Becoming a professional artist: Tips

[darkshark]

I've gotten quite a few private messages from many of you, you know who you are, asking what it takes to start a career in the design field...which obviously has no single path or definite answer, but this is my personal take on my feelings about it, and how I did it.


Degree vs. Non-Degree

Obviously, it makes your life easier having that little piece of paper stating you wasted your life long enough to get it. It will always be easier finding a successful career with a degree, particularly a Bachelors in our design field. However, it is not necessary at all in the design field, for the simple fact that we have something we can attach to resumes, a powerful tool, called a portfolio. I, personally, do not have a degree of any sort, but I DEFINITELY do recommend taking a few college courses related to design.

I've spent countless hours looking at design-related job listings on craigslist, monster, careerbuilder etc, and nearly all of them state that a strong portfolio and keen design skills, are more important than a degree. However you still need to possess the abilities of a college graduate, which is fairly easy to learn given the internet is the largest resource tool ever created. I still recommend taking courses. Here is what I've taken so far, not including high school courses;

Schooling (Los Medanos College)

Introduction to fine arts
Advanced Fine Arts
Cartooning
Advanced Cartooning
Introduction to Game Design
Storyboarding (Game Design II)
Game design III
Sculpting
Graphic Design I
Graphic Design II
Photoshop I
Art History
Marketing, Advertising, and Media Design
Introduction to Animation
Intermediate Animation
Advanced Animation
Web Design I
Visual Basic I


The ones in bold are courses I feel would greatly improve your understanding of what makes a good design(er) as well as boost up your portfolio with pieces that are actually relative to industry-specific design.


Portfolio.


This is the biggest one ever. I can not stress enough how important this is as a graphic artist. Your portfolio represents YOU...it is the deciding factor in this career choice, so if you don't have one, start making one...if you do have one, make it better.
What I had done, was purchase my own domain name (www.darkshark9.com, it's down for reconstruction at the moment, though), and created my own website, which was completely centered around my work, resume, background etc. and I suggest doing the same. Keep it updated, often.

If you can't afford to create your own website for any reason, there are a few free options out there, the cleanest looking one is http://www.carbonmade.com/ ...the only drawback to this one is that you can only list 5 projects (multiple pictures of each project may be listed however), so this one would be for the best of the best of your work. Another free one is www.figdig.com, which allows you up to 8 pieces, but personally, I have aesthetic issues with the site. These two sites are a great tool and all, but still doesn't replace having your own site to display your work how you want to.

http://shayne.carbonmade.com/
http://figdig.com/portfolio/darkshark/

Your last option which is also very acceptable, is creating a PDF of samples of your work. Try to include about 10 of your top notch pieces in this, you don't want it too small, but you also don't want a ridiculously large PDF either, you can also include your resume built in to the PDF which saves both you and the employer a little bit of time.

When seeking a job, obviously a portfolio is the only part that really matters...so make sure all of the work that goes into it, is absolutely your best work, even if that means it's only a few pieces, you don't want to show people your "not quite as good" works of art, because that lowers the bar on yourself. Keep it neat and organized, everything labeled etc. I really.........really can't stress how important a good portfolio is.


Experience

I know this one can be difficult at first, but if you're serious about this field, you'll need to start getting clients. An amazing website I came across (you can actually make decent money here too if you're good enough) is www.99designs.com ...It's a gathering of many of the top logo/web/print designers on the net, competing against eachother for the chance to design a big name company's image, and usually, like I said, quite a bit of money can be made. Money is not what you are after here though, you will learn first hand, and at an extremely accelerated pace, what businesses want. You will learn good design practices, and have a new line-up to add to your portfolio.

That's what I did anyway, and it worked wonders for me.


Skills

You've got them, but they aren't good enough, and never will be. Or I bet that's how you feel, and truth is, you probably will forever, I know I do. However, you have to understand, this isn't about you, this is about your client, and fulfilling what they want, not what you want. Again, as the designer, you still have to give your own insight into what makes a great design, usually a company is open to ideas that will attract business. As of right now we are caught in the era of user-centered design (UCD) where everything we design is to be done for the sake of the user. This is very important and will help not only websites, but everyday products, so keep in mind you aren't just designing for the client but his userbase as well.

Overall, never stop improving, and above all else, you need to stay on top of trends and understand the different focuses that can be achieved through both simple, and complex design.

I also recommend checking out this page: http://fontfeed.com/archives/the-logos-of-web-20/
It really gives you a better understanding of the way today's "Web 2.0" era is working, and might kickstart you in the right direction. On a personal note, when designing logos, stay away from Photoshop, use Illustrator or CorelDraw, if you don't know how to use them, I suggest you learn. If you don't have it, I suggest you learn what a torrent is.

As a designer, you WILL need to learn web design skill sets, including HTML, CSS, FLASH (knowing flash is a hugeeeeeeeeeeeee plus), and understand how java, actionscript, etc work, so you know how to design for specific applications.

Also you will need to know what you are designing for. Is it for print? Is it for web? You need to know the design issues with both, here is a good overview about what is involved in each one, and the future of both print and web design, so you future graphic designers should probably read this http://www.useit.com/alertbox/990124.html


My Story

I actually couldn't draw anything but stick figures up until 10th grade in high school. Took my first art class, and my skill just exploded from there. I took every art class the school had to offer, as well as 3d animation with 3ds max. After high school I went on to the local community college and took nearly all of their art classes as well, then dropped out because of a full time job. Last year I was let go from that job, and was forced to make some sort of income on my own, so I turned to the only thing I really had a background in, which was art. I began selling spacepaintings (seen here http://viewmorepics.myspace.com/inde...lbumId=2412266 ). Those just weren't cutting it, I tried to sell some of my hand drawn artwork online, but had little luck.

This is when I turned to the internet, eBay in particular, and started up my own design studio, making 2d/3d logos for businesses. Over time as clientele began to increase, I started a secondary business doing 3d product replication, which was a cheaper alternative to buying a high quality camera or hiring a photographer to take pictures of your products for online stores. Did that for a while (still do) and then through networking through my business, I struck up a deal in which I came into possession, a 36" vinyl cutting machine, so I started up a 3rd business using this machine to create vehicle decals and business signs for storefront windows.

So with a little determination and work, I now make a decently healthy living, and own 3 of my own businesses.

Sorry this post was so long, but I hope the insight really helps some of you. It's not an easy road, and there is a ton of competition in this field, but if you can learn to separate yourself through quality works of art, and have the perseverance to take things to the next level, then you can make it as well.