winning the lottery-shooting for the moon

[SharpPencil]

Tonight I had a friend in the web design field ask me what my goals were when I finish school in June. I said I'd love someday be an illustrator or concept artist. His flat out response was literally, "Not gonna happen." those people are insanley good, they eat, breathe and dream that s***. They work too hard, they have 80 hour work weeks, they have no distractions of any kind. They sacrifice much to acheive this goal, it'll never happen, design webpages like me, you will hate it at first but at least you can have a job being creative. You have to have a style people want etc... The odds of making it are against you.

Is it really a pipe dream, is it really like "Art School Confidentional?" Is the art world really that depressingly bleak?

[Muz]

man we should keep a running tally of how many of these threads are made.... it would be in the hundreds.

to echo the shit ton of answers your going to get.

*search function is your friend

*If have passion and dedication you can make it, but the number one thing that will get you there is confidence... the sort of confidence where you dont ask others if they think you can, you just go out and do it regardless.

[Edge-01]

those people are insanley good, they eat, breathe and dream that s***. They work too hard, they have 80 hour work weeks, they have no distractions of any kind.

well you could do that too. :P
personally, im in no position to say much,as im still a loong way from up there,but since coincidently i was talking to my friend last night about this. so ill reply
it all boils down to how much you are willing to burn to improve yourself.

im still a student in this field, but as far as i know, once you have your heart in this, you will be eating, breathing and dreaming this s*** ..and 80hour work weeks wont feel much if you enjoy it, actually now i think its quite hard to put the work down. so after some months of relently training, you look back and see the difference in your work,and how you are closer to your goal,there is an amazing sense of achievement .

anyway, on a seperate note, i feel its better to work towards a dream than to take the easy way out and regret later.

well im just a 20yr old who probably hasnt experienced much in life yet, so take the stuff i say with a pinch of salt.

[Twelve]

If you want it, go and get it. I want this too as many many others do. Dont give up on something because it seems bleak if you enjoy it. It's better to die trying than to have never tried at all.

[ask maurice]

SharpPencil, all of the above answers truly apply. Understand that this "first real love" of yours becomes a marriage that basically depends on your action alone to survive. A few helpful links:

An Artist's Life (http://www.askmaurice.org/artbios.html)

The what me artist course (http://whatmeartist.com/course/index.html)



Ask Maurice.Org
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[Baron Impossible]

The odds of making it are against you statistically, but not against you personally, if you see what I mean. If you go for it there's no reason why you shouldn't succeed, as long as you don't mind the years of practice and the long hours and the prospect of never becoming rich. Unless you win the lottery.

[Nickillus]

Perseverance, dedication and a willingness to be poor.
I've been a freelance pro illustrator full time since leaving college in 1982. I'm 'insane' without the 'ly good' bit. I do have a life, a family, a dog, a cat, and four rats, and am easily distracted. BUT, although I'll never be rich, I still have a burn to get better and plenty of room for improvement.

Work like hell on your drawing. If you have that, it can underpin all the other stuff. You can pick that 'other stuff' up as you go. If having lots of money is what is motivating you, forget it. Concentrate on the artwork and what makes the hair of the back of your neck stand up, in terms of art. That's what folk will be looking for. Passion shines through - eventually.

[DavePalumbo]

those people are insanley good - theoretically true (most are always still aiming for improvement anyhow)
they eat, breathe and dream that s*** - passion is important
They work too hard - that's subjective, defining "too much" depends on how lazy you are
they have 80 hour work weeks - some do, some don't
they have no distractions of any kind - I'm pretty sure this one is flat out wrong almost across the board. who has "no distractions"?
They sacrifice much to achieve this goal - of course, if it's worth doing it costs something

[SharpPencil]

I guess my friend brought out the question I always feared, "If you try and fail , yeah that's noble and etc... But you'll never get those years of slaving hard work back and I want them to count for something."

My official stance: just do it. Enough wondering if the investment will pay off, it's what I want.

[Musselfarmstudios]

It may be true that there are a lot of threads like this but that doesn't change the fact that it will always be somebody's first time either asking the question or looking to find the answer to a question that they hadn't thought to ask.

In regards to the matter at hand. A professor of mine once told me something to the effect of "keep working at it (your goal) and it will happen, and even if it doesn't happen . . . keep working at it anyway."

There will always people better than you and you'll have to get use to rejection but that doesn't change the fact that there will be people out there who may need what only you can do. Just keep that in mind and be vigilant about finding those people.

It's no pipe dream and the world isn't a bleak place, its only bleak if you let it become bleak. Its all just a matter of finding where you belong and thats what makes the journey worth while.

