To live from a passion is a beautiful challenge because there is nothing more fulfilling than that. Indeed, doing what you love, and being paid for it, is a great satisfaction. Of course, the road to living from one's passion can be full of difficulties. Here are 7 tips to succeed in living from your passion for drawing.
Knowing the artistic professions
Drawing is beautiful, but knowing exactly what job to aim for is even better. With the appearance of the applied arts, but even more so with technological progress, many creative trades have emerged. Whether in the plastic arts, performing arts or design, there are many ways to make a living from your passion. Returning to drawing, it can take many forms. For example, as an artist, it will then lead you to a profession as a painter, sculptor or even a visual artist. But you can also turn towards digital creation professions, such as concept artist, digital painter, game artist, illustrator, computer graphic designer to work in publishing and advertising, the world of games or 2D / 3D animation.
And, that's not all, since drawing can also support you in universes related to graphics, architecture, design and decoration. The range of possibilities is therefore very wide, but you still need to find an artistic formation with an outlet.
Choosing an artistic formation with outlets
Today there are more than a thousand art schools. Whether they are prepas, BTS, universities or public/private schools, the choice is plethoric and must be sorted out. Public schools have the advantage of being recognized by professionals and they also have a minimal cost, even if the selection is difficult. If you choose a public school, check the career opportunities and don't hesitate to look at the posts held by former graduates of the school.
Preparing to enter the job market
After completing your training in the arts with opportunities, entering the job market can sometimes be a source of disillusionment. To be prepared for this, do not hesitate to meet with former students, teachers or experienced artists. Don't hesitate to remain open to other artistic paths than the one you prefer at the base. The formation that you will have followed may be very specific to a profession or may have allowed you to be multidisciplinary. If this is the case, you can therefore start your career in visual communication or performance, if of course your formation allows you to do so, and then in few years , you can go back to illustration if that is your passion and if you have the appropriate skills.
Know the required qualities
In order to make a living from drawing, you need special qualities, whether as an employee or as a freelancer. The main advice is to go to the essentials, not to get lost in the details and to realize that the drawing provided is only a part of the complete message. A complete message that can be an animation or a game for example.
You will also have to know how to sell yourself, we will talk about that below, but also how to find customers. For this, our times are great because you have many tools at your disposal. You will be able to create a portfolio on WordPress easily and be referenced on Google. Or you can register on a freelance platform like Malt or Graphiste.com to get started, or even create a Deviantart account.
In any case, if you have chosen an artistic formation with an outlet for your studies, you will surely find it easier to get started and you will have the required skills!
Make yourself known
If you want to start freelancing after your formation, it is possible, but it takes time; you will have to start by prospecting since you will not be known. You can start by sending your portfolio to agencies and studios to be part of their freelance team. This can take time, six months to a year for a test, but if you are talented, it is possible. Don't hesitate to diversify too, to go from illustration to advertising design, or from games to animation to publishing, so that you can attract different clients!
Knowing how to sell yourself
A crucial point for the young independent drawer is to know how to sell himself. Today, thanks to the Internet, it is possible to find many freelancers in many fields, often at very low costs. It will therefore be complicated to survive in all this concurrence, but it is your talent that must make the difference... and not your derisory price, because you will not be able to make a living from your passion like that. So when you start, don't sell off your prices, because then it will be very complicated to go back...
Discover the Artline Institute's formations
Now that you know the main tips for living from your passion, we would be only too happy to advise you to look at the art courses with opportunities offered by the Artline Institute. Whether you are interested in digital creative professions such as game art or digital painting, or even in graphic design or computer graphics, there is surely the diploma formation of your dreams at the Artline Institute.
