I want to be an artist when I grow up....help? ?

[Emmy]

Hi. Ive been drawing all my life. I love using charcoal and graphite pencils, plus oil pastels. I get my talents from my dad...he was just as good as me when he was my age. But his teachers were too blind to see the beautifultalent in his work and he never amounted to anything. I dont want to end up like him. I want to continue pursuing what i love. Ive sold lots of my art in the past. Ive also posted pictures on facebook and have gotten nothing but compliments about them. This encouragement has really inspired me and ive grown to want to become an artist. Bu how? Do you have to go to school for it? Or can I sell it in public? My parents might buy a restaurant in a few years and i coukd sell it there. But how do you become an established artist? Please guys, serious answers. Dont tell me im too young to do anything or put me down by telling me i cant do it. Help me. Please? Honest and sincere answers.

[eagermask884]

To amount to anything in the art world you need to give yourself as many assets and advantages as you can- raw talent alone is not enough.
You need
*formal training to nurture and develop your skills and reveal some strengths you weren't aware of
*Knowledge about the art world and the way it works - visit exhibitions, launch parties, museums, commercial and public art galleries of all sizes
*Look at all the different types of art and design you can online and in libraries; build up a collection of art books of your own - you'd be surprised what you can buy really cheaply in charity shops, online ( Amazon, etc ). I had a lucky find in a skip at a school I worked in !
*Build up a rich spiritual and inner life - find time to be alone, at peace, enjoying solitude and silence sometimes - if you can get to beautiful locations with inspiring scenery, use them.
*Learn to breathe properly, and meditate - all these things will help you find what's on the inside, what ' makes you tick', essential to any artist
The process is a long, on- going one, requiring patience and humility.
Don't be in a hurry to sell your work, the time will come if other people can tune into and appreciate what you create. And even if they don't, it really doesn't matter, because you're doing it for you

[jplatt39]

I would say draw, sell -- and that definitely means frame your work and schlep it around to restaurants coffee houses and so forth. Take a year or two off from school or go to community college, then apply to a big expensive school like RISD or CalArts and work your butt off (which you will have to) even though you will hate the curriculum (everyone does and nobody for the same reason -- a few love their concentrations but hate the other stuff they had to take for foundations). When you get out, you will find you have lots of contacts for selling to high profile clients so you can pay back your huge debt, and you will have AWESOME skills so you can also do and sell -- fast -- anything you want at your parents restaurant.

[Heather C]

You're just like me. I'm so happy to hear someone having such a strong, definite passion with their art. I think that as long as you have ambition and talent, that's all you need! What to do is decide (Or partially decide!) what sort of sector you want to be a part of. Do you want to be a designer? An illustrator? A teacher? Or just an artist who sells artwork? All of the above can be made possible by going to college or university. I did a year of college last year in visual communications which gave me experience in graphic design. I was recently at university doing computer games design but I've now decided to leave and become a tattooist since I prefer practical, fine art. It all comes down to what you wanna do and it's always possible!

[Blue Green]

Making a living as an artist is hard. Getting quickly discovered is rare unless you know people in the art business who has the right connections. This is the better and safer route to take: Go to school and get a degree in something NOT related to art. The career you choose should allow you to take care of yourself and live comfortable but at the same time it shouldn't require alot of years to be in school in order to get a degree. I'm not sure about the yearly salary, but these jobs require about 1 year of schooling: Medical Assistant Certificate Program, Paralegal Certificate, Dental Assistant Certificate Program, Office Administration Certificate Program (Administrative Assistant), Pharmacy Technician Certificate Program. Upon graduation, get a full time job and continue to do your art on the side. You could either go straight to selling your artwork or go back to school to get an art degree. They always have morning or evening art classes to work around your job schedule. Once you become an established artist then you can quit your other job.

Here are eight tips to help you in the art business:

1. You should ALWAYS register your artwork with the copyright office. Registered works provide substantial proof of ownership and more protection in the court of law! It is not required to register your work because the creator of the work is the official copyright owner, BUT if I'm not mistaken, if you want to sue for damages when someone steals or uses your work without permission, your work must be registered. Check out the U.S. Copyright Office website for more information!


2. Get a website to display your artwork. When you are talking to people and the subject of art comes up, they are going to want to see your art. Plus, people always surf the internet looking for artists, so by getting a website you increase your chances of someone finding your art. Pay for a website address through Go Daddy, Yahoo Small Business, or another web hosting company. You can also display your art on a free website such as MyArtSpace, Flickr, Google Picasa Web Albums, Photobucket, Webshots, YouTube, or try a free blog site such as Blogger, WordPress Blog, TypePad, LiveJournal.

3. People remember a product by its name, so decide what name you will use (full or partial legal name, nickname, pseudonym) in your art career! If you use a nickname or pseudonym, consider getting it trademarked. People usually Google Search the artist's name to find their website. Since people always snag images from websites to post on their personal website, watermark your images with your name, so people can find the real owner of the image on the internet, Example: © John Doe. When you save your image, always include your name, Example: Seascape By John Doe.jpg

4. Always carry business cards with you! When the subject of art comes up or you think someone might like to know about your art, give them your business card. Your business card should have your name, website address, email address, type of art you do, and a picture of your artwork on it. Buy business cards at Zazzle website.

5. Mail a brief letter introducing yourself and samples of your artwork to all places affiliated with art. Also, mail samples to non-art businesses because these could be potential customers that would buy your art. Try to mail your samples to a real person by getting their name or put ATTN: ART DIRECTOR or ATTN: MANAGER. There are tons of business addresses you can find on the internet or you can buy a mailing list. Google search "buy mailing lists".

6. You can start posting and selling your art on the internet right now to get more exposure! Google search the words "print on demand for artists" or check out these websites: Artid, Artist Rising, Artspan, Blurb, CafePress, CreateSpace, DeviantArt, Ebay, Etsy, Fine Art America, ImageKind, Lulu, Red Bubble, Zazzle. Also, do your research and make sure the company is reputable before giving out your personal information! Depending on the company, the above websites allow you to do one, some, or all of the following:

A. Make money selling your original artwork (drawings, paintings, photographs)
B. Reproduce your artwork (as prints, books, and other items) for only you to buy
C. Reproduce your artwork as prints, posters, canvas art, t-shirts, greeting cards, calendars, mugs, self published book of your artwork, and other items! They will create and ship the items to your customers and pay you when someone buys your items.

7. Join an art group/organization, Participate in art shows, Talk to art professionals about the business, Visit art galleries/museums, Rent a booth and sell your art at county fairs, craft fairs/shows, art festivals/shows, flea markets, etc.

8. Buy a book on marketing art to learn how to sell your art quickly and efficiently. Amazon website sells books. Search "marketing" or "how to market your art" or "marketing art" to find books on this subject.