[nonie]

When people say things like that, bring up the statistics, remember that those statistics are including the people who don't really want to work and don't care about getting halfway decent, or just cannot work with others - if you spend the time and effort to bring your work up to a high level, there is work for you. Period. It may not be concept, you may find you're better suited for comics, book covers, illustration, advertisement, or fine art. With very few exceptions, once you get your portfolio out there, the only reason you won't get work is that you're not good enough yet or not right for the project, and one of those things you control, and the other - well you'll hate working on a project that isn't you anyway. And a big part of finding a project or company you fit in with is making a lot of friends in the industry who can point you in the right direction.

[Shehaub]

My half sarcastic response is:

Lucky for you we currently live in an economic time where most jobs in general are requiring you to work an awful lot for less and less. So as an artist you will be suffering a fate that resembles the rest of the economy.

The motherly side of me says:

If you are worried that you might make a huge mistake the answer is yes. You will make a huge mistake and probably quite a few of them. Will it be about your career choice? Maybe. Maybe not. The real trick is to be just afraid enough to make smart choices and just fearless enough to move forward without proof.

[the_jos]

... it'll never happen, design webpages like me, you will hate it at first but at least you can have a job being creative. ...

My translation: "There will always be a better, more skilled, more experienced, more charming, better looking and more sexy person than you are.
So why don't you just settle with a nice and somewhat good looking girl (or boy), there are plenty out there. Even better, some not so nice and less good looking boys or girls might be even easier to find.
Even better, find someone completely unattractive, both behaviour and looks.
Easy to find and easy to please.
You will hate her/him, but you will at least have someone who keeps you company and gives you some physical pleasure.
How about the girl/boy you fell in love with? Don't put too much effort in it, (s)he's probably not interested in you anyway."

That's what your friend just told you!

I would listen to him, he sounds like a smart guy.

[Yng]

If you aim high, you will, more often than not, hit higher than when aiming low, even if you're not right on target. :]

[Baron Impossible]

Even better, find someone completely unattractive, both behaviour and looks.
Easy to find and easy to please.
You will hate her/him, but you will at least have someone who keeps you company and gives you some physical pleasure.
How about the girl/boy you fell in love with? Don't put too much effort in it, (s)he's probably not interested in you anyway.

Put like that I guess I agree with him. Minus the "physical pleasure" bit.

I need to become less cynical.

[Equality72521]

take your pick

http://i41.photobucket.com/albums/e278/itrytopaint/nike-just-do-it.jpg

or

http://i41.photobucket.com/albums/e278/itrytopaint/196217268_1703431390_AMC-MP-Starsky.jpg

[Jie Kageshinzo]

Regarding statistics, you should also realize that the Internet has made the world that much smaller. Sure, it will also opens up the possibilities for everyone equally but you will be able to personally broaden your chances of getting recognition.

[Helioth]

In Soviet Union, you do not become a Concept Artist, concept artist becomes You.

Or something like that ;D (not that I live there, and... I know it doesn't really exist anymore anywhere except for in records).

It's just what Baron Impossible said, that's what I've been thinking for a long time. See, I was accepted into Art school when I was 16 turning 17, There were roughly 1000 applicants for 20 spots, and everyone was basically already telling me "apply next year, sucker, cause you won't get in" full of confidence in their opinions... but how many people did the kind of work I was doing?
And how many people did generic charcoal nudes, AND, What were the judges actually looking for?
Well, I don't know, But, what I'm trying to say is, statistics only apply to reality insofar as everyone is precisely the same and has the same chance, which clearly they don't. So, you could say I had 1 out of 1000 or 1 out of 20 or come up with some smart formula, but really, it remains a mystery.

It's like Einstein said: "As far as the laws of mathematics refer to reality, they are not certain; and as far as they are certain, they do not refer to reality."

Good luck though!

[SharpPencil]

This friend of mine that spelled out the harsh realities for me, has fallen on hard times. He isn't broke but he lost his comfortable 4 day work week, lead web design job, 60 grand salary a year ride. He just got dumped, never could use his fine arts degree and turned to graphic designer last year.

Basically he probably told me it was a waste of my time because his life sucks right now. He's been drinking a bit lately and probably is in that place where, "my life sucks, so the world sucks too."

[Ilaekae]

Thank the Goddess your friend is a web hack. Sounds as if he went into anything else, he'd be permanently planted on your couch under a blanket and stealing your beer and hotdogs while you're working. :P

[Nickillus]

For what it's worth, SharpPencil, I got my art qualification 27 years ago (yup - completely out of touch, I know). In all that time not one single client has asked to see my qualifications. All they care about is the artwork.

This is from a freelance illustrator's perspective though. If you want to work in any sort of organisation (games industry, whatever), there may well be requests for certain certifications on certain software abilities and that kind of thing, just to get your foot in the door.