[FLY HIGHHH]

I want to major in fine art and get a career later on relating to art.
But my mom is constantly nagging on me telling me not to because I'm just going to become a broke without a job when I get out of college.
But fine art is the only thing I have a little talent in and nothing else.
What should I do?

[ROS4]

get into an art school. Artist do get paid and it`s a well respected job. Parents,especially from Asia,well..art isn`t exactly something to be thrilled about in the parent`s book.whatever.just go for it.get as much help as you can and hopefully your parents will see how serious you are and ultimately agree with you.

[CALI-sweetie]

omg I'm in the exact same situation. My mom isnt nagging me, she says it's my choice, but I can tell by her face that she isn't very happy.. so yeah

[kinesis]

well, you could go a lot of ways with art. why not choose a specific branch like architecture, interior design, graphic design, or something. if you major in art, it's kind of.. too broad? i dunno

[xx_swit_c_xx]

My parents were always behind me with my decision to persue art (graphic design major). And yes, for me it's basically the only thing I'm good at haha...

Just IGNORE what your parents say. Like seriously, but i mean don't like scream at them but 1) try talking to them that life isn't about ony making money but just doing what you're good at and what you like... and if that doesn't work i think after TIME they'll see that art is what you really love.. and then maybe after you start taking classes, showing them your artwork from college, they'll notice that it's not easy.

lol.. people always think art is some stupid major. I'm sure it's just as hard as medical majors all that friggen time andn no sleep! gahh lol. yeah, but still just stay with it unless YOu decide you wanna go to another route. And PLUS haha.. even if you do what your parents say to do.. what if you fail like all the classes cuz you' just "suck" at those subjects? heh..... i dunno....

it's kinda hard to give advice cuz my parents know that i love what i do and that they're behind me....^^

[Omphie]

Well, with an art major you can be a series of things instead of just a "starving artist" or art teacher.

You can be:
Set designer
Art historian
Graphic Designer
Cartoonist (TV cartoons)
Museam caretaker
Advertising
Criminal Justice perosn (I forgot the title but you just draw the criminals. Like when people try to describe what they look like to catch them)
Interior desginer
Fashion designer (if you want to get into that branch)
etc etc etc etc....

You can do so many things with an art degree, too. YOu can specialize in more than one area so you can incorporate both into your career (like criminal justice and art).

Maybe that will make your parents feel better..

I feel so cool beans knowing that.. lol.. I wish I had more art talent.. My talent sorta sank down.

[Jaeho]

Like xx_swit_c_xx, my parents are behind me. ^^
lol But I know deep in their hearts, they always wanted me to be a lawyer or doctor. =p

Like everyone said, there are many branches... The "starving artist" is just a stereotype.

[Loveee]

I am in the same position, . My parents and my whole family are really against it because they think that art will get me nowhere and won't allow a secure job.
But that's ok, because they don't know that art is growing bigger and bigger, the chances of getting a job is very high.

[imhyojoo]

i'm going to be a senior in the fall and i'm going to start applying to art schools. i'm planning on majoring in graphic design.

what grade are you in right now? or going to be?

majoring in fine arts won't make you a lot of money. on the other hand, a major in design (graphic design/architecture/interior design/animation/fashion/etc) will make a lot of money depending on how well you do the art and what school you go to.

you don't have to worry about any other art field right now because you learn it in during your soph year in college, but you should have an idea of what design major you would be interested in.

fine arts is something you could do right now and even when you're very old. i talked to many people about it and everyone i spoke to told me that majoring in fine arts is a bad idea.

hope i helped =]
if you have any other questions, you can pm me about it.

[FLY HIGHHH]

thank you guys a LOT for answering my questions and taking time to read my post !!

i'm a junior, getting my portfolio ready,, etc.

but if i choose my major in fine art for college, can i get into let's say,, graphic/set design or animation later on? or do i have to be focused on one thing throughout the 4 years of college?

anyway thanks you guys.. i seriously didn't expect such helpful advices & comments ^^;

[Omphie]

I'm not quite too sure but I think that you can.

