01-17-2015, 08:16 PM
Hello there!
Sorry for the bad english in advance but its not my first language...
I`m Ben, new to this forum and new to all this... I can see what this forum is all about and I really apreciate the stuff going on here. I have some personal questions: I am 23 with very little drawing experience, could I start now and become someone who will `work` as an artist? Is it to late to pick up the craft and should I just stop?
Now I know I need to explain myself a little, so I`ll just start with the beginning. In high school I did not study art extensively (had a couple of introductory classes, nothing too serious). This was because I did not go to a specialized art school, I had the chance, I tried, I passed the drawing exam but my pricipal back then missplaced some paperwork and I missed turning them in for the deadline (luck or fate? I may never know)... I would have had the chance to transfer mid semester, but by then many people (including my parents) told me that I should just stick to the high school was accepted cause it will be hard to get a job as an artist later on, especially in my country (Romania). So I did not transfer, and I kinda left drawing as a `hobby` which then became just a memory of `i liked to do that`. I liked drawing, painting, sketching and anything related to art sice I was a small child, my uncle is an artist, he paints oil paintings and has an unique style specific in my hometown, but he never encouraged me either to pursue a career in this as he didn`t as well, he just does it for hobby now. My dad liked oil painting as well, he had some good paintings, he wanted to be an artist and probably helped me to develop that `thirst` to became an artist, but as I said, that was until high school. My hometown (Baia Mare), was a hub for artists and painters in the 19th century, so that puts more sourness in me as I know that I was born in a relatively good place for art.
I left for college, studied administration and geography (urban planning and digital mapping), now at masters degree in geomatics, however it`s not intensive, teachers are not good, they don`t encourage us to learn this field, not to mention that if I finish my studies there is 0 guarantee that I will get a job in this field... Yeah, education in Romania sucks bigtime, I would like to go abroad, live there, study, but I just don`t have the money. I need to get a job to support myself as I can`t count on my parents forever. All in all I realised that I strayed from my path long time ago and this is not what I would necessarily like to do. I want to draw, make concept art, maybe even get into 3D as I am a big movie/video games fan. I know jobs are limited there, and an artist can`t make a lot of money unless he is really good, but I would be willing to try, cause I can fail at something I don`t like to do, so why not do something that I like to, even if I fail? I searched around the internet, got myself some learning materials, I got really inspired by Noah Bradley and his `Don`t go to art school` article. I can see now that going to art school is not a big problem nowdays, but then: can I start now and achieve something or should I just keep it as a hobby? I don`t know if this realization is just ` period` I am going trough, but answering the omnious questions ` what would you like to do day and night for the rest of your life?` or `what feels good to do and wouldn`t be considered a job for you?` - art comes in to my mind fist, every time.
Also if it`s not too late to do it as a job, what are the first and main steps I should focus on? Fist learning, get the basics, develop my style, assemble a portofolio, doing some freelance stuff? I don`t really need to begin from scratch with the learning as I know some basic stuff, but then again I am still an `amateur`.
Sorry if I bored you with all that, but I feel that I am really at a turning point in my life, if I miss out the opportunity now, I may regret it again all my life as I did until now with high school.
Any advice would be much appreciated! Thank you!
Sorry for the bad english in advance but its not my first language...
I`m Ben, new to this forum and new to all this... I can see what this forum is all about and I really apreciate the stuff going on here. I have some personal questions: I am 23 with very little drawing experience, could I start now and become someone who will `work` as an artist? Is it to late to pick up the craft and should I just stop?
Now I know I need to explain myself a little, so I`ll just start with the beginning. In high school I did not study art extensively (had a couple of introductory classes, nothing too serious). This was because I did not go to a specialized art school, I had the chance, I tried, I passed the drawing exam but my pricipal back then missplaced some paperwork and I missed turning them in for the deadline (luck or fate? I may never know)... I would have had the chance to transfer mid semester, but by then many people (including my parents) told me that I should just stick to the high school was accepted cause it will be hard to get a job as an artist later on, especially in my country (Romania). So I did not transfer, and I kinda left drawing as a `hobby` which then became just a memory of `i liked to do that`. I liked drawing, painting, sketching and anything related to art sice I was a small child, my uncle is an artist, he paints oil paintings and has an unique style specific in my hometown, but he never encouraged me either to pursue a career in this as he didn`t as well, he just does it for hobby now. My dad liked oil painting as well, he had some good paintings, he wanted to be an artist and probably helped me to develop that `thirst` to became an artist, but as I said, that was until high school. My hometown (Baia Mare), was a hub for artists and painters in the 19th century, so that puts more sourness in me as I know that I was born in a relatively good place for art.
I left for college, studied administration and geography (urban planning and digital mapping), now at masters degree in geomatics, however it`s not intensive, teachers are not good, they don`t encourage us to learn this field, not to mention that if I finish my studies there is 0 guarantee that I will get a job in this field... Yeah, education in Romania sucks bigtime, I would like to go abroad, live there, study, but I just don`t have the money. I need to get a job to support myself as I can`t count on my parents forever. All in all I realised that I strayed from my path long time ago and this is not what I would necessarily like to do. I want to draw, make concept art, maybe even get into 3D as I am a big movie/video games fan. I know jobs are limited there, and an artist can`t make a lot of money unless he is really good, but I would be willing to try, cause I can fail at something I don`t like to do, so why not do something that I like to, even if I fail? I searched around the internet, got myself some learning materials, I got really inspired by Noah Bradley and his `Don`t go to art school` article. I can see now that going to art school is not a big problem nowdays, but then: can I start now and achieve something or should I just keep it as a hobby? I don`t know if this realization is just ` period` I am going trough, but answering the omnious questions ` what would you like to do day and night for the rest of your life?` or `what feels good to do and wouldn`t be considered a job for you?` - art comes in to my mind fist, every time.
Also if it`s not too late to do it as a job, what are the first and main steps I should focus on? Fist learning, get the basics, develop my style, assemble a portofolio, doing some freelance stuff? I don`t really need to begin from scratch with the learning as I know some basic stuff, but then again I am still an `amateur`.
Sorry if I bored you with all that, but I feel that I am really at a turning point in my life, if I miss out the opportunity now, I may regret it again all my life as I did until now with high school.
Any advice would be much appreciated! Thank you!