Is An Art Career Right For You?

[@MimimooIllustration]

Do you have any experience with getting paid for your art, and did you find that it drained the passion out of it? Let us know! And thanks to Skillshare for sponsoring this video, remember that the first 500 people to use my link will get a 1 month free trial of Skillshare: skl.sh/mimimooillustration09241 🎉

[@EnTeoríaIlustraciones]

If you make your hobby a job, it's a JOBBY!!! 😂 It's the best to be able to work on what you love to do... It's not easy, but it's my dream

[@dakshagiri]

Jobby is so hilarious❤😂

[@afkashinuu3737]

I WANT A JOBBY

[@mimisart]

Love that word ❤😊

[@mimisart]

I love these type of videos. It’s honest and transparent. I think I want to focus on one thing at a time. Going at my own pace and have to keep reminding myself that it doesn’t have to happen over night, because it won’t 😊. Being a single mom with kids with disabilities doesn’t allow me to go full force. And I have to be honest with myself about what’s attainable and that my journey might take a bit longer. But as long as I keep moving and doing.

[@dakshagiri]

Firstly I wanna appreciate your video production, loved it! Secondly, I am happy to see Henrietta come to life!! Thirdly, I remember being a newbie 6 years ago thinking whether I could really pursue art when no one around me believed in it but here I am in my art career (although not perfect), but I am so proud to call myself an artist! Loved the video ❤

[@art4anj]

Perfectly said! ❤ My college friends and I are all artists in our preferred fields but I’m the only one who does art full time. We talk openly about our experiences and struggles in our jobs and have discussed our varying mental health when it comes to pursuing art. Most of them admit that the pressure of making money with their art ruins their love for it while me and another friend of mine are motivated by the challenge of overcoming and achieving exactly that! I’m not at a stable place yet in my art career BUT just like what you said on 1:55 “even the most stressful days as an artist are still days when I get to make art for my job” is how I feel about mine. It’s an absolute BLESSING for me that I’m even living my childhood dream now considering I gave up pursuing it in my 20s (I’m in my 30s now) 🥰

[@pii_27]

Thank you for this. This is my dream job. To make my art my work. You're one of the reasons that push me to pursue it and now, I'm doing something to make it happen little by little. ❤❤❤

[@SketchingWithShell]

I found doing paid commissions (pet portraits) really stressful and started not even enjoying it 🫣 The bad reference photos, the pressure, the anxiety if they will like it….Thats my only experience so far, atm it’s a hobby again and I’m happy with that😊

[@ChantelleArts]

I've been working on growing for a while and still hoping it will all go well in the end, your tips are always so helpful 🥰

[@ChewsAtelier]

Thank you for sharing another super valuable and insightful video! I especially agree with the part that "we quit 9-5 to work 24/7" 😂 I literally have to force myself to shut my brain and not think about any work-related stuff on Sundays 😅

[@lucysmith7658]

Thanks Mimi, I appreciate your business videos and especially your Skillshare class. I am in the process of establishing my business and will be releasing my first Picture Book in the next few months (Yay!) it has been so encouraging to watch your journey, thank you!

[@MimimooIllustration]

Oh that's so exciting! I hope it all goes well 🥰

[@peregrination3643]

I have a friend that's a fitness nut but through work learned to hate it. She switched to something that was unrelated to anything she has an interest in. I'm the opposite. I like to learn a little of everything, but I always need to mostly focus on a handful of major interests. My problem market-wise is that my subject matter is specialized, but I love to do anything from traditional art to writing to photography. Right now I moderate this by making copywriting and graphic design the main "jobs" and other forms of writing and art are mostly hobbies--they might grow one day into good income, but they are mostly free to be whatever while the main "jobs" hold down the fort. I like each skill, but switching between two mindsets blocks me from feeling burnt out.

[@nickorange4881]

How did you figure out which to make jobs and which to keep as hobbies?

[@IamDoomii]

For the last 2 years or so I've really really wanted to start drawing digitally and eventually learn Animation as well. The art has always intrigued me how people create cartoons & anime etc so I've been looking into buying a cheap graphics tablet first that doesn't have a screen to try so I don't spend hundreds of dollars on a drawing tablet c: Hopefully by the of the year i'll have already started on it.