For set design you have to take history because you need to get the time period and setting accurate..

Have you ever considered majoring in fine arts and minoring in whatever?

I learned out some art careers a while ago and I believe that to specialize in an area you need more than just art (like for set design you need history)

[Rini]

One of my friends wanted to go to Art School.
His mother told him to get a 'stable' job as a precaution before going to art school.
Like a major you know where you will be earning money, such as med. school.
If it makes you happy go to art school.
But, yes lots of parents say majoring in art is for the rich...as a way of nagging.
Or at least the parents I know of.

[aRtzy*faRtzy]

Ahhhh, a dilemna a lot of us go through.

I'm an Illustration major and moving onto my junior year. I love it. I know I'm in the right place. I'm working hard to end up working for a magazine. I'll be honest... it might be a little harder for fine arts majors to land steady jobs. But as artists in general... you have to expect to do free lance for a while. I think it might be easier for Art Education, Illustration, Graphic Design, Interior Design, Architecture, Fashion, or Crafts majors to have jobs because it's directly related to business. But don't be discouraged. If you have the drive, anything is possible. No offense to your parents but screw those people that think of art as a negative thing. I'd rather see a person doing art because they chose to do it instead of having them be my doctor with a nice car and a grudge against life. You know what I mean? And don't worry, all of the professors I meet practically are free lance artists but they make quite a lot of money. I know a fine arts professor in the Painting department and she works for movies. She makes sets and travels all over the world and makes maddd bank. My Russian figure drawing teacher makes thousandsl off of his portraits alone. I had to ask him how he makes his money after he kept walking into class in head to toe designer clothes. (and he's straight ;P) Many alumni work for magazines, design companies, and even movies and television. One of my professors old students is one of the head people for National Geographic. Another works for FOX television. His old friend works for Nationwide Insurance's ad agency and hired that black guy on the commercials. Sales sky-rocketed after those commercials premiered. We don't do these these things for the money, but we never expect the worst either.

But in the end, I hope you choose what you want to do for the rest of your life. Besides... if you don't try it... you don't want to end up wondering what could've happened...

G'luck to you

[dahanizzle]

yea..my parents were like "art makes no money so be something else like a doctor or lawyer" ya know, the typical asian parent crap they tell us

now im going to be a senior this fall and im still working on my portfolio to hopefully get into RISD for industrial design (ind. design is where one can design things like cell phones and MP3's and things like that)

my art teacher said that fine art is REALLY hard to major in and after college it's hard to make a living only with fine arts since its so strict/difficult. Design majors, on the other hand, such as graphic and industrial, can make alot of money and if you're lucky and create some type of design that a big company wants, your life is set haha

sry its so long =X

[Mademoisella]

^ ahah i feel ya on that.. my parents are the same too.
but I'm planning to apply at SCAD

[Maia-X3]

An art-related career was something I always thought would be awesome... until I actually checked out a college and saw the work on display............ I was like... no way... huge competition!!

A few people I know have got money for their art without any sort of major/further education... many are home taught.. so if you wanna be a good artist and have enough determination to make it come true you can easily teach/develop yourself. What I'm trying to say is sometimes you don't need a degree to say you're kickass at art.

I remember I wanted to get into media... my dad gave me the same look and said "It's your life.". I knew he disapproved though. Iono, maybe I'm afraid of the risk... but I'm gonna do my art in my spare time and do something close to "academic" for my degree...

The art/media/entertainment world is all about contacts and talent. If you got both then a piece of paper doesn't make a difference.

I know you want to major in Fine Art.... but this journal entry is pretty interesting.

Illustration as a career. by ~Ethereal-Mind @ deviantART

[kiki]

My relative's brother majored in Graphic Design. It sure did take him a long time to convince his parents, but now he's doing good and making a lot of money. LOL...

I don't have this issue with my parents, maybe because of this relative? He majored in Graphic Design and that's what I plan on majorig in too. Get into a well known Art school in your area.