Quarter life crisis

[Twisted_and_Tainted]

This may not be appropriate but I'll give it another shot.

I posted a similar thread about a year ago and have made little progress in deciding what to do and how to do it. I'm 22, from the UK, and I'm going to finish my degree in philosophy in May this year.

I have two distinct options at the moment:

1) Do a 1 year PGCE to teach R.E (the only thing I would be qualified to teach, very well, even though I'm not religious myself) at highschool level, fall into a teaching job on a tidy reliable salary and climb up the school ladder from there. This can happen very very easily.

..or..

2) (My heart is in this one) - Dedicate my time to aquiring the skills to become a concept artist. I've been drawing all my life and took art at highschool and college, but I did not get on with my teachers because of their teaching style.. it really was a mess. All my knowledge of art is practically self taught, so I may not have the theories ingrained in me so well. I reckon I'm a decent traditional sketcher/illustrator and painter, but I possess no knowledge of any digital art techniques or programs.

I'm knowledgeable about all manner of games, old and new, RPG's, a wide range of fine art and the whole fantasy genre is something I've been obsessed with since I used to watch my older brother play pen & paper D&D with his friends when I was a little kid. (I got a Monstrous Manual for Christmas once)

Q's:

Can I do (2) now, realistically, and be successful? Is there any kind of fast track way to gain the skills needed? I dont care about the money, I just want to draw and do something I love for a career. Money is a bonus.

Can I do (1) to support myself and have a decent ammount of time to pursue (2) outside of normal working hours?

I'm really stuck. I have the teaching people waiting for me with open arms while help regarding an art career is scarce, which is why this site has been invaluable to me ever since I joined and started reading the forum.

Thanks for reading this far and looking forward to any responses,
T&T

[Smarty]

I really don't think 22 is too late at all. I think concept artists are self taught in nature especially here in the UK, mainly because there isn't a curriculum that emcompasses everything you might need.

I say go for it! There is people who have gained a tremendous amount of skill in a short amount of time because they cleared they're life of all other distractions. I think Sinix is one of these people. Also i heard somewhere that jon foster didn't start illustrating till his late twenties?

Get yourself set up in the cheapest place you can and just draw! Sign up for any life drawing or similar courses in your area.

PS. At my school RE teachers ALWAYS got the hardest time!

[Akateros]

22 is young.

You CAN work and pursue art "on the side," and there are those who've done it—but you need a LOT of dedication to do it. An easy job and an easy salary spoils you, faster than you'd think, and the security then frightens you away from taking chances. Before you know it, you're in your late thirties, you've got a comfortable lifestyle and a miserable job with great benefits, you're tired all the time, and the idea of going out and trying to rebuild an art career with no health insurance and the possibility that you might not be able to buy groceries some weeks scares the crap out of you.<== my life in a depressing nutshell

On the specifics of teaching, two things.

One: I don't know how it is in the UK, but here in Canada, and I believe the US as well, teachers tend to be expected to do a lot of extra-curricular things, which can eat a lot of your time. Most teachers I know spend most of their nights and weekends marking, and stay after school doing various things. If that's the case over there as well, and you don't play that game because you're too busy pursuing art after hours, I doubt that your teaching career will go far.

Two: I have personal strong feelings on the subject, and I believe that teaching is NOT a thing one should do if one's heart is elsewhere. There's absolutely nothing worse than a teacher who doesn't love the job, and they scar thousands of young minds.

[Twisted_and_Tainted]

Thanks for the responses guys. Kyle, I understand what you mean about the self-taught aspect to what concept artists do. I plan on having a very busy summer.. busy in an constructive/artistic way. I found some evening courses in 2D Design software and one in Digital Illustration at LCC, which is commutable. Any thoughts about that? This is the only formal thing I can think of doing, besides taking another degree in Illustration or something.. which would be good, but resources are scarce for such a large undertaking. I'll talk to the guys you mentioned, thanks.

Also, I would be teaching in a faith school. Its compulsary they attend and listen! I have good contacts, which is why I set it would be easy going (I hope!) I'm under no illusions about the job Akateros. The days, strictly, are 9-3, but being there an hour before and 2 hours after make it a normal enough working day. The PGCE is intensive, many of the teachers I spoke to here says its fine after that.. less workload.. which make me think doing both is doable. Its just I have that nagging feeling I'm wasting time. I have a passion for philosophy and R.E, but art wears the crown. Always will.

Just very stuck on what to do, and second, if I dedicate all my time to art, how to go about it.. sequencing things and what to do first etc. I dont even know anybody that draws for pleasure let alone for work purposes! :(