👿 How to become a successful artist?
👿 How to become a successful artist?
#18 April QaA
Dear little demon,
Welcome to the edition #18 of the Art Missive! We are now 2, 965 😈 in this newsletter: thank you sm for reading ❤. The Demon Family says “welcome” to all precious newcomers.
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In this Art Missive
1. What did you study?
2. Studying International Law
3. Running my own business
4. Getting a pro level in art
5. Your takeaways from my journey
6. The power of mentorship
7. Summary
1. What did you study?
“Did you go to art school?” “What did you study?”
Last week, these questions came up SO MANY times. This is a question I wanted to tackle for quite a long time now and this April QaA is the perfect occasion.
This is a burning topic because most artists out there are self-taught and don’t benefit from a framework to guide their art choices.
Many of us have suffered from self-doubts and inferiority complex for not attending art classes. And getting clear guidance for our art journey is quite hard, which doesn’t help our case. We often end up asking others about their journey and studies either to reassure ourselves or to find clear direction in our own path.
Although I don’t consider myself a successful artist yet, I have a clear idea of how to get there.
In this edition #18 of the Art Missive, which is April QaA, I answer your questions about my twisted journey to become a successful artist.
Whether you make art for a passion or for a living, I think this Art Missive will be useful for you.
According to me, there are 3 ingredients to become a successful artist:
pro art skills and constant improvement, to create meaningful artwork
goal setting, to have clear direction and focus on the right things
entrepreneurial mindset, to manage projects, overcome failure and achieve your goals.
I have quite a funny and messy journey (don’t try to reproduce it at home)… But I am still able to gather these 3 key ingredients.
Here is how:
2. Studying International law
I did not go to art school. Actually, I have never taken any art class in school. I come from an immigrant household where “being an artist” has never been considered as a real job so I had nothing to push me towards this uncertain direction.
Instead, I went to a very prestigious University in France and I studied International Law.
Even if today, I am fully dedicating myself to becoming an artist, I don’t consider my studies as a waste of time.
Indeed, being a law student made me gain many soft skills that are also required in an productive artist life:
👉 Solid understanding of the world I live in
👉 Project management, how to handle a project from start to finish
👉 Collaboration with others
👉 Respect of deadlines
👉 Planning and organization
3. Running my own business
Many of you know that I started my own business while I was still a student. My first business has nothing to do with art - as it is related to sustainability and environment - but this experience still helps me become a full-time artist.
Thank to this successful business, I learned:
👉 How to run a business, mainly how to find solutions to new problems
👉 How to interact with potential clients
👉 How to settle achievable and effective goals
👉 How to build a strong entrepreneurial mindset, to achieve my goals
👉 How to be more self-confident and go get what I want even if I am scared.
4. What about art?
Now you know how I gathered 2 of the 3 ingredients needed to become successful in art. But what about getting a pro level in art?
School and working certainly did not help me do that.
So what do I do to get there, without going to art school?
👉Draw regularly. Since 2019, I have started to draw at least once a week. I also started to show my work on social media to get feedback and improve faster.
👉Draw every day. Since 2022, I have been drawing every single day. Even for a 5 minute warm-up. First, it is funny. But it also helps me keep experimenting and improving. In art, quantity and experience are key to quality.
👉Consume art content several times a day. To find inspiration and build the proper artist mindset, I constantly surround myself with art content. I made art my TOP1 priority. Prints everywhere, Pinterest active scroll, Instagram active scroll, Youtube videos about being an artist… I make sure to search for daily quality art content to fill my soul with new inspirations and ideas. Being an artist is not only about making art, it is also about your lifestyle.
👉Learn the fundamentals. Since 2022, I have started to learn the fundamentals about drawing: anatomy, perspective, values, color theory… It sounds boring but this is when I started studying fundamentals that I was able to notice huge improvements in my art style.
Of course, there are some limits to what I can do on my own.
👉Enroll in a advanced art training. In the beginning of 2023, I decided to give myself a year to become a full-time artist. I realized that I needed help to accelerate my journey of getting a pro level in art. So I decided to join an online course. It will take me about a year to complete it.
