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Art Carreer Advice NZ
12 years ago
(Just received a really nice letter from someone asking for advice. I wrote quite a lot in return so i thought i might put it up here for anyone else who might fine it useful~ ^^)
(my reply)
I am ALWAYS happy to talk to people about art! The first half of my reply i want to say is a bit of general advice i find works for artist.
I guess the first thing ill say is that if you asking people questions then your on the right track! All the advice you can get is a good thing! Never loose that attitude.
The second thing is this, pursue ANY opportunity that comes your way to work with creative people. If there is a company you want to work for then i recommend you look up their criteria and get to know people that already work there. That way you can build your learning around making sure you get into that job.
Lastly on general advice, (and i would say most importantly) try to envision the perfect job experience. It might sound a bit quaint, but write down on a piece of paper the perfect vision of yourself as an artist. Its a trick a lot of people use when their trying to chase a big dreams, and i have found it works.
I currently run a studio where we make all our money doing anime video games for people online. Before i managed to get that to work i had it written down on a piece of paper. It looked like something a four-year-old would write, but for the most part everything on that paper is now real XD. I still have one i am constantly updating to fit all my new dreams.
Imagine things like wearing a painting smock and tilting your head at the latest piece you'll be adding to your exhibition line up. Write those kinds of things down and commit to it. My thoughts are if you cant commit to the simple act of understanding and believing in what you want, its probably not gonna happen ^^;
Now to answer your more specific questions my advice is always skewed towards my own personal experiences so it may not be right for you, but ill give it to you any way. XD
If your considering a school make sure you KNOW that the courses your taking WILL help you achieve your dream job. College is a REALLY expensive way to try to 'find yourself as an artist'. If your gonna end up spending 20k+ make sure its in a way that will eventually pay its self back!!! The job market is slathered in people with degrees, you need more than that to stand out these days.
And about that job market, New Zealand is kinda a bad place for illustrators and animators to find work. There are a whole lot of studios around the place, but they are mostly really small or incredibly specific ><. While i say its always worth talking to the people who run these things and showing them your portfolio, I might also say that if you get a job somewhere its out of either a frightening amount of dedication to an EXACT company or just a fluke of luck. ^^;
My approach to the NZ job market was to make a lot of international friends, both professional and casual. I make them through conventions and through online networking sites like DA. Through them i have developed a customer base of friends and fans, a network for professional advice, and people who occasionally offer me work! Maintaining those contacts is a lot of work, but worth every second!
Now I have a lot to say about commissions but ill try to make it simple. There are three things you should know about commissions-
One, NEVER let yourself make less than minimum wage. If someone gives you $15(NZD) to do a commission, than that buys them about 1 hour of your time because that is minimum wage. If they give you $100(NZD) , thats about 6 hours work. If your not confident about what your doing, just do it for free. Working probono will bring you much more value than undercharging.
Two, learn to market yourself. Do things that help you actively promote your commissions. Do whatever it takes to let people know that your cool and you're taking commissions right now!!!! Get a gimic! (Mine is called puppy love! >>> http://studioknockout.com/pl <<<) Cheep prices is only one of many ways to attract customers and its not even the best one.
Three, work as efficiently as you can! Do things in bulk if you can. When i do commissions i usually work on an large and do about 2-5 characters at a time. If you have a tablet, use live-stream or join-me to do your commissions. Get your customer watching you work, it cuts out a lot of really annoying back and forth time. Plus, it can make you new fans if your regular about doing it. Its like TV show for a lot of people!
But i wont overload you with too much more information. This seems like the sort of thing i should probably put up as a journal. XD I might just do that if you dont mind?
Let me know if this helps at all, im always willing to do what i can to help!
Nai nai~~
(original letter)
Hello Nai!
This may be a bit weird coming out of the blue, but I wanted to ask for some career/study advice.
I've been thinking recently that I want to do a career involved with creative arts. But I'm not sure how to go about it, I recall you saying that you felt that going to art school was the only way you could get better?
It's because I was thinking if I should re-enter study again on a creative arts course/degree (looking at something amongst the fields of illustration/animation), but I wasn't sure if it's the best thing to do?
So I guess what I'm trying to say is that I'm not sure if I should go to art school to improve my art, or am I able to improve my art on the side at my own pace to a level good enough for commissions.
And I wasn't sure how 'available' the job market is for artists/how easy it is to get employment, and if it would be worth spending the money for tertiary study, in a degree that might not have that much job prospects after all.
Sorry if I come off as a bit mumbled jumbled, I just have a lot of questions and I'm just not sure what to do at the moment, and thought it was best to ask around a lot first.
Any advice or experience or ramblings to help me out would be very very awesome! :)
I know you're really busy so I thank you for taking the time to read this, and if you decide to reply!!
