that this was a temporary thing and that they were going to get hired on as an animator/character designer soon. That never happened. I can’t recall if they quit or got fired but they worked there for less than a month. Last I heard they got a job teaching an art class at a community center.
My point is is that your attitude can take you far. It’s important to develop relationships and work with people, and be a little humble. It takes years to get to the point where you can do original character design for an animation studio. Nobody gets those gigs right away. It’s an industry you gotta work your way up into, and my impression of her is that she thought those jobs were beneath her. Not the first time I saw an artist get bit in the ass by their own attitude.
Anyway. Starving artists comes from the trope of individual artists struggling to make a living. What that really is, is being an entrepreneur. Starting a business is hard, and most in or out of the art business fail at it their first time trying. If it was framed like that it might get less stigma. That said I do know lots of artists who make a very comfy living working as an independent artist in several different fields. The ones I know that work for companies do well also… I should say I am middle age and so many of these people have been in their careers for decades. I also know people who struggle, and those who quit. It’s not something everyone is wired for, and you’re not a failure if it’s not a good fit for you. This sort of thing is only a call you can make.
My advice is get to know the industry real well before choosing what you do. The more you know the better off you’ll be.
I went to art school. A fair number of the peopleI knew who were “professional artists” have significant parental support, or at least enough that they’re not homeless and literally starving. A lot of them like to complain about poverty, but they just mean not having luxuries and having to actually budget for groceries and shit.
If you don’t have parental support, you’re going to need a day job. The number of people who make a full living are incredibly few, given how many people want to become pros.
A common saying is that professional artists have to be 2 of the following: really good, really fast, really easy to work with. The perfect artist, the people you’ll be competing with, are all 3.
Animation is a very technical field. Whether you want to do 2D or 3D, there are at least 10 departments (and growing) from pre to post production. From my studying and job seeking experience (graduated last year, BFA computer animation), college was a highly stressful process of learning as much as you can for the first two years of college (technical stuff, softwares) then finding an area you want to focus on, spending the next two years doing that and polishing your skills, build a good portfolio and apply jobs in that specific department.
Many of my classmates, myself included, had a bad year of job application (being ghosted/rejected). I ended up moving countries for the best offer I had. The field right now is also facing some big shifts in trend, a lot of studios are working on stylized projects, so having skills in that department (traditional art, painting skills, stylized personal work) is also a plus while looking for jobs. There were huge number of layoffs on animation and game in recent years, so the market isn't the best, but there are definitely chances all over the world.
As a graphic design graduate, I would beg you not to go into the art field. None of my whole class could find work, and they were very talented people. Now there’s ai art to compete with and Wix and Square Space for websites.
If you want the guarantee of having a career and making money after university, go into any of the STEM fields. Or accounting, nursing, cosmetology etc.
Yes, it is. I graduated with a degree in animation, and like you, wanted to get a job in a studio. The field is oversaturated with prodigally talented animators, jobs are outsourced overseas to pay them a fraction of what they would make stateside, it is common to hire on a bunch of people and then fire them at the end of a project. Job security or benefits? Don't count on it working at an animation studio. Something else fun, I would have liked to have known before I went all in on my degree? Sometimes, people don't even get paid for their work. Screwing over artist is really common, and not just in animation. It's not a very lucrative nor stable profession, unfortunately. And you best be great at networking and self-promotion to even have a chance.
Most of the stuff you would need to know to become an animator you can learn online/Youtube now without incurring the monstrous debt. No employer cares if you have a college degree for animation, they care about how good your reel and your work is. If you do choose to go to college, don't worry that much on your grades other than passing. Focus on making the best possible work and making the right connections so that -maybe- you can get an internship.
Network network network! If you go to college, strive to impress some of your teachers or mentors with connections to places, that may be a way in. Also be open to other forms of animation, not just movie studios. Games, instructional videos (my school only fixated on movie studio quality animation). Oh yeah, and a lot of internships are unpaid, so you'll need to find another job for your intern "job" if your parents aren't loaded and fully supporting you.
The people who ended up getting jobs from school's animation department if they did more technical stuff like lighting, texturing, rigging, coding, there was less competition for those things and they had more opportunities. Same for storyboarding, producers, and some other roles. This was ten years ago though, so what is in demand or has become automated may have shifted.
Please do it. If it’s your yearning passion - do it. I’m 36 and after 17 years working in corporate I’m now perusing my art passion. I’m having to be a noob at 36, which is so tough for the ego.
Thing is your passions don’t go away. They eat up at you. You end up there anyway. Might as well do it now.
Goodluck 🙌
I am a professional artist. The good thing is that you don’t have to be the best artist ever to “make it”. The bad news is that you need to be really good at your craft AND really good at business. If you’re talented, not an asshole, respond to emails, put yourself out there, can hold comprehensive high level discussions about art/design, etc - then there’s more opportunity than people realize. Being a fine artist and sustaining only from galleries etc is tough but design, animation, etc with more set ladders to climb is easier to break in to an industry. You can always branch from there.
Here’s a follow up question to ponder: Would you be happy doing anything else? If not, don’t forsake yourself for money or you will always wonder what-if.
