07-27-2015, 07:53 AM
So pretty much what others have said, you can totally self teach and become successful.
To answer your questions.
I am totally self taught.
I started seriously self teaching almost 4 years ago, but I took a break of almost 8 months during that, so over 3 years consecutive time I guess.
I got commissions after 1 year, which were ok, but I just wasn't ready to be able to handle them yet (Discipline, business side etc) and I realised that unless the money is fair, I ended up resenting the jobs and so I stopped seeking them out.
I went fulltime freelance 6 months ago, after 3 years of self teaching, but the folio I used was identical to that of a year previous, so if I bothered, I probably could have started fulltime after 2.5 years of self teaching.
Oh also I was working a fulltime day job most of that time, and went down to a 4 day week in the last year. So I was probably only able to put in 0-4 hours each day.
I and many many others out there are proof that it can be done. The main factor is dedication and persistance, and the abillty to be resourceful and flexible. If you can't hunt down your own answers and require to be told how to do something, self teaching is not for you.
The self teaching way isn't always clear, but I can say that it gets clearer and clearer the more you do it. The large bonus is, you don't end up in any debt. The downside is, isolation and you might not have a clear sense of doing the "right" things for a while. Ateliers are a good alternative to the typical university degree option, the growing number of online mentorships etc, are a cost effective way of getting some direction when you need. In terms of the social side, well like anything, nobody is going to force a social life onto you. The onus will be on you to live your life, and pay attention to the areas where you need to work on, social life, getting out there and experiencing other things, developing other interests and so on.
One thing I have noticedd as what might be a difference between self taught and school taught artists, is that the self teachers seem to be naturally more curious, resourceful and have a broader range of skills because of the nature of having to hunt down your own resources, and go down dead ends and so on. Not saying they are better artists, it just seems to be a thing. The number of times I have sent online resources that I thought everybody knew about, to artists who only went to art school, and realised they had no clue it was there, is pretty high.
Actually we are all self taught, whether we go to art school or not. Structured courses are good because they have a progression you can follow with confidence (must be a good school/ateliers!). but if you aren't doing your own study as well, you won't get the most out of them. Also what happens when you are done with your degree/school? If you are not already in the habit of self teaching, you can end up feeling a bit lost for a while.
I found this interactive on college graduate art stats. The data is from a couple of years ago, but you can have a look. Not to convince you of anything, just for interest.
http://snaap.indiana.edu/snaapshot/
One thing I will say which is the closest thing to an absolute you will hear from me: You don't need a degree at all. Anyone who says you do for art is a complete utter total ignoramous about art.
To answer your questions.
I am totally self taught.
I started seriously self teaching almost 4 years ago, but I took a break of almost 8 months during that, so over 3 years consecutive time I guess.
I got commissions after 1 year, which were ok, but I just wasn't ready to be able to handle them yet (Discipline, business side etc) and I realised that unless the money is fair, I ended up resenting the jobs and so I stopped seeking them out.
I went fulltime freelance 6 months ago, after 3 years of self teaching, but the folio I used was identical to that of a year previous, so if I bothered, I probably could have started fulltime after 2.5 years of self teaching.
Oh also I was working a fulltime day job most of that time, and went down to a 4 day week in the last year. So I was probably only able to put in 0-4 hours each day.
I and many many others out there are proof that it can be done. The main factor is dedication and persistance, and the abillty to be resourceful and flexible. If you can't hunt down your own answers and require to be told how to do something, self teaching is not for you.
The self teaching way isn't always clear, but I can say that it gets clearer and clearer the more you do it. The large bonus is, you don't end up in any debt. The downside is, isolation and you might not have a clear sense of doing the "right" things for a while. Ateliers are a good alternative to the typical university degree option, the growing number of online mentorships etc, are a cost effective way of getting some direction when you need. In terms of the social side, well like anything, nobody is going to force a social life onto you. The onus will be on you to live your life, and pay attention to the areas where you need to work on, social life, getting out there and experiencing other things, developing other interests and so on.
One thing I have noticedd as what might be a difference between self taught and school taught artists, is that the self teachers seem to be naturally more curious, resourceful and have a broader range of skills because of the nature of having to hunt down your own resources, and go down dead ends and so on. Not saying they are better artists, it just seems to be a thing. The number of times I have sent online resources that I thought everybody knew about, to artists who only went to art school, and realised they had no clue it was there, is pretty high.
Actually we are all self taught, whether we go to art school or not. Structured courses are good because they have a progression you can follow with confidence (must be a good school/ateliers!). but if you aren't doing your own study as well, you won't get the most out of them. Also what happens when you are done with your degree/school? If you are not already in the habit of self teaching, you can end up feeling a bit lost for a while.
I found this interactive on college graduate art stats. The data is from a couple of years ago, but you can have a look. Not to convince you of anything, just for interest.
http://snaap.indiana.edu/snaapshot/
One thing I will say which is the closest thing to an absolute you will hear from me: You don't need a degree at all. Anyone who says you do for art is a complete utter total ignoramous about art.