Not sure what to do as a job - please help!

[montka]

Hey CMON people,

I am twenty and currently deciding what I want to do as a career. I am looking for all the advice/insight I can get!

Without giving my life story, I have always had the ambition to create amazing artwork, and am worried that if I do a normal job I just won\'t realise my ambitions in my spare time. I have always had the feeling that I might end up working as a GW artist, doing drawings and paintings - fantasy and sci-fi are the themes I mainly wish to explore.

However, I\'m not sure if this is a wise path to pursue. One of my main concerns is that even if I do develop my skills to a great standard, there\'s no guarantee they\'ll employ me. Also I am worried that they might not pay me enough to make it a viable career. Also, what if I think I\'d enjoy the job, but I end up disliking it?

If anyone has experience of what the business is like I\'d love your input!

Cheers,
John

 

[james sequeira]

Follow your heart. If your after a decent wage i dont think GW would be the right company. A good portfolio always comes in handy.

 

[frenchkid]

Well I\'m twenty and would hate to have to choose a job right now, I\'m fortunate enougth to be able to keep my options opened for a couple more years. Some more information would be usefull for us to be of any help. What kind of decision do you have to make ? What are your current possibilities and what do you mean by normal job ?
But what you wrote I would say, if you have the possibility of doing a Job you want to do, go for it. In regards to payement from GW I hardly think that would be an issue, they are a firm like any other firm and have to pay their employees acordingly. But if you are not sure that\'s what you want to do, or just think you want to do that because you like it as a hobby maybe you should think about it a bit more before comiting to a career in drawing. I\'m not sure that there are many outcomes after studies in drawing, and I\'m also pretty sure that you can still find time to draw freelance with a normal job.
Anyway, in the end I think that if you\'ve got enougth determination everything is possible. But you should still consider that some choices make things easier

 

[airhead]

A commercial illistrator is a tough job. You will tend to move around a lot from company to company as their needs go up & down.

Secondary considerations are if you are doing art all day long for someone else, will you be able to or want to come home and do art for yourself?

As much as I enjoy painting minis, I would not want to do it as a job (like I am actually good enough to do that ). I am afraid it would take a lot of the joy out of my hobby if I had to do it to someone else\'s standards and timeframes.

But if you are determined to make a living as an artist, I would definately not limit yourself to working for GW. Develope a good portfolio, apply everywhere and take some college courses both in commercial art and business.

 

[montka]

Great to have helpful and interesting comments already

I guess I\'ve been thinking seriously about what I want to do because of two things. Basically I could go for a career in business - possibly management consultancy or banking; very fast paced jobs, which are supposed to be interesting/exciting but you have to devote your entire life to them. If I want to do that then my best chance is to get an internship working for a company next summer, for which I will have to apply in about three weeks to be considered. Just getting an internship will be a huge time commitment.

This kind of work seemed attractive to me because it\'s challenging, mainly, though I won\'t know if it\'s for me until I\'ve tried it out.

The problem is I\'m kind of addicted to painting and drawing! I\'d really like to produce some kind of really amazing painting, or a slayer sword worthy mini. If I\'ve made a piece that really takes people\'s breath away before I die, and which I\'m proud of, I think this will be a really worthwhile achievement. Maybe commercial art isn\'t the perfect way to do that, but I can\'t see a better way.

Maybe I should just tone down the megalomaniac ambitions and paint as a hobby when I can At bare minimum I\'d really like to have a job I respect and enjoy, and still have time for the art fix!

 

[Ogrebane]

Id agree with AH. In this day and age it seems kids are staying home longer and longer so just bludge of your folks till you make your first million.

I always regret joining the airforce instead of going to art college so I would definitely back AH up and say do some courses and work on your art. WHo needs money anyway and a real artist has to be hungry so dont worry about the job stuff.

 

[vincegamer]

If you really want to go into commercial art, then you should learn all of the most up-to-date computer animation software.

I have a friend who won an emmy for his work on the Simpsons, yet he hardly ever seems to be able to make ends meet because jobs for illustrators/animators are few and far between.

 

[skeeve]

GW is not the only company in the world and if art on flat surface is what you are interested is not even the best or biggest. So, while I have absolutely nothing against this idea keep your options open.

My wife at the time of desperation tried to freelance as an illustrator. She is actually very good at it and had all required training and decent portfolio to start from. Well, my general impression was (about 6 years ago in US) that the market was horribly saturated and with and all-pervasive computer graphics \"brush and paper\" artists are less and less attractive to publishers.

In addition, especially when you just start be prepared that your works will be constantly judged and more often then not, judged unfavorably. For some people it is psychologically difficult.