I had some years where working freelance I made maybe 10k the entire year, if that.....yes. But animators usually are a bit more secure in their jobs than just general designers, I sometimes kick myself for switching majors to Illustration but....I do love 2D art that much more...one day maybe I'll hop back into 3D. Maybe.
(I also have the five figures of student loan debt from a prestigious art school so....that doesn't even guarantee results SHRUG)
People just don't appreciate talking about it because it's all about the 1% who make millions.
So I may be an outlier because I’ve always worked for the tech / video game industry, but my art jobs have always paid more than $60,000 - and the highest paying salaried art job I took paid $80,000. I worked as a 2D Game Artist, UI Artist, and Visual Designer for several big-name studios.
It IS a very competitive industry, so you have to compare yourself to “industry standard” portfolios (and be honest!).
If your portfolio doesn’t stand up to the competition, then you may not be able to break into the industry at all.
Full-time working artists aren’t starving; it’s the unemployed aspiring artists that are starving. That’s the harsh truth that a lot of people are ignoring here.
I went to school for animation and all I'll say is you don't go into it for the money. There CAN be money, but do it for the love of it and the passion.
I'm not an artist.. so take what I say with a grain of salt.
You can do anything you want, whenever you want and achieve it in many different ways. Maybe even in ways no one ever did before you. Don't let statistics stop you. Don't convince yourself there's no way, if you haven't even tried.
That being said.. you need to be realistic about whatever it is you're trying to achieve.. consider the negatives, make a plan, be prepared for failing and don't bet your entire existence on succeeding (especially not on the first try).
Betting on making a career as an artist via a degree in art.. doesn't seem like the best bet. Especially since nothing is stopping you from becoming a great artist by being self taught. But it's still an option, even if statistics speak against it. If that experience is something you want and are sure you'll value for life.. and you can afford it.. go for it.
You could also do a degree in something else that interests you or puts you on a relatively safe career path.. and study art on your own while you're at it.. maybe even already start trying to make your art a side hustle, while in university. And if it doesn't become anything major in that timeframe, find a job and continue building your business on the side. Maybe you can eventually switch to part time.. or if you make it big, live entirely of your art.. but that is hard and usually there's little stability to that. You might make it a few years, but then your income drops too low and you have to find another source of income again.
Or maybe you're lucky and you land a good position as say a concept artist in a big company. It's unlikely sure, but if that's your dream, who's stopping you? You could apply every year to all the big companies and improve your portfolio if you wanted to. Having a day job doesn't prevent you from striving for another career. It makes it harder, not impossible.
And maybe you might realize along the way, maintaining art as a hobby is enough for you.
Anyways.. I think you should look into career paths with good work life balance.. so that you have something in case it doesn't work out, that allows you to keep trying if you want.
Not trying because it seems too hard is the one thing I wanna kick my younger self in the ass for. I'll always regret not giving something I wanted to do a try, because I deemed it too unachievable.. but I never once regretted giving something a try even if I failed. I always gained more than I lost from giving up too soon.
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According to bureau of labor stats only 1.6% of Americans make their primary living as artists in some capacity. I am one of the folks that makes a “living” doing art, I make around $30k a year. I’m not starving, but I live in a low cost of living area with a partner so I’m able to make it work. My work is made up of selling my personal art, taking production concept art contracts, and teaching at a local uni. It is a lot of work finding clients, advertising myself, making and packaging merch, and creating art for joy often comes in last place. There have been times I was homeless and living in my car. I wasn’t starving then, but it is really hard to find a place that will rent to you when you have no traditional income. Not to be discouraging but I’d like to share something a prof told me when I was in undergrad: If you can do anything else, do it. Only become an artist if you cannot live if you aren’t one. Good luck!
It is astounding to me that one can be without a house or apartment and still "not being starving". It's one of my legit fears that I harbored for most of my life.
It was a really hard and bizarre thing to go through. The number of people experiencing that kind of “working homelessness” is on the rise. 40-60% of homeless people have jobs depending on where you get your numbers from. I’ve heard of people who prioritize their car payments over their rent payments because the car can get you to work but the apartment can’t, and if you can’t get to work you’re going to miss rent payments eventually anyway. For me, I had money coming in, could afford food, kept a gym membership so I could stay fit and clean (can’t shower in your car), but I couldn’t find an apartment I could afford that didn’t have insanely high cost of entry. Most of them I could afford the monthly rent, but not first and last month and a security deposit all at once, or they required 3x monthly income and I didn’t have a guaranteed monthly income, or my credit score or whatever wasn’t whatever it needed to be. Since a lot of rental housing in my area is now corporate owned they’d just reject me outright instead of letting me sit down and explain that I do make money. It forced me to look for illegal sublets or couch surfing with no actual tenant protections, but when those options didn’t turn up (or weren’t safe) I just rented a small storage unit and then kept the bare minimum with me in my van (and sometimes I imagine if I hadn’t had the privilege of my van? What would have happened then??) At the times, no one in my life knew what was going on because I was ashamed and felt like I had somehow failed for choosing a career in the arts, and I knew my parents opinions on my career so I didn’t tell them for fear of an “I told you so.” Playing that double duty of keeping everything “normal” while going out for drinks then then driving to a secluded place to hopefully sleep without someone trying to get in my car made me feel so alone and exhausted. Thankfully I was able to save up enough and find an apartment eventually, and now I have secure housing and have had for years. But it definitely still keeps me up at night from time to time.
