General Discussion

I know someone in a similar situation. She wants to do art for a living, but her family isn't supportive and even when she was making money on art, they basically refused to believe it. She ended up taking a job (at a warehouse or something, I think) so she actually has a decent income and once she gets more stable, she'll be doing art on the side.

I think a setup like that would work pretty well. Have a job that will cover your bills and then do art for extra spending money. And hopefully, once you get to be more well-known, you can make more and more doing art and hopefully, you can eventually live off of just art.

The arts are... cutthroat to say the least. Graduated Bachelor's of Fine Arts in Creative Writing with a focus in Fiction and a Minor in English. Let me tell you... the number of people looking for Creative Writers is A) absurd because 90% of them will underpay you and B) No one because no one actually grasps what a CW is.

I have had employers tell me to my face that my major is fantasy crap and that I will basically end up nowhere. And guess what? I'm currently jobless and I honestly do wish in some ways I would have at least picked up a certification in something that is actually something you can do.

That being said, despite the joblessness, I do not regret any of it.

For you, why not look into other venues like art therapy? It's hard to tell where the art market will head in the next couple of years, but you should definitely plan for something that is not quite what you want, but pretty close. In addition, don't think graphic design as just graphic design. If you get involved with some engineering drawing classes, there is a pretty good market for people who can work with engineering drawings and use those to create 3D renders for advertisements and videos!

You'll find that as you get through college, you'll have the time of your life, but you'll also find that art for arts sake doesn't really fly as much in the job world anymore.

But, your parents need to understand why you want this and what you are willing to do to get it. My mom was pretty hesitant at first, but I worked my *** off and she's pretty proud of what I've accomplished now. Minus the whole jobless thing...

Give it time and a lot of research.

Yo, I've worked in either games or animation for about four years now, and your folks are wrong. If you're passionate and willing to put in work to get good, there are tonnes of jobs in all sorts of areas of animation. People always go 'art is super hard to get into' but seriously... In this market, every career is hard to get into. So you may as well do what interests you and just work hard to get there! People do it, I've done it, it's totally possible so there's no reason why you can't if you want to.

Also, I'll never say this industry is stable or reliable, but there are loads of jobs. Outsourcing has shifted the work about a bit but there's still loads. A few areas (like storyboarding and character design) almost never get outsourced at all. Games actually do well in a recession since people would rather buy something they can stay in and get 20 hours out of rather than spending that same money on a single evening out.

@LilithServil

That sounds awful! It's not right! You need to do what you love and feel like at the end of the day you ENJOYED it.

My parents are VERY supportive, they are supporting my artistic ambitions. I love them so much. <3

@LilithServil About your mother "not allowing you" to fly across the country - you said you're 18 right? Once you finish high school, if she's not giving you any funding, then you can do whatever you want, she has no hold on you. If you've made your own money, you can walk out the door and get on the plane and she can't legally stop you. (On the other hand, my parents are paying for my college education so I am still at their beck and call).

@LilithServil
your story sounds a lot like mine. my mother has always been very unsupportive of me since she found out i didn't want to do with my life what she wanted me to do with it. i tried to get a degree to work in web development, but i ended up not being able to afford an education because she wouldn't help me pay for it. at all.

finally i made the decision to move to new york because i knew a lot of people there who could help me set up a new life away from my mother, and so far it's gone well. i'm still not back in school because i have to live here for a year before i'm eligible for in-state tuition, but in the meantime, i can work as much as possible to save up some money for living and getting my secondary education.

i'll also let you in on a very useful tip. if worst comes to worst, there are public assistance programs that will help you because you're under 21. they don't exist in every city, but they do exist and if you are ever in a situation where you need help, they will never turn you away as long as you have the documentation to prove you are a citizen or have legal status and that you are who you say you are. they exist to help people particularly 16-21 who are in situations where they have bad relationships with their families and need help to become independent. when i first moved, my living plans fell through and they found me a place to stay and are helping me to find work that will help get me set up for my future career, they provide me with any necessary things i might need (food, clothing, personal items), they're helping me to fill out housing applications for places that i will be able to afford once i'm too old to continue receiving their aid, and they're assisting me with applying to schools and to get financial aid.

so basically, yes it's hard, but you're at an age where you will be safe no matter what, so don't be afraid to pursue the future you want. there are people out there who can help you even if things don't turn out well right away.