One of the most daunting aspects of pursing a creative or artistic career for many aspiring artists is not knowing how to learn the craft. So, we asked some very talented artists and creatives to talk to us about how they learned their crafts and we hope their stories will help you in your journey.

Brooke Landis

Learning how to use makeup as an artistic medium was a fun and challenging experience for me. I grew up in the creative arts world, spending a lot of time in dance and theatre which helped me develop broad creative talents. It wasn’t until I was in college that I discovered how fun it is to change myself into anyone or anything with only makeup. Shortly after taking that one stage makeup class in college, I was involved in a 48 hour film festival with some friends, and I was the only one with any amount of makeup experience. I hadn’t practiced much since that one class, so I started watching YouTube videos to learn more about wounds and gore. Read more>>

Jasmine Davila

I became a live lit performer and storyteller by attending shows in Chicago. A good friend of mine, who had been performing in shows around town in 2010 or 2011, asked me to perform in the very first show of a live lit series she co-founded in 2012.

The show, called “Solo in the 2nd City”, was devoted to dating and hooking up. Though I had done very little dating myself, I managed to put a story together and read it in a crowded bar. I had done a little theater in high school, but that was the limit of my experience in front of an audience. Read more>>

Gideon Oyedokun

As far back as I can remember, music has always been a part of my life. I would be remiss if I didn’t give credit to my parents. Both of them sang in the church choir growing up, and my mother later became a music teacher when we lived in Nigeria. My father played several instruments, and neither of them ever discouraged my siblings or me from exploring music, even when we had no idea what we were doing. Read more>>

Sarah Amarin

I am constantly learning actually! I mainly learned through a mixture of formal education and self-teaching, and a lot of curiosity. At the university level, I studied art and art education and a lot of that is what shaped my style and technique through experimentation on my own and asking myself the basic question “what if?”. I spent countless hours trying out different mediums, playing with color patterns and schemes, visiting galleries, reading books, using music as an inspiration and I just mostly observed the world around me all asking myself that one question, “what if”, and applied that to my experiments. Read more>>

Tyler Jones

I learned early that if I were to take my art seriously, I would have to treat my skills like a muscle. Working religiously to make sure my body was in tune with my mind and what I wish to convey based off of my research. I also had to learn how I would be perceived as a black man in a predominantly white field. I would purposefully work towards getting under the skin of those perspectives forcing people to ask questions to themselves and others pertaining to why I make the images that I do. I want for people to question why certain biases are kept when viewing black features and culture, Giving myself a purpose within my field made it all the more easier to commit towards my mission of introspection and education. Read more>>

Michael Newton

I actually learned to be an audio engineer by complete chance. I often wonder how many of us could be great at something, but are never presented with the chance to do it. I was pursuing becoming an educator as a career path in college, but I did not fit into that particular groove. My roommate was studying in the telecommunications department, and told me about a class with microphones and speakers and music, and it sounded like the place I wanted to be. That was my groove. I started over, square in the middle of my undergraduate studies, and took classes with freshmen when I was a junior. I didn’t care. I fought hard and took summer classes to catch up and still graduated nearly on target. Read more>>

David Jones

I had many a friends, both classmates and coworkers, and teachers whom were pursuing or pursed the same convocation as I. In the business of filmmaking it is all about who you know for by knowing them I gained both opportunities, experience, knowledge /skills I wouldn’t had ever known. In terms of speeding it up probably reaching out more often and taking time to build up even more connections which would further enhance my range of opportunities. In terms of obstacles I have been hit with writers block many a times, lack of confidence here and there while also conflicting schedules. Read more>>

Brenten Petersen

I have early memories of making things with my hands.

While other elementary aged kids were swinging and running I was often found in a small corner of the playground carving objects out of clods of dirt.

This desire to make things with my hands has stuck with me for my whole life.

I received a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Sculpture and Secondary Education from Utah State University in Logan Utah in 2008.

I then spent 15 years teaching middle school and elementary age kids art. Read more>>

Travis Crown

Songwriting has been something that I have been doing since I was a child. I believe I obtained my writing skills from my mother who is a romance novel author. Over time I have been able to learn how to write strong verses, choruses, and bridges. I learned sometimes your best work is something you rewrite over and over again until both the lyrics and melodies really come together as one. Other times your best work might flow out of you instantly out of inspiration and there is no need to rewrite anything. It’s about learning a balance of repetition and a building a structure to tell story. It is also about understanding the timing and the emphasis on certain syllables. Read more>>