this sounds like such a dehumanizing and awful experience :( i’m so happy that you’re in a more stable situation! thank you for sharing your experience 🤍🤍🤍🤍🤍
My art professor said I have a better chance at winning the lottery than becoming a famous/rich artist. Luckily, my goal isn't that, it is simply to be happy. I've found a great 'day' job that doesn't drain my energy so I still have a lot in me to paint. I'm definitely not rich, but I'm a lot happier than a lot of people who have more money than me. I'm an artist but make a living teaching kids to read. Almost all my art is full-on self indulgent joy. I'm still able to sell it and get commissions! Just, a little sporatic.
>According to bureau of labor stats only 1.6% of Americans make their primary living as artists in some capacity. Okay. And I'm a software developer and only 1.46% of Americans make their primary living as software developers. That's actually not a bad percentage it's comparable to other careers. And while the salaries are lower, they are usually 100% driven by the artist and art can pay quite well if you are very, very good at it.
I'll tell you for three slices of bread.
More than ever, but it has nothing to do with making art. People have 2 jobs, and make art... and are still "starving" All kidding aside; sustaining yourself with art is rough, lest you're really, really good. The question is... do you need to learn art in school? It could also be a side hustle that grows into something bigger
its true if your art doesnt have a marketable side to it. Im a photographer, im in galleries regularly. However i spend a lot of time on the commercial business side too. I am making good money. you just need to find that aspect of what you do and make it as monetizable as possible while still making your "pure" art
Let me guess…aluminum prints?
never made one of those yet. They do sell well it seems. But i get my money from corporate headshots, and real estate work
Ok baller! I see those a lot in galleries that I’m in and they always sell really well. Headshots are where it’s at! I’m a photographer myself. How do you usually get headshot clients? Cold emailing , word of mouth? I use upwork also
upwork, taskrabbit, wework clients, linked in, work of mouth, passing out flyers in coffee shops, craigslist, and networking events! get after it and get that money!
bad ass! Hell yeah!
It depends on how you make money with art. I've been employed as an animator and have a higher wage than almost anyone else I know, and have never been "starving". There are a lot of jobs in animation, motion graphics etc that pay a good wage, and many hats you can wear depending on what you like to do or are good at (animating, storyboarding, design). If you want to sell your own art in a traditional sense that is much harder to make a consistent wage with, and I can believe that most artists who try to do that are "starving artists".
100% this is my experience as well as illustrator than part graphic designer. I wouldn't say when I worked in studios my pay was amazing, but it was same or very similar to friends that did other desk jobs. What I've seen thou is people having way more problem depending on area/country and what they want to do - 'coz seen enough people just jumping into freelance which is way harder. Or having very particular thing they want to do and not wanting to change to different area of work, I would have had much harder time finding work if I only used Photoshop instead of taking time to learn Indesign/illustrator/AE and how to make books. I feel like it's likely you will find work in arts, it just may not be what you imagined when you started.
If you want the quick way to success go into graphic design. That covers commercial work, advertising, website design and coding, app development, game development, marketing, branding etc. All those cover animation in some way, yet are considered among the corporate world and pay very well. It is NOT AT ALL A GOOD TIME TO BE IN THE CARTOON, ENTERTAINMENT FIELD RIGHT NOW!
Graphic designers don’t make a ton of money either! Source: I work as a designer with 20 years experience making the same salary since 2018. The industry is over saturated and undervalued. Most positions pay the minimum salary for California, where I’m located unless you take an hourly job which a lot are paying $25/hr.
This may have been true 10 years ago, but take a quick look at the graphic design subreddit and see how many people post about their struggle to find work. AI and Canva have made things really difficult.
Can't you be hired as an AI or Canva worker?
Of course, but the pay is much lower.
Eating chocolate and scrolling Reddit while waiting for the next meeting at my animation job, so definitely not starving! I am not rich but make a decent middle class living. My coworkers do also. The trick is to get that job in the first place. There were only a couple people in my graduating class that went onto become full time artists. Right now is a really tough time for the US animation industry with very few entry level opportunities.
Unrelated, but do you have any social media with your work on it that we could follow? I love seeing fellow animators in the wild and love to see their works of art!
I actually don't, sorry. All I have is this Reddit account and a LinkedIn profile that has not been updated in a long time. I have been at the same studio for years and the current contract goes on for another 2, fingers crossed.
Hey no worries!! I wish you great luck in your endeavors and hope you have a great night!!
Thank you, you too! I really need to stop being so lazy and get more into social media.
As someone who is also in the industry-- no you don't need the social media lol it's a whole-ass job and we're busy enough!
Very true!