5. Your takeaways from my journey
1️⃣ You don’t have to go to an art school to become a successful artist.
What will make you successful is your passion for art. Your constant need to seek for improvement. The resources to get there can be found in an art school, but also online and in real life (art events, networking etc.).
2️⃣ Every experience - even not related to art - can help you become a better artist. It is up to you to make it worthy.
3️⃣ If you feel frustrated as an artist right now, it is probably because you need to improve your goal setting and strengthen your mindset in order to focus on what really matters.
4️⃣ There is no such a thing as “self-taught”. I mean, yes, I identify as self-taught because I did not go to art school. But at the end of the day, the only way to become a successful artist is to learn from other artists. So study others, join many artists’ Patreon, consume art contents and when you are ready to take art seriously, enroll in art classes.
6. The power of mentorship
1. Become a better artist
The truth is, behind the question “what did you study?” or “did you go to art school”, artists want to understand what it takes to improve and become a better artist.
If I was directly asked “If there is one advice you would give to artists for them to become successful in their art, which one would it be?”
I would simply answer “get a mentor”.
Let me explain:
In my journey to get a pro level in art, I noticed I was stuck. There are limits to what you can do alone. I understood that I was lacking something really important, which is experience. This is why I enrolled in this advanced art training: to get corrected and advised by professional artists.
You can learn almost everything on the internet now. But for wise and effective guidance, you can only get it from an experienced artist. That is why art schools are still valuable today: you build a network, you get feedback, you learn from other’s experience… You find a mentor!
2. Why find a mentor?
Finding a mentor can be incredibly important for artists for several reasons:
1️⃣ Learning from experience: A mentor who has been working in the arts for a longer period of time can offer valuable insights into the industry, as well as practical advice on technique, marketing, and career development. Mentors can help artists avoid common pitfalls and navigate challenges more effectively.
2️⃣ Accountability and motivation: Mentors can provide a sense of accountability and motivation, helping artists stay focused and committed to their goals. They can offer feedback, support, and encouragement, which can be especially important during periods of self-doubt or creative blocks.
3️⃣ Networking and opportunities: Mentors can provide valuable networking opportunities and connections, opening doors for artists to exhibit their work, find new clients, and build their careers. They may also be able to provide referrals, introductions, or recommendations that can help artists build their reputations and expand their reach.
4️⃣ Building relationships: Mentors can provide important role models for artists, showing them what it takes to succeed in the arts while also helping them build important professional relationships. This can be especially important for artists who may feel isolated or disconnected from the larger arts community.
3. Where to find a mentor?
You want to find a mentor but don’t know how? Don’t worry, there are different degrees of mentorship and even without any network or money, you can still find a form of mentorship to support your art journey.
👉 Method 1: diligently follow an artist who shares educational content. You probably already have a mentor figure without knowing it. It is a limited experience of mentorship, but you could find artists you love and follow their educational content (Newsletters like the Art Missives, Patreons, Youtube videos, Twitch lives…). Although it is limited, you still get access to artists who share their experience with you.
👉 Method 2: Enroll in courses with corrections. If you want to take it to the next level but have a limited budget and network, you can enroll in classes where the Artist offers corrections and feedback. You will be surprised how short discussions with the right people can still be highly helpful for your art journey.
👉 Method 3: Find a mentor. According to me, this is the ultimate cheat code to become a successful artist. This is my new quest: create a genuine bond with one or several experienced artists who will be willing to review my art and provide me with advice. The tricky part of this is that you need to convince a busy artist to give you some time and energy! Some artists offer mentorship against retribution. If you have the budget, it’s a great opportunity! If you don’t, you need to find a way to add value to a more experienced artist, in exchange. To find potential mentors like that, you could join communities, enter challenges, or search in your own network.
7. Summary
The key ingredients to become a successful artist are 1) art constant improvement 2) goals setting 3) entrepreneurial mindset.
Make sure to turn every experience - even those not related to art - into something purposeful for your art journey.
My secret cheat code to become a successful artist is to find a mentor. They will bring you so much value sharing their experience with you. Even with a limited mentorship experience, you could make so much progress!