Ashleigh Sumner

It has been said, accessibility is the gateway to discovery. I’ve often contemplated the notion of accessibility in my own path in the arts which hasn’t been linear. Initially, my journey began in theatre due to accessibility. During the 1990s, I grew up in a rural community in North Carolina forty-five minutes outside the city of Charlotte. Even though I had a tremendous aptitude for art as a child, the idea of studying to be a painter was a completely unimaginable concept. The only artists I ever heard of – Matisse, Picasso, and Monet – were all men and dead. Like many women, I simply did not see myself reflected in the visual arts at that time. Read more>>

Ernie Peghiny III

At a very young age of 5, I started playing drums and piano. Music was always being played whether inside the house or on car rides. Through elementary, middle, and high school, I would perform for each school, until COVID hit. At that time, I was a freshman in high school. I also picked up the guitar, and would start writing original material, which was honestly the only thing keeping me sane enough through quarantine. Through the rest of high school, I would write material, before I started singing and finally releasing it, starting in 2023. Read more>>

Jennifer Schlosser

I have always been the creative type. I was in art all through grade school and college, even advanced classes. I draw, paint, sculpt, and handcraft a lot of projects for myself and others. I was scrolling through TikTok one day and stumbled on some soap making videos. I thought it was fascinating and creative, another form of expression I would like to dabble in. I was fearful to work with harsh chemicals, such as lye, but after watching more videos of the process I became more comfortable and decide to go for it. Read more>>

Carlen Gedye

The photo is not just through the actual camera lens- but through the photographers lens and perspective. I have learned and continued to learn the craft of photography simply by just taking my camera out and photographing simple things/moments that capture my eye. What I think is beautiful or powerful, may not be to others, but that is the beauty of it all. Read more>>

Danica Martino

I studied costume design in undergrad and grad school, but worked in the industry for about 4 years in between. For me, this was the perfect combination of practical knowledge and personal artistic growth. Studying something like costume in a school setting allows for an exploration, and dedication that is sometimes hard to garner when you’re working on projects for money. Conversely, there are things like, paperwork, managing a budget and team, and interpersonal skills with actors and directors that you have to get from working and don’t really learn in school. This is not true for everyone though, there are many costume designers that don’t go to grad school or have an art degree for undergrad and only study costumes at a higher degree. It’s very personally. Read more>>

Brooks Kidd

My musical journey started in elementary and middle school, where I got my start in choir and learned the basics of piano and vocal technique through lessons, even though I was usually reluctant to go. In everything I learned, I was never given the chance to perform my own music, even though that is truly what I enjoyed. Soon, I found musical theater, which further sparked my interest and passion in music. During high school, I continued working with ensembles and performing in musicals, but eventually, I began to write original music, both instrumentally as a pianist and vocally as a singer. It wasn’t until I auditioned for American Idol that I even thought of pursuing music seriously as a career. Read more>>

Yerang Moon

In many ways, I’ve been in the world of art since I was young. I’ve been exploring various craft skills like welding, woodworking, realistic painting, and building 3D forms since middle school, thanks to an educational institution that nurtured my interests. Looking back, that early start sometimes made me feel stuck in the art scene, or even bored. However, as I delved deeper into hands-on skills and enriched my understanding of art theory, practical applications, and history, I found myself increasingly captivated by the creative process. Read more>>

Julian LeDoux

After I studied to get my commercial pilots license, I went on YouTube and other socials to learn different techniques and tips on flying my drone. I could have gained more skill if I was extra diligent about going out and flying because ultimately just playing around with the drone was the only way to truly get good. Persistence and good spatial awareness were key factors in my learning and leveling up my skill game when it came to controlling my drone. Having to wait for great weather conditions will always be a barrier to not being able to fly and practice. I do use a drone simulator, and it helps, but it is by no means a replacement for actually going outside and flying. Read more>>

Kayla Mulliniks

Everything I know is from community. Or at least that’s how it starts. Of course, I had my own resilience and dreams to motivate research, education and years of practice. But without building a community of diverse people I respected and felt understood by, I don’t think I could learn what I do. Read more>>

Chris Mozy

Learning songwriting is interesting because for as much as there is a formula to writing a song, there’s equally as much that is just feel and dumb luck.