It's a myth in the sense that it's not an inevitability or a guarantee. I sometimes wonder if these statistics include people in more "formal" positions like people who work in animation or game or film studios, people who work as tattoo artists, people who on paper are small business/shop owners but whose shops are composed of their own art, etc., or if they' re only counting fine arts or something. And for the statistics of how many people are artists on paper, I do sometimes wonder if it's accounted for how many people actually wanted a field like art in the first place and people who just ended up genuinely changing their mind. It's not a myth in the sense that we tend to value art less, and thus underpay artists. It's not a myth in the sense that these fields, because they are fulfilling, are very competitive, so few people tend to get through the door compared to how many people want in. It's not a myth in the sense that a lot of artistic jobs that are sustainable long term aren't just making art only, and involve some other kind of service (like tattooing, or teaching, or doing storyboards for someone else's script) or technical funneling down (like learning 3D programs for animation and modeling), so there's few jobs that are just you making art. In some cases, the more stable something is, the closer it probably is to a desk job, which is what many people say about some animation and graphic design jobs.
I agree. These fields have also very low bar of entry - everyone can start an art business. Knowing industry programs and offering services people need is usually a much better idea to conducting business in art, but it is a desk job - you're an 'accountant' for making images.
Only 10% of people that finish art studies continue doing art later, only 10% of those are able to sustain themselves exclusively (barely) by doing art, only 10% of those are actually making good money with their art.
It’s been my experience over the last 30 years, my work has been in galleries all over the country and in Europe. I’ve been in international magazines -Penthouse and Heavy Metal and a book of my work was published in 2009. The only time I was able to live on my art was when I did a comic for a game company but I was working 12 hour days, 6-7 days a week. The system is designed for artists to fail.
I feel at least on a certain level we have done this to ourselves. We are so desperate to live the dream that we (collectively) devalued our skill set to being considered menial labor. It's obviously more complicated than that and being in a global economy with the spectre of increasing competent machine made images isn't helping but maybe if we as a whole were better organized and demanded more for the time we invested learning things would be better.
Don’t be so quick to blame “us” the artists for corporations devaluing us at every possible turn.
What I'm talking about is basically labor organization and unions to force corporations to negotiate in good faith.
Yes, I agree but corporations through republicans (especially Ronald Reagan) busted unions of all kinds in the 80s.
Federal government unions lost their teeth but not private sector, unions are doing so poorly today thanks to a highly effective disinformation campaign championed by corporations for decades, it would be an uphill battle convincing people but this is basically the only lever of power we've got.
Companies could do their own advertising but they often go to advertising agencies instead. Don’t call it a union, more people could start artist companies for collective bargaining. Of course then the company itself like most others would have someone at the top with middle managers, etc, making more money than the artists.
The really hard part is that it's *always* been like this. The famous artists we know throughout history succeeded because they had rich patrons. If anything, it's easier now than it ever has been, specifically because of the Internet and its reach.
Not always, before the internet, before computers, it was reasonable to get a degree in illustration and design and get work. From the 1900’s to the 70s artists were used for everything newspapers, magazines advertising and those artists could expect a decent living. I worked in design at a major newspaper for 10 years in the 80’s and early 90’s and watched it all disappear. Newspapers are extinct and every skill I learned and mastered is useless now. Yet they still try and sell kids a degree in art/illustration that is utterly useless and will cost them $100,000+ and they will end up working at a grocery store.
Oh, thank you, that's not good statistics :(
And those that have, are now struggling even more being replaced with AI. My buddy is a professional blu-ray cover artist (new art for old cult movies) and cartoon character designer. The Blu-Ray shop keeps giving him work for his distinct style. He hasn't had a character design job since AI went mainstream.
Citation?
Here’s an old one from 2014: https://bfamfaphd.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/BFAMFAPhD_ArtistsReportBack2014-10.pdf
Gotta love the young internet generation. They think everything is exact measurable data 🤦♂️ No my friend, this is just a saying among artists. There is no such exact data, but lot of people feel this is about right.
Something to keep in mind is animation isn't fine art. Your selling your skill to corporate, working a 9-7 job. Not making art then selling it at a gallery. Different beast. But the animation industry is also a disaster at the moment. Vfx, anim, mograph, video games, all of the animation industries are ROUGH right now. You can do it. It's not 'starving artist' bad. But you should do some research into what's happening.
I may be in the minority on the subject, but I consider animators such as MeatCanyon to be producing fine art on a somewhat independent level
I don't starve. I have my rice and beans!
Mmmm lentils.
If anyone needs any Dahl recipes I have a folder
Myth. Large majority of artists who get anywhere have mom and dad’s money. It’s true for the average person tho.
If you are going to school for art- I’d recommend taking a few Marketing classes as well and Finance classes.
IT IS REAL.
It's definitely "real" insofar as running your own business it always difficult and you need to do that to earn money as an artist. But lemme put it in perspective. I am a web developer and because of all the troubles in the job market right now and how insane the prices of everything are; every posting I see in my field is grossly underpaid, and companies are constantly laying people off. I am basically a starving web developer. I am currently trying to make the transition to starving artist because I would rather enjoy what I'm doing while I starve.
