How To Create a Career out of Your Creative Hobby

Art is one of the most lasting, most fundamental of the humanities. This drive to create things, particularly things with aesthetically pleasing or deeply meaningful qualities, is almost universal. That’s why the internet has become an outlet for creative personalities to thrive and, potentially, create a career path for themselves. The digital age has also provided an extensive suite of tools that can help you realize that dream. Here are the tips you need to know in order to turn your artistic hobby into your dream job.

The Equipment

Digital art has made the creation of artworks much more accessible, because it typically requires fewer costs overall, even if the initial investment is much higher. For example, a drawing tablet can effectively replace your medium and your selection of pens, pencils, and/or paint. The only repeat cost will be nibs for your stylus, a far cry from constantly needing to reup on supplies in order to get anything done. The tablets themselves come in a variety of shapes and sizes, some of which are essentially a specialized touch screen monitor. On the other hand, the tablet in question may be an external device not dissimilar to ancient stone tablets. This range offers variety enough that anyone can find what they’re looking for, regardless of their budget or preference. In addition to these basic tools, you’ll also need software such as Photoshop or Krita. It’s also important to note that staring at a computer screen for extended periods of time can be disruptive to your sleeping patterns, so consider investing in blue light blocking glasses in order to allow yourself to get to sleep and stay asleep even after working on your latest project into the night.

The Learning Curve

One of the major hurdles for digital artists is that it can be tricky to get used to working with a drawing tablet. The primary reason for this is that there are imperceptible movements of the hands that, when working with traditional tools, are largely self correcting. The tool itself and the friction between tool and medium can help your hand remain steady enough to produce quality work relatively easily. On the other hand, drawing tablets are perhaps too precise, too sensitive, and that can make for some incredibly poor line quality without first adjusting some settings. First and foremost, you’ll want to use a stabilizer in your art program of choice, because this will smooth out your lines. The strength of your stabilizer will need to be fine tuned via experimentation, however, because too much correction can lead to overly round lines and a lack of precision. If you’re using an external tablet, there’s another adjustment you’ll need to make. Using this kind of tablet, you’ll have to be looking at a monitor while drawing on a tablet, and this divide can seem unwieldy at first. However, much like typing or gaming, your brain will adapt rather quickly, so you just have to struggle with it for a bit until that happens.

The Prestige

In order to turn your hobby into a career, there is a ladder to be climbed. Rather than starting at an entry level job and getting a promotion, you’ll need to work for free in order to make a name for yourself before anyone will be willing to pay you. In fact, one of the most effective tips for an up and coming artist is to do exactly that, creating pieces for people “on commission” but without actually charging them. This will help you get your foot in the door by providing a product that your “customer” can’t turn down and, in the process, creating a satisfied “customer” that would speak favorably on your behalf in the future. These informal reviews are called testimonials, and it’s a phenomenal way of creating a reputation for yourself out of almost nothing. Social media will be the arena in which you’ll be able to make a name for yourself among a global population, but be warned: there will be steep competition.