As a teenager, I subconsciously realized that my baseball journey would likely not progress beyond college and took up guitar. At 17, with just a few months of playing, I found myself in L.A. jamming with well-established players twice my age, including a founding member of No Doubt. The singer of the band and myself discovered that we had a knack for writing together and ended up being the primary songwriters for the group. It was during this time that my learning curve went from zero to sixty in weeks as I learned how to structure a song, what the parts were called, recording processes and so much more. Read more>>

Clorissa Wright

Honestly, I learned how to do what I do by living it—fully. I have a degree in Design and Merchandising, which gave me a strong foundation in aesthetics, trend forecasting, and the business of fashion. But I knew early on that I wanted to be more than just a creative—I wanted to lead creativity. That’s when I started stacking my skillset like building blocks. I earned a social media marketing certificate from NC State, then later took an incredible course in Creative Direction taught by top-tier professionals at Leo Burnett. Read more>>

James Atkins

My core craft is writing, performing and recording my own music. My journey has been a bit all over the place, which I admit is definitely not uncommon. Songwriting was something that just came from playing music and a need to process my feelings its a cathartic process and then through repetition it became easier and was something I built from. Thought its still a cathartic process it is a more deliberate process now and I can right about other things that just throwing my feelings out. I have always been interested int technology and seeing how things work as well so I have a pretty big interest in gear and the equipment used for making and recording music, it wasn’t a need as much as I enjoy the whole process. I’ve been writing and recording my own music for over 10 years now. Read more>>

DeAndre Davis

Learning what I do was simply a culmination of figuring out what I wanted to do and then applying the skills I already has as well as seeking the knowledge to learn the gaps. Watching videos and taking online classes helped me accelerate that. Some skills that I learned that were beneficial were graphic design, marketing, and networking. Obstacles were plentiful such as information being behind a paywall or gatekept or the fact that gaining skills and knowledge just takes time to do but that’s apart of the grind of making it to where you want to be in these particular spaces. Read more>>

Rodion Abramenko

I think it all starts with desire and the opportunities you have in a given moment. There’s no fixed goal — just the process and the time you’re willing to give to it. Beyond that, there’s an endless amount of knowledge and skills, and it all becomes a lifelong search and reinterpretation. Read more>>

Majesty Qiydaar

For the most part, I learned most of what I know through college and graduate school. Ironically, I was introduced to graphic design during my undergraduate years at the University of Baltimore, where I am a double alum. (B.S. ’15, M.A. ’22.) Read more>>

Jalonda Hill

When I first decided to become an influencer, I reached out to someone for help—aaaand let’s just say that didn’t go as planned. So, I had to figure it out on my own. Enter: YouTube University. I went down a rabbit hole of videos, studying influencers I admired, taking notes, and then putting my own spin on things. One of the best pieces of advice I got from a friend? Talk to your audience like you’re talking to your bestie. Game-changer. That’s how I found my voice—authentic, relatable, and just me. Read more>>

Madison Packer

I feel like I was a little “late to the game.” Many of my fellow colleagues started taking acting classes and had vocal coaches from young ages. I had caught the singing and theatre bug from a very young age (anecdotally, my mom says I’d been singing since the womb, haha), but I hadn’t taken any classes. I was 12 when I had the realization of, “oh, this is what I’m meant to do!” I took theatre my freshman year of high school. But, at the time, I didn’t understand the craft of acting. I was going off of the emotions of the characters I played which can leave a really flat performance. My formal training didn’t start until I attended the Marian Musical and Dramatic Academy in NYC. It had been my dream school since I was 12. Read more>>

DC Talib

I am a filmmaker,. Not a screenwriter, not a director, not and actor…a filmmaker. Now what does that mean and how is it applied? That means as an independent filmmaker I had to learn all of it or at least be able to speak to and give vision to all of it. I had to learn how to take an idea than give it structure and life in an acceptable format. First I started out learning how to put the ideas into a novel format from developing the story and making 3 dimensional characters to having a purpose behind the writing then I had to learn to take that vision and put it into a second format for screenwriting. Upon learning that I then had to learn the tools I would need to bring structure to the original vision. Read more>>

Avery Hodak

Our Cavalier King Charles Spaniel puppy, Bella, joined our family just before COVID, leading to ample time at home to launch her Instagram. Its rapid growth, fueled by everyone being online, became my hands-on learning lab for content creation. I learned by experimenting with photos, videos, lighting, and captions, quickly discovering what resonated. Knowing what I know now, researching broader social media best practices from diverse creators, not just pet accounts, would have accelerated my understanding. The most essential skills were adaptability and recognizing the power of consistent, authentic content. Initially, the lack of specific guidance for pet Instagrams was an obstacle. Now, physical distance from Bella due to college and moving limits my ability to capture her daily life. Read more>>

Paige Vecitis

Like a lot of people, I picked up crochet in 2020 – more specifically, during the pandemic when I was 14 years old. However, the pandemic didn’t push me to find a new craft; it was actually social media. This was largely due to the fact that I was homeschooled, so the pandemic didn’t have as much of an impact on me. I kept seeing people crocheting a bee during that “era” of social media. And from that moment on, I was hooked. (quite literally) Read more>>