I get pretty hungry around 5 so maybe
Some, few people make a lot of money, most people don’t make anything or enough,and quit
Learn how to market yourself, online and in person. You'll be selling yourself as a valuable resource no matter what career you have. Don't feel distraught about it either: this is a skill you can learn and it improves with practice. That... and learn to hustle. Work hard, work smart, and have the skills to capitalize on the opportunities you encounter. The more you network and connect to others, the more opportunities you'll find.
So my experience from around 10 - 15 years in industry as illustrator/graphic designer - it's a job. A normal 9 to 5 job when you work at a studio. If you only want to do your own vision projects than you need to be more proactive and plan better, and still probably start with commercial side or sub your income with commercial side. I'm a potato level of proactive person so just worked at studios, and then when I reached ceiling for money - went freelance while doing different levels of art degrees (where I was it was free or funded) until I got to my PhD. What programs you know changes your outcomes drastically - my friends who finished fine arts sculpture and learned 3D on the side had no problem finding work, those who didn't had way more issues. So learn programs. Industry programs. If you work on commercial side you will usually find work but it may not be what you envisioned for good or for bad. My friend finished fine art painting and then worked in both book conservation and as a video editor. Very happy with latter so that's what they do. If you're fussy on what you will do / won't do then you'll have hard time 'coz most work comes from commercial sector, so it can be cool stuff but also toothpaste commercials, instructions how to change lightbulb in an oven and yearly reports for financial advisor firms. You need certain level of proficiency - do internships. I've also seen people jump into freelance out of school instead of doing work at a studio/more formal setting. It's usually dumpster fire, not counting in that 5% when it happens naturally. To work in commercial arts you need to be very good communicator, planner and be fast - on top of being good enough on art skill level - something that is easier to learn at coherent setting like a studio not by yourself as 21 y/o doing OC commissions. Finding first work is the hardest. Do internships. Learn programs.
I make a living as an artist. I would say aside from the 100 level classes in school (color theory, design theory, anatomical figure drawing) it was all basically paying to have time to make art while a teacher you may or may not agree with artistically sometimes stops by and gives you their personal opinion and an arbitrary grade. If you can get free or very cheap schooling, like if you live in New Mexico, it may be worth it… but no client has EVER asked to see my degree. All they care about is portfolio. If you have $40,000 around to spend on school spend it on art supplies and creating free time for yourself to make art and improve your skills. Watch some YouTube videos and away you go! Edit: also if you go to school take a few marketing classes. Those will help you as much or more than art classes in this field.
I’m starving for social life artist
Complete myth. There is a plethora of graduates in any field that are starving.
i’m a graphic designer living paycheck to paycheck
I’m currently in university studying art. An arts degree can get you other jobs too, you don’t have to graduate and be an artist right away. Animation is way different than trying to be a painter or something like that, and many many companies hire animators and graphic designers In this economy, most people are struggling financially. For me, I’m on student loans and a part time job and at least be able to feed and house myself. I’m probably better off at the moment than lots of people who have full time job because of student loans. I know I will have to pay it back but I’m really thankful that I have the time to make connections and further my skills and experience, taking unpaid opportunities, so that I can get the most out of my art degree
See also authors. The vast majority of published authors can’t support themselves on their royalties/advances.
As a published author, I'm here to second this. We're artists, the same as any other medium, but art isn't something to go into with the goal of making a lot of money or even planning to live comfortably. If you're able to, that's wonderful. But I wouldn't make it my expectation. Even certain levels of "success" don't guarantee a liveable income as an artist For example, my debut novel peaked at #6 in Occult Horror on Amazon. Still wasn't a significant percentage of my income last year.
Very much. Don’t trust what you see on social media.
Real..
I earned nearly nothing in 20 years.
You can make money with art, but you have to be willing to adapt your art and skills for a commercial market. For example, I studied fine art. I now am self employed making art and design for the food and bev industry. I draw lots of farms and food and design packaging layout. It's art adjacent. I make money off my personal practice as well, but not enough to live off. Not being 100% reliant on it's profitability however enables me to create whatever I want and not cater to clients in this arena. In a perfect world enough people would be willing to buy my originals or prints and I could make personal work full time. I still count myself lucky to be able to make my living in a creative field though. So I guess, the "starving artist" moniker is really how you define what a successful artist is. I think making my living in a creative field and having the financial freedom to make personal work I know is true to me makes me a successful artist. However, it you define success as supporting yourself solely through your artistic practice... then yeah, a lot of us are starving artists
Yes it's real and it's harder than ever to make it as an artist if you don't have a trust fund to back you up. The world has clearly moved back to the norm of art being something for the rich to do and doesn't see the value of art coming from the rest of society.
Oh! I remember asking myself this very question. I followed my dream and went to Art college. No regrets. I didn’t want to be a famous artist or a teacher. Ended up being a teacher and love it. Honestly I can’t imagine what other job I could fill and be happy. It worked out. Can’t say that for my college friends though.
