[LAlaLA xD]

I've been thinking this through for a while now and I really want to major in art. fine arts to be exact. i've been talking to many people and they all say you can't live off with a job that's based on art. so all you artists out there, if you majored in art, please share your experience.

[FLY HIGHHH]

oh i wanna know this too.

[xxingy_XP]

ok i'm sorry if i get info wrong here, but according to my art teacher, Yes, you can. the whole starving artist thing is completely false. If you graduate from um... let's see.. for example... RISD or the art institute in Chicago, or this one other extremely competitive school in New York or something. Agh, i can't remember it's name. but whatever.

those schools are very prestigious, and you can basically establish a name for yourself right there, and you'll be able to find connections immediately. those schools train you to make a living in the future off of solely paintings, unlike some other art schools, such as the art center of pasadena, california, where that school helps you find a job immediately after graduating.

and besides, there are lots of extremely famous painters, like Thomas something, who earn loads off of their paintings that show poor technique and poor other stuff. it just has to appeal to the public in order to sell.

[litoxshortaii]

^ but at the same time, you shouldnt be making things JUST to please the public and make money. if that's what you plan on doing, that's the same as any other boring job right? the whole reason ur going into the field is bc you enjoy it, not bc it pleases other ppl.

[iDoof]

it's all part of a packaged deal. You don't become an artist without knowing that there is a high chance of making like no money. When people think "artist", they often think of the bohemian lifestyle. There's a reason for that.


That's not to say there aren't ways to make money. Like xxingy_XP says, you can try to appeal to the public, and make it more of a business endeavor. Specifically what type of art do you want to do for a living? You could be an illustrator or an animator, or do computer art or something....people like Disney or occasionally Pixar (you often need a computer science degree) will want you. Or you could do graphic design and work for a magazine or advertising company.


You might also consider a double major. Show employers that you didn't just spend 4 years doing art all the time, that you have something else valuable that they might be able to use.


All in all, the best approach is to be humble about it. Don't go about it refusing to believe what people tell you. UNDERSTAND that there are common risks and choose to ignore them (if you care that much about art....that isn't meant to be sarcastic) or act accordingly.




P.S. I'm majoring in Cognitive Science, with a focus on visual perception. I'm also taking a bunch of visual art classes on the side cause that's my thing. I figure the two classes will help me see things differently in both fields...so I can eventually bring something sort of unique to the table, you know what I mean?

[Jaeho]

When you mean fine arts, what do you mean? Painting/drawing? Because you don't NEED to paint masterpieces all the time and try to sell them. You can do a whole bunch of things, such as illustrating books and other commercial stuff... But of course, there are separate majors such as illustration, animation, commercial art, and etc.