Good luck though.

 

[frenchkid]

Off topic question:
How do you get to be consultant without the diploma that goes with it ? It is my understanding that if you want to be a consultant you need at least a masters, and from a good school if you intend to end up in the big4.

 

[matty1001]

Be a hippy artist man! Bah i would hate to be tied to a desk doing buisness all day, prefer arty/creative style stuff. I study editorial and news media design, so il have a bit of bot worlds, the creativeness of art and the sercurity of an office job.
You could always study something like infographics and take it from there.

 

[Lemmingspawn]

Dude, you\'ve got plenty of time to make decisions, best thing to do is work out a list of what you want to do and start spending time developing the career in them. If you find you don\'t like one, then leave and start another.

Truth be told, as long as you don\'t get to the point where your bills compel you to keep working, you\'ll be fine. If your bills overtake you you\'ll end up stuck in the job you\'re in. But if you can keep things low key for a while, your options will be open, because any job you want to begin at your age will mostly be at the bottom, unless you get a freak position dumped in yer lap!

Just list a few options, talk to some people in those industries and work out what you need to do to get into the industries. A lot of time you\'ll find that it\'s not the job that makes it worth doing, it\'s the conditions.

I\'ve had jobs I loved but worked with idiots, so I hated working there. I\'ve also had jobs which weren\'t all that great, but the people I worked with were awesome so I wanted to stay there, but the job finished up.

 

[Beelzebrush]

Do you have any art/illustration qualifications? Is your portfolio really, really strong?

My advice would be to study in your area of preference.. ie, go do an Illustration degree. This will give you three years to really hone your portfolio and also give you time to make a good strategy for getting work after you finish studying. There would be absolutely nothing to stop you seeking freelance work whilst at university. This route would gives you a professional qualification, which, whilst not absolutely essential for freelance work, is very important for getting into a salaried position.

I took this route from school, 4 years studying Graphic Design and Illustration to HND level followed by 2 years Fine Art at Degree level. I\'m no longer working as either a designer or illustrator (mainly because it wasn\'t for me really) but am now designing (and constructing) gardens and landscapes, which on the face of it doesn\'t seem totally relevant to my qualifications but I guarantee that without the uni courses I wouldn\'t have gone down this route.

 

[TAB Studio]

I do the gardening also and it is very artistic. it is seasonal/weather effected so it may leave room for the painting etc.

I am back in school after many years and taking multimedia..I just love it ...it involves all types of art , because there is only so long I will be able to labor so I might as well prep for that.

 

[montka]

@ Ogrebane - yeah, if I didn\'t do art airforce was gonna be my first choice, army second. Unfortunately I don\'t have the eyesight for either! (Probably too much painting/reading ) Default after that I\'m still searching for to be honest.

@Lemmingspawn - that\'s a great point about the conditions. I suppose having a laugh at work now and then must be pretty important.

I don\'t have an impressive portfolio or any qualifications! But I do believe that I have the ability to reach a professional level soon, if I put the time in. Kind of makes deciding what to do important, so I can put the time in and get wherever it is I decide to go!

 

[MarkusTay]

A TAB sighting!

Anyhow, going into art, any art, is always unbelievably hard. Most artists, even the great ones, died broke. Art is one of those professions that you need to have TWO gifts - you must be incredibly talented AND be incredibly lucky. The luck comes in when you are \'discovered\'. Millions of great artists die every year in obscurity, while others with mediocre talent go far, because they were in the right place at the right time.

Take Matt Dillon, for example (acting is one of the \'arts\') A director saw him in a parking lot, and liked the way HE SMOKED A CIGARETTE! Thirty years later he\'s still making movies, and he still can\'t act!

So what I\'m trying to say is, stick to your dreams, but learn something else to fall back on. Try to find a tradesman and work your way through college, even if only over the summer and on weekends. Even if you make it in your dream job it still a good idea to know how to swing a hammer or use a screwdriver when you own your own home.

 

[Evil Dave]

As MarkusTay said, learning a backup skill is vital if you do not want to become a Starving Artist.

Have you looked into the Navy? Many skills applicable to the real world and the chance to travel.

 

[Dragonsreach]

Originally posted by Evil Dave
Have you looked into the Navy? Many skills applicable to the real world and the chance to travel.

Montka is English.
Ask War-Griffon about the Royal Navy. (Just in case you think of following Evil Dave\'s suggestion)

 

[Torn blue sky]

First up I joined the army as a grease monkey, after that you at least got a trade you can use
Plus the backgrounds a widely respected one! Bonus!