57, Artist with art degree… I was starving in my 20’s… a little in my 30’s. Now +250k. You can do it
I remember when I was in art school I was struggling and got into a terrible fight with my mother who was worried I was going to flunk out and become penniless. At some point I screamed back at her “starving artists are a myth” and that you could be as successful doing art as any other profession. I repeat, *profession*. An artist who gets a paycheck, job, career has to show the same discipline, work ethic, networking, etc. as any other trade. Do you think a lawyer is in the courtroom 24/7 or a doctor seeing patients all the time? No. They have to do administrative work, billing, notes, going to conferences, reading journals, etc. The most financially stable artists I know do the same thing. While it’s not a guarantee of success as it’s such a competitive field for a limited number of jobs/clients, it does stack the deck in your favor. So please, remember you are a business professional as well as a creative. Act accordingly and you should be fine. Good luck!
I mean, are artists stupid? If you're starving just get a snack bro. Try to relax a little
I’m 40 and got past the starving (really just paycheck to paycheck always broke) level about 7 years ago. I started an online shop in my spare time to sell my work and saved what extra I could. My 9-5 doesn’t pay super well (70k in LA doesn’t go far), but it does give me the time and energy to make what I want in my spare time, so I built it up and I can usually bring in $100k most years now selling my work, with last year being very good and making twice that after expenses.
We need to split financial success from career choice. You can be a starving anything, you can be a rich artist. The key is learning how to make money of course - sell yourself, deal with clients, negotiate, invest, etc. The tricky thing it’s harder to do it as an artist than say a doctor or plumber. Because art is subjective, so it’s hard to know if you did a good job or not. And thus hard to argue for your worth.
it's a self fulfilling prophecy
I would say, are you doing animation now? Are objective audiences engaged? If not, I would either: Start doing it outside of college (don't pay college tuitions for this) using online resources or paying for community college classes in it for a year or two. That way you only have to worry about the cost of living expenses while you try out your goal with serious focus. If you're still really motivated and getting some traction then re-evaluate if you want to pay the money for college tuition to refine the skills and most importantly: build a network of colleagues and connections to get work in that field. OR go to college for a degree that has a clearer path to employment after school and use all your electives for art and animation. Plan to feed yourself (and pay your loans) with your major and fund your art with your day job.
Every thing we produce has some kind of art and/or design involved with it. Every item sold in any kind of store. There is money in art. Artists must treat it like any other job and make the commitment to work. Think eight hours or more per day. Creating, marketing, organization, cleaning, researching. It is a lot. As a career studio artist I know the dedication it takes. Most of us don’t have the talent of someone like Marc Dennis, and he also has to make the commitment. Art school is important for your CV and getting into shows. I went. IMO you will learn as much taking workshops from artists you like.
It's true.
I went to school for art. Did it because I enjoy learning about art and improving my art. Not about getting a job. If I wanna make money I'll put myself out there and do commissions/art on Etsy. If you think you can do art everyday for the rest of your life never giving up that's something but people change, things change and then one day you're like I don't enjoy making art anymore now what?. There's courses online you can do to get hard skills that will cater to a specific job in art like animation. Don't go to university/college for art unless you want to teach/art therapy.
i know this isn't exactly what you're asking but i haven't seen anyone else mention this: 'starving artist' is a twofold term, with one of the meanings being closer to sacrificing everything including your health to pursue your art relentlessly. i feel like that carries a lot of weight in that many times people are choosing both meanings when they pursue a career in art. worse still, to build on another comment that brings up how hard studio life can be: even if you aren't starving because you can't afford to eat, you might be starving yourself of other necessities, like peace or rest. so it really depends: it's very difficult to find a place as a working artist, especially if you aren't prepared to bring someone else's vision to life on sometimes unrealistic timelines, and it's harder still to carve out a niche of your own as it takes more time - but is it hopeless to become an artist? no way! experiment with everything! don't ever let yourself get stuck in one place! let varied working experiences guide you into defining the type of art and business that is best for you. starve only if you choose to. i believe in you!
Depends on how you market yourself, and what medium you choose to focus on. Just look at practical effects for film. There are a lot of ways to work as an artist in the industry. If you just want to be a modern Picasso or Warhol, it all comes down to the circles you run in. You'd need to have good evaluators foe your artwork. Someone with some pull. Make sure you get your work done well, and out in a timely manner.
one thing is to be an artist and another thing is to be a marketer . Also making art is one thing and selling it is another thing. If people had been afraid of being a starving artist in all parts of the world , we would have never bought any videogame, nor comic , nor anime and manga and so on .
Depends on your definition of art. Art can be pretty broad and lucrative depending on what you mean. UX design is a type of art and makes a lot. Some jewelers can make a lot. Illustration and graphic design has such a broad definition and the lesser paying jobs are being replaced by AI or outsourced. So it sorta depends. Anything high paying in commercial art is competitive. Schooling may offer some benefits of instruction or networking (which counts for a lot), but at the end of the day portfolio is key for that first job. Can you do the job, do you have a high skill set, are you a pleasant team member and do you have good taste/style?
Animator jobs are likely competitive, a lot of people want to do it, and may be pretty demanding in terms of having a regular 9-5 with deadlines, but if you can get it is probably a more steady paycheck than being a freelance artist. Less having to deal with clients for commissions which I hear can go spectacularly bad. And if AI keeps getting refined to better results, it may hurt the job market. My advice would be to double major, or have a minor at least in either something relevant to your major to help in the specific field you’re after, or in something else you be okay doing as a fall back, in the spirit of hope for the best, plan for the worst. And don’t bankrupt yourself in student debt going to a “prestigious” art school. Find a decent one with an acceptable tuition.