[@straydogstrut115]

If you don’t mind me saying, that’s exactly where I’m at currently too: I want to pursue digital illustration, but I also want to learn animation. Too many ideas and too little time😅 I picked up Alex Grigg’s animation basecamp course on early access. I haven’t started it yet, but having watched his free videos on KZbin, I know it will be high quality. It was 50% off at the time, but looks to still be 15% off. You can use any animation software with the course, but Alex suggests Rough Animator which is $6.99 USD. However, I didn’t have a tablet to work on. I did have a drawing tablet years ago - the Wacom Bamboo - but personally I found it very difficult to get over looking at the screen, rather than where I was drawing. They are a cheaper option though so if you can work like that it’s definitely an entry level option to consider. That said, I know that I personally prefer the immediacy of drawing with pencil and paper so I wanted to find the digital equivalent. I would love to get an iPad but financially that’s just not an option for me at the moment. Again, if you don’t mind some unsolicited advice, I’d like to share the option I went with. I know everyone’s circumstances are different, so I don’t want to make assumptions that this is necessarily the best fit for you though. I saw an animator on Instagram (The Bookish Animator) using the Intuos Kamvas 13 pen display to create art and animations. There’s a demo of it in their FAQ on their profile. It connects to your existing computer so is basically like having a second display, but you can draw on it. It’s about £200 on Amazon (UK) so very much an entry level pen display. The display has several buttons you can map to different keyboard commands and comes with a pen that also has two buttons. Again, money is just really tight at the moment so rather than buy it outright, i’ve spread the cost over three payments. Amazon offers that as an option, but I believe PayPal does similar. Again, I know that’s not an option for everyone but I thought I would suggest it. I’ve only worked on one tutorial so far with the Intuos Kamvas 13, but I’m very happy with it. I used Photoshop since I’m paying for Creative Cloud but I believe it will work with any graphics software you can run on your computer. I would just point out that if you’re on macOS like me, you have to buy the Intuos USB-C cable as the cables that come with it are intended for PC (my MacBook doesn’t have a HDMI port). I hope that helps and good luck on your art journey😊

[@IamDoomii]

@@straydogstrut115 Advice is always welcome, thank you! ♥ And yes you are right money is tight atm so using Afterpay or another service to spread out the payments is the way to go. I live in Australia so it'd be around $250 AUD or so for the pen display not including any extras and it's still relatively cheap, as for drawing programs Krita, CSP or any drawing program that is free will be good for beginners and i'm on Windows.

[@straydogstrut115]

I'm not seeing all my comments so will attempt to post again just in case this one didn't make it through. However, feel free to ignore if my original comment wasn't of interest though!😅 I basically said i'm in the same position: wanting to develop my skills in illustration and animation. I recently picked up Alex Grigg's animation bootcamp which is still on sale. Although I haven't started it yet, they have really good animation fundamentals videos on their KZbin channel so I feel confident recommending them. Plus you can use Rough Animator which is an inexpensive animation programme. However, I didn't have a tablet to take full advantage of the course. While I would love an iPad, that's just out of my budget at the moment. I have used a graphics tablet in the past, but I really struggled with (for me personally) the disconnect between seeing the screen and not seeing where I was placing the pen. I wouldn't discount it if it's something you wanted to try though. Instead, i've picked up a Huion Kamvas 13 pen display. It's very much an entry level pen display, but i've been very impressed with the screen size and responsiveness. It was around £200 (UK), though i've spread the cost over three payments through Amazon Payments (PayPal also does similar). Again, i'm not suggesting that's an option for everyone though. The only thing that caught me out about the Kamvas 13, is the cables it comes with are designed for PC. I have a macBook that doesn't have USB ports or HDMI ports so couldn't use it. I instead had to buy the Huion branded USB-C cable. The good news is it draws power from this though so it's simple to plug into my macBook and start drawing (you need to install some light Huion configuration software, but that was easy). I hope that helps and best wishes on your art journey🙂

[@MyCozyAbode]

Being an art content creator is so difficult. Glad that you found some success ❤

[@jbn2658]

Thank you for this and all of your clear-minded, helpful videos!!🙌🏻🙌🏻

[@DrawingwithAngie]

Thank you for the advices and the points you made in this video! As a growing artist, my dream is to make art my main income, which is why I created this KZbin channel and my Instagram page! Thank you for all the inspiration, I’d probably never have done it without your videos ❤

[@MimimooIllustration]

Aw that's amazing! 👏🥰

[@PracheetJoshi]

This video was great. It discussed all the aspects of the main question and answered all the questions as they came to my mind.