-Alice
(my reply)
I am ALWAYS happy to talk to people about art! The first half of my reply i want to say is a bit of general advice i find works for artist.
I guess the first thing ill say is that if you asking people questions then your on the right track! All the advice you can get is a good thing! Never loose that attitude.
The second thing is this, pursue ANY opportunity that comes your way to work with creative people. If there is a company you want to work for then i recommend you look up their criteria and get to know people that already work there. That way you can build your learning around making sure you get into that job.
Lastly on general advice, (and i would say most importantly) try to envision the perfect job experience. It might sound a bit quaint, but write down on a piece of paper the perfect vision of yourself as an artist. Its a trick a lot of people use when their trying to chase a big dreams, and i have found it works.
I currently run a studio where we make all our money doing anime video games for people online. Before i managed to get that to work i had it written down on a piece of paper. It looked like something a four-year-old would write, but for the most part everything on that paper is now real XD. I still have one i am constantly updating to fit all my new dreams.
Imagine things like wearing a painting smock and tilting your head at the latest piece you'll be adding to your exhibition line up. Write those kinds of things down and commit to it. My thoughts are if you cant commit to the simple act of understanding and believing in what you want, its probably not gonna happen ^^;
Now to answer your more specific questions my advice is always skewed towards my own personal experiences so it may not be right for you, but ill give it to you any way. XD
If your considering a school make sure you KNOW that the courses your taking WILL help you achieve your dream job. College is a REALLY expensive way to try to 'find yourself as an artist'. If your gonna end up spending 20k+ make sure its in a way that will eventually pay its self back!!! The job market is slathered in people with degrees, you need more than that to stand out these days.
And about that job market, New Zealand is kinda a bad place for illustrators and animators to find work. There are a whole lot of studios around the place, but they are mostly really small or incredibly specific ><. While i say its always worth talking to the people who run these things and showing them your portfolio, I might also say that if you get a job somewhere its out of either a frightening amount of dedication to an EXACT company or just a fluke of luck. ^^;
My approach to the NZ job market was to make a lot of international friends, both professional and casual. I make them through conventions and through online networking sites like DA. Through them i have developed a customer base of friends and fans, a network for professional advice, and people who occasionally offer me work! Maintaining those contacts is a lot of work, but worth every second!
Now I have a lot to say about commissions but ill try to make it simple. There are three things you should know about commissions-
One, NEVER let yourself make less than minimum wage. If someone gives you $15(NZD) to do a commission, than that buys them about 1 hour of your time because that is minimum wage. If they give you $100(NZD) , thats about 6 hours work. If your not confident about what your doing, just do it for free. Working probono will bring you much more value than undercharging.
Two, learn to market yourself. Do things that help you actively promote your commissions. Do whatever it takes to let people know that your cool and you're taking commissions right now!!!! Get a gimic! (Mine is called puppy love! >>> http://studioknockout.com/pl <<<) Cheep prices is only one of many ways to attract customers and its not even the best one.
Three, work as efficiently as you can! Do things in bulk if you can. When i do commissions i usually work on an large and do about 2-5 characters at a time. If you have a tablet, use live-stream or join-me to do your commissions. Get your customer watching you work, it cuts out a lot of really annoying back and forth time. Plus, it can make you new fans if your regular about doing it. Its like TV show for a lot of people!
But i wont overload you with too much more information. This seems like the sort of thing i should probably put up as a journal. XD I might just do that if you dont mind?
Let me know if this helps at all, im always willing to do what i can to help!
Nai nai~~
(original letter)
Hello Nai!
This may be a bit weird coming out of the blue, but I wanted to ask for some career/study advice.
I've been thinking recently that I want to do a career involved with creative arts. But I'm not sure how to go about it, I recall you saying that you felt that going to art school was the only way you could get better?
It's because I was thinking if I should re-enter study again on a creative arts course/degree (looking at something amongst the fields of illustration/animation), but I wasn't sure if it's the best thing to do?
So I guess what I'm trying to say is that I'm not sure if I should go to art school to improve my art, or am I able to improve my art on the side at my own pace to a level good enough for commissions.
And I wasn't sure how 'available' the job market is for artists/how easy it is to get employment, and if it would be worth spending the money for tertiary study, in a degree that might not have that much job prospects after all.
Sorry if I come off as a bit mumbled jumbled, I just have a lot of questions and I'm just not sure what to do at the moment, and thought it was best to ask around a lot first.
Any advice or experience or ramblings to help me out would be very very awesome! :)
I know you're really busy so I thank you for taking the time to read this, and if you decide to reply!!
-Alice
Only thing I'll disagree with is this:
"If your not confident about what your doing, just do it for free. Working probono will bring you much more value than undercharging."
Better to discount a bit if you're not confident. Doing it for free not only contradicts the "don't work for less than minimum wage", but you also end up with nothing. Better less money than none at all :V
Just my two cents.