Ever since I could remember, I have loved drawing. I used to charge my classmates 25 or 50 cents for celebrity portraits. In high school, I was told I had to pick something. Think of my future. What did I want to be? The obvious answer was: artist. But I didn’t know how I could make money just drawing (turns out, you can). The only art job I knew was architecture.
My dad had taken me to work in the city to spend the day with him and the architects at his company. They had me drawing rooms, chairs (not as easy as you would think), and other linear things. It was always fun drawing, but when I saw the blueprints and everything that went into making a building that didn’t implode when you stepped into it, I decided this was not for me.
But I still wanted to draw. Make art. Something arty. So I went to art school. The ‘what’ I would do was undefined, but I was in the right place.
Now, many years later, I know of many jobs an artist can do. And in celebration of my love for lists, here’s another one. People have asked me what jobs you can get as an artist, and parents with artistic children want to know the same. Check out tomorrow’s blog for tips on applying to, going to and thriving in art school.
For now, here are jobs you can get as an artist:
– Illustrator – medical, technical, character (animation), comic book, book, children’s book, fashion, editorial (magazines, web articles), film storyboard artist, production artist
– graphic designer, web designer, UX/UI Designer
– digital artist – 2D (see ‘illustrator’), 3D (video game designer, military, commercial, entertainment, education)
– photographer – portrait/pet portrait, wedding, fashion, product/food, music, travel, photojournalist, wildlife
– artist – ceramics, sculptor, painter, muralist, collage, make-up/special effects makeup, glass, textile designer, craft, jewelry designer, artist assistant
– interior designer
– architect
– videographer, film editor
– music – musician, composer, producer
I’m sure there are many more ways to make money as an artist, but even the ways on this list have other ‘offshoots’ you can create yourself, to make your art and business special!