[@mayacosy]

mimi thank you for creating this video it really helped me understand some of the things I was contemplating. I was in an art block a few months ago now after overcoming it I really want to start my art career your videos always inspire me a lot thank u

[@MimimooIllustration]

I'm so glad to hear that! 🥰💖

[@straydogstrut115]

Thanks for sharing this video Mimi, it’s such a good reference to weigh up the pros and cons. I’m still trying to establish a regular art habit and finding it slow going, but I’m enjoying making art for arts sake. I would like to consider some kind of income from art in the future but I don’t think I could deal with the stress of working with clients. I’ve worked with clients in my current non-art career, but it’s different when you have a larger company and a team around you. I think the biggest worry for me would be maintaining a stable income. As the sole earner and with hoping to one day afford our own place, I really need that regular pay check. That said, I would like to try running my own business, selling art that people may want to buy - though I’m on the fence about stock vs print on demand - and would love to one day publish my own picture books. The extra income would allow me to prepare for the future, but I know it would be a slow burn. I think so long as I can balance the stability of a regular 9-5 role and a part time art business, I can see it working. This year I’m just focusing on pursuing art for my own interest and well-being. It has been such a pleasure being part of your lovely community. I find myself inspired every day, even if I’m still trying to develop a habit😊

[@MimimooIllustration]

It can definitely be a slow burn but if you can build something that you enjoy then after some trial and error it can work! I think you're approaching it from a great angle though of pursuing it for yourself first and going from there 😊✨

[@jaroslavaart]

I am pretty confused these past few months. I dropped out of art academy because of bad mental health condition. I was burned out pretty badly and now I don't know what to do with my free time. I got 9-5 job again and paused on my art a little bit. But I have always wanted to be a professional artist. My art style is very realistic and I love to make portraits of people and animals. And I am afraid that this kind of style is not so cute as yours. Nevertheless, I have a goal to learn to draw and paint good enough to take commissions. Thanks for the video! ❤😊

[@nickorange4881]

Lots of people like realistic. And the realistic art cuteness I think depends on the photo used as a reference .

[@henderson-i5p]

Your artist orks are super cool! 😎

[@Wrathgir]

For me I did try to persue art as my career. I think I went about it the wrong way cause I started it without any money or backup funds. Since I am bad with the advertising part of it I lost a lot of business. And when I was pushing myself I got too drained of my passion. So I am taking this time with the job I have gotten that is a sorta 9-5 to save a bit of money to be able to try again without so much pressure. I try working on my art on my spare time and sometimes stream it. Maybe one day I will be jumping back to it, till then I will try not to be too drained from this job and work some on my art when I can.

[@rovelynabarico1042]

Such an inspirational vid..I will try to do this everyday 😊😊just love it

[@rovelynabarico1042]

Yey🎉🎉🎉more live sketching❤❤❤❤I enjoy your video😊

[@fuzzydragons]

lol yeah its def a 24/7 job😝 if im not drawing, im thinking of ideas lol

[@claudiafabri3]

Thank you for sharing your experiences. 🥰

[@Walkingpanda-vi3fi]

I have a question. I have a graphic tablet nad computer bit that's a insane to anger work station as my living space isn't enough nad protected. Which computer or tablet is more compact and affordable

[@vishal4nw]

Can we even do this as a job now days with ai out there. Ai made me wanna give up

[@13trix63]

How do you become orders or publisher for your books?

[@ijamie4981]

hi there, what else do you use for drawing? ipad? thanks for the answer 😄

[@Pixeliota]

🧡🧡🧡🧡🧡🧡

[@nimishanair1]

Thank you for yet another insightful video! 🫶 It has always been a struggle between what i like to draw and what people like to see me draw. Sometimes it does get overwhelming. Creating a balance between the two is what i aim for too, as working solely on what the client wants hasn't been a successful strategy for me so far. Keep making such helpful videos Mimi. Kudos to you! Much love ❤️✨

[@MimimooIllustration]

It's such a tricky balance isn't it, and sometimes hard to even know what people want to see!