Biljana Petreska

My learning process has always been layered. I studied both pharmacy and fine arts—two fields that might seem unrelated, but for me, they overlap in surprising ways. In pharmacy, I developed a way of seeing the world through precision and systems, while art gave me the freedom to unlearn that rigidity. As part of my pharmacy studies, I studied botany and pharmacognosy, and that knowledge has found new life in my art practice. I use organic materials like leaves, feathers, and flower petals to create printing substrates—letting natural elements influence both the texture and meaning of the work. Read more>>

Nicholas Anglin

Curiosity was my first teacher, the internet was my classroom, and YouTube was that chaotic but surprisingly helpful mentor. I started out remixing whatever caught my eye—album covers, streetwear drops, posters—and slowly built my own style by experimenting nonstop. I learned by doing, messing up, and figuring things out as I went. I’ve always had a knack for tapping into culture and flipping what I see into something fresh. Read more>>

Sophia Chunn

This will be the most boring answer: practice. And convincing myself that I could do it. I think this applies to anything, not just creative pursuits. There’s no reason you can’t do it or be good at it. Even if it feels like lying to yourself, that’s what you have to decide to believe. Read more>>

Paola Charnet

I learned mostly through a self-taught path, complemented by formal studies at the Institut Barcelonès d’Art, some courses at the Barcelona Academy of Art, and ad hoc workshops, both in person and remote, with painters who inspire me. This mix allowed me to develop at my own pace while still grounding my practice in classical principles. Over time, I’ve come to understand that with any craft, there are no shortcuts. As beginners, we often want to dive straight into painting, but skipping the fundamentals only slows us down. Read more>>

Tay Lee

My journey into photography started during the COVID-19 pandemic, a time when the world was facing uncertainty and instability. I saw an opportunity to help people celebrate milestones that were often overlooked or limited by the circumstances—birthdays, graduations, anniversaries—special moments that deserved to be remembered. The pandemic had a way of highlighting how precious life truly is, and through my lens, I began capturing the beauty in the simplest moments. At first, it was about bringing joy and light into people’s lives during such a time. As I continued to photograph, I realized I wasn’t just capturing events—I was telling stories of resilience, love, and human connection. It shifted my perspective, helping me to see life’s beauty. Read more>>

Jake Sposetta

Honestly, everything I have done in photography started with me not being afraid to reach out to people. I photographed my first concert when I was 14 at the 9:30 Club in Washington, DC and said it was for my school’s newspaper. Once I got past that first hurdle of asking for a pass (and subsequently learning how to take being told ‘no’ gracefully), I was more comfortable reaching out and asking for media passes. Read more>>

Rebecca Rook

I have been a writer for decades. However, because of all the (sometimes conflicting) advice and craft classes out there, and between life, school, and work, it took a significant amount of time to identify my personal process in this craft. Like any creative calling, there is no one-size-fits-all approach when it comes to writing and the arts. That is the blessing and the curse of a creative life: We have to — and we get to — make our own blueprint for being an artist. Read more>>

Silver Inferno

So i was first introduced to my craft in college, i saw someone spinning poi(my main prop for spinning fire) on top of a hill at sundown. She allowed me to join her and taught me what she knew of it. I mostly learned from youtube and i am self taught when it comes to fire spinning, i began doing fire poi 3 months after being introduced to poi. The process could have been sped up if i had found a community to learn from instead but i also enjoyed learning with my friend and on my own. What is most essential was honestly repetition and adapting moves to fit your own style. Read more>>

Elizabeth Lancaster

I’ve been drawn to painting and the arts for as long as I can remember. From a young age, I knew I wanted to create, but it wasn’t until I committed to seriously studying my craft as a teenager—exploring different mediums, subjects, and styles—that I realized this was more than a hobby. Choosing to pursue an art major gave me the structure and space to hone my skills and build the foundation for the artist I am today. Read more>>

Matt Adams

I taught myself photography and painting. I’ve never been to school or taken any classes. Drawing and art in general is just something I’ve always loved to do, so I’ve spent a lot of time trying to get better and practicing over the years. I bought my first “real” camera back in maybe 2019 and then spent months reading everything I could find online and then going out and using shooting what was around me locally and I think that’s had a big effect on my style in general. Read more>>

Jerry Chang

I started learning piano when I was four. My mom always says that I was always full of energy, so she took a friend’s advice to try music lessons in the hopes of extending my attention span. That first day, I sat beside my teacher for thirty minutes. From that moment, my musical journey began, and she has remained my teacher for the past 13 years. Read more>>

Vera Jigalova

I learned production design mostly through hands-on experience and taking on as many projects as I could. I’ve always been someone who learns by doing, so each project taught me something new—whether it was managing a tight budget, creating functional yet beautiful sets, or juggling multiple deadlines. Observing and working alongside skilled professionals in the field also helped me sharpen my craft. Read more>>