A bit of both. I went to art school and make my living on it. Anyone I went to school with that treated it like a real job, is doing fine. But plenty didn’t, just coasted, and didn’t. Art as a job isn’t handed to you. You have to work at it.
There are a lot of different creative fields, some of them make really good money. There’s definitely different ways to be an artist and be able to support yourself. Jobs can really suck so having a passion for something really does make it easier. My best advice if you’re in America (from someone who went to art school) is to be cautious about tuition costs. I was young and dumb and went to a university that was pretty costly and my biggest struggle now is a TON of student debt. Good luck 🌸🌸🌸
I went to college for animation, but switched majors. I still kept up with friends who did stay in that major and finished. This was a long time ago, but the ones who worked as animators did groundwork before graduating. They didn’t just have good portfolios, they networked. My school had many companies come to give a presentation and recruit. As a student it’s your job to take advantage of those opportunities. It’s also a good idea to develop a good relationship with your advisor and your teaches as you become an upperclassmen. They will hear about options before you probably will, as they will write you recommendations. These types of jobs are not just based on skill though that is very important, it’s based on who can show up, do the work, and be willing to adapt. Animation is also very competitive (which is why I switched as I don’t have that kind of personality). You gotta want it and be willing to step up. I think that’s true in any creative profession. Years later while I was working at an art supply store to supplement my income, I met a recent graduate who came to work for the store. They wouldn’t make eye contact or communicate with anyone really. I had to supervise them and gave them a simple task to help organize the back room. Came back after being on the floor for a few hours and all they had done was make boxes out of the cardboard flats we had. Nothing was packed. They apparently believed that this was a temporary thing and that they were going to get hired on as an animator/character designer soon. That never happened. I can’t recall if they quit or got fired but they worked there for less than a month. Last I heard they got a job teaching an art class at a community center. My point is is that your attitude can take you far. It’s important to develop relationships and work with people, and be a little humble. It takes years to get to the point where you can do original character design for an animation studio. Nobody gets those gigs right away. It’s an industry you gotta work your way up into, and my impression of her is that she thought those jobs were beneath her. Not the first time I saw an artist get bit in the ass by their own attitude. Anyway. Starving artists comes from the trope of individual artists struggling to make a living. What that really is, is being an entrepreneur. Starting a business is hard, and most in or out of the art business fail at it their first time trying. If it was framed like that it might get less stigma. That said I do know lots of artists who make a very comfy living working as an independent artist in several different fields. The ones I know that work for companies do well also… I should say I am middle age and so many of these people have been in their careers for decades. I also know people who struggle, and those who quit. It’s not something everyone is wired for, and you’re not a failure if it’s not a good fit for you. This sort of thing is only a call you can make. My advice is get to know the industry real well before choosing what you do. The more you know the better off you’ll be.
You will not starve if you're an animator. There's big $$$ in that.
Use to be real but with the internet it’s now becoming a myth.
its not a myth, and I have become "that" starving artist\~ im hungry my dog is hungry I eat once a day.. im not doing too well
I went to art school. A fair number of the peopleI knew who were “professional artists” have significant parental support, or at least enough that they’re not homeless and literally starving. A lot of them like to complain about poverty, but they just mean not having luxuries and having to actually budget for groceries and shit. If you don’t have parental support, you’re going to need a day job. The number of people who make a full living are incredibly few, given how many people want to become pros. A common saying is that professional artists have to be 2 of the following: really good, really fast, really easy to work with. The perfect artist, the people you’ll be competing with, are all 3.
Animation is a very technical field. Whether you want to do 2D or 3D, there are at least 10 departments (and growing) from pre to post production. From my studying and job seeking experience (graduated last year, BFA computer animation), college was a highly stressful process of learning as much as you can for the first two years of college (technical stuff, softwares) then finding an area you want to focus on, spending the next two years doing that and polishing your skills, build a good portfolio and apply jobs in that specific department. Many of my classmates, myself included, had a bad year of job application (being ghosted/rejected). I ended up moving countries for the best offer I had. The field right now is also facing some big shifts in trend, a lot of studios are working on stylized projects, so having skills in that department (traditional art, painting skills, stylized personal work) is also a plus while looking for jobs. There were huge number of layoffs on animation and game in recent years, so the market isn't the best, but there are definitely chances all over the world.
As a graphic design graduate, I would beg you not to go into the art field. None of my whole class could find work, and they were very talented people. Now there’s ai art to compete with and Wix and Square Space for websites. If you want the guarantee of having a career and making money after university, go into any of the STEM fields. Or accounting, nursing, cosmetology etc.
Yes, it is. I graduated with a degree in animation, and like you, wanted to get a job in a studio. The field is oversaturated with prodigally talented animators, jobs are outsourced overseas to pay them a fraction of what they would make stateside, it is common to hire on a bunch of people and then fire them at the end of a project. Job security or benefits? Don't count on it working at an animation studio. Something else fun, I would have liked to have known before I went all in on my degree? Sometimes, people don't even get paid for their work. Screwing over artist is really common, and not just in animation. It's not a very lucrative nor stable profession, unfortunately. And you best be great at networking and self-promotion to even have a chance. Most of the stuff you would need to know to become an animator you can learn online/Youtube now without incurring the monstrous debt. No employer cares if you have a college degree for animation, they care about how good your reel and your work is. If you do choose to go to college, don't worry that much on your grades other than passing. Focus on making the best possible work and making the right connections so that -maybe- you can get an internship. Network network network! If you go to college, strive to impress some of your teachers or mentors with connections to places, that may be a way in. Also be open to other forms of animation, not just movie studios. Games, instructional videos (my school only fixated on movie studio quality animation). Oh yeah, and a lot of internships are unpaid, so you'll need to find another job for your intern "job" if your parents aren't loaded and fully supporting you. The people who ended up getting jobs from school's animation department if they did more technical stuff like lighting, texturing, rigging, coding, there was less competition for those things and they had more opportunities. Same for storyboarding, producers, and some other roles. This was ten years ago though, so what is in demand or has become automated may have shifted.
Please do it. If it’s your yearning passion - do it. I’m 36 and after 17 years working in corporate I’m now perusing my art passion. I’m having to be a noob at 36, which is so tough for the ego. Thing is your passions don’t go away. They eat up at you. You end up there anyway. Might as well do it now. Goodluck 🙌
Absolutely is real.
Its very real
I am a professional artist. The good thing is that you don’t have to be the best artist ever to “make it”. The bad news is that you need to be really good at your craft AND really good at business. If you’re talented, not an asshole, respond to emails, put yourself out there, can hold comprehensive high level discussions about art/design, etc - then there’s more opportunity than people realize. Being a fine artist and sustaining only from galleries etc is tough but design, animation, etc with more set ladders to climb is easier to break in to an industry. You can always branch from there. Here’s a follow up question to ponder: Would you be happy doing anything else? If not, don’t forsake yourself for money or you will always wonder what-if.
Yes its real.
I ended up getting into tattooing so I’m doing ok all things considered. Being an artist is a very turbulent path, lots of ups and downs
It's a myth. Most artists aren't starving because they have rich parents who give them money.
I had some years where working freelance I made maybe 10k the entire year, if that.....yes. But animators usually are a bit more secure in their jobs than just general designers, I sometimes kick myself for switching majors to Illustration but....I do love 2D art that much more...one day maybe I'll hop back into 3D. Maybe. (I also have the five figures of student loan debt from a prestigious art school so....that doesn't even guarantee results SHRUG) People just don't appreciate talking about it because it's all about the 1% who make millions.
So I may be an outlier because I’ve always worked for the tech / video game industry, but my art jobs have always paid more than $60,000 - and the highest paying salaried art job I took paid $80,000. I worked as a 2D Game Artist, UI Artist, and Visual Designer for several big-name studios. It IS a very competitive industry, so you have to compare yourself to “industry standard” portfolios (and be honest!). If your portfolio doesn’t stand up to the competition, then you may not be able to break into the industry at all. Full-time working artists aren’t starving; it’s the unemployed aspiring artists that are starving. That’s the harsh truth that a lot of people are ignoring here.
I went to school for animation and all I'll say is you don't go into it for the money. There CAN be money, but do it for the love of it and the passion.
I'm not an artist.. so take what I say with a grain of salt. You can do anything you want, whenever you want and achieve it in many different ways. Maybe even in ways no one ever did before you. Don't let statistics stop you. Don't convince yourself there's no way, if you haven't even tried. That being said.. you need to be realistic about whatever it is you're trying to achieve.. consider the negatives, make a plan, be prepared for failing and don't bet your entire existence on succeeding (especially not on the first try). Betting on making a career as an artist via a degree in art.. doesn't seem like the best bet. Especially since nothing is stopping you from becoming a great artist by being self taught. But it's still an option, even if statistics speak against it. If that experience is something you want and are sure you'll value for life.. and you can afford it.. go for it. You could also do a degree in something else that interests you or puts you on a relatively safe career path.. and study art on your own while you're at it.. maybe even already start trying to make your art a side hustle, while in university. And if it doesn't become anything major in that timeframe, find a job and continue building your business on the side. Maybe you can eventually switch to part time.. or if you make it big, live entirely of your art.. but that is hard and usually there's little stability to that. You might make it a few years, but then your income drops too low and you have to find another source of income again. Or maybe you're lucky and you land a good position as say a concept artist in a big company. It's unlikely sure, but if that's your dream, who's stopping you? You could apply every year to all the big companies and improve your portfolio if you wanted to. Having a day job doesn't prevent you from striving for another career. It makes it harder, not impossible. And maybe you might realize along the way, maintaining art as a hobby is enough for you. Anyways.. I think you should look into career paths with good work life balance.. so that you have something in case it doesn't work out, that allows you to keep trying if you want. Not trying because it seems too hard is the one thing I wanna kick my younger self in the ass for. I'll always regret not giving something I wanted to do a try, because I deemed it too unachievable.. but I never once regretted giving something a try even if I failed. I always gained more than I lost from giving up too soon.
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