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.

Lindsey Harper

Photography has always been such a fun outlet for me that learning it always felt more like a fun challenge than a daunting task. I do think, though, that I– like many others– hindered myself by looking at it as a talent instead of a learned skill. I probably could have compressed what I learned in the first year or two into a few months had I invested in a mentorship or a few classes, but (in true Lindsey style) I learned everything through trial and error. Read more>>

Shawn Gavlick

A lot of what I do daily comes from both a formal education as well as learning on my own, photography is a technical process as well as a creative one. I have a degree for Fine art photography and in that program there was a lot of time spent on the technical side of photography but the program also focused on content and essentially visual story telling. Read more>>

Tatadrian Uzoukwu

I started writing lyrics around the age of nine then I learned about a free recording software called audacity. I would take my aunties desktop, whenever I went to my grandma’s house, and just create songs and record them. Up until the age of 16 when I gave my life to Christ I for the most part tried to figure everything out on my own. Then I met my mentor Dj or Yadah-Halal, rest his soul, who helped sky rocket my skills. Read more>>

Christy Kosnic

I am often asked if I majored photography. Though I did take Photography 101 my last semester in college, the majority of what I do on a daily basis I learned through online tutorials, both free and purchased. I have also invested in in-person educational conferences where you are able to make great connections and learn from the best in my field. Read more>>

Peter Agu

My major obstacle was financing because when I wanted to learn the art of music production. I had no finance on me so I started learning on my mine with the help of my online teachers on YouTube I was able to pick up and stand out on my own confidently with substantial knowledge of my craft. Read more>>

Gabriela Velasquez

I grew up where arts and crafts had always been part of my daily activities; drawing, painting, creative writing, ceramics and even dancing and singing were my hobbies and sometimes part of an assignment at school. As I teenager, I loved fashion, and I had always enjoyed setting trends for wearing different styles and colors for school and parties. Read more>>

Uriel Carrillo

I think I started taking photos at concerts and gigs around 2020, but it totally stoped by the COVID pandemic. I return to shooting first at local gigs with local bands in march of 2021. I actually learned everything by hit-and-miss, at least the first couple of times. After that I started to study and watch other musical photographers and their work. Not only the big ones but also some of the local photographers and how they solved problems about the lighting and the space. Read more>>

Tyra Racquel

From creating YouTube videos and writing books I literally learned as I went through the process. Creating content for YouTube was a visual learning moment from how to write your video title, edit the video, what music to use, and how to create an intro + outro. Writing is a different ball game, but worth it in the end when you finally finish writing your book. Read more>>

Aubrey Situmorang

I’ve started learning this music craft since I was 4 years old, taking piano lessons like most of other kids in my country. Throughout my youth, I got exposed to so many music and finally chose to play bass at around 12 years old. I’m very grateful of my process in learning music that I don’t wish to change anything about it. Read more>>

Debra Weller

How did I learn to do what I do? My storytelling career began when I was a child. When I was sent to my room for being naughty, I told stories to my dolls and stuffed animals. My grandfather and father were great examples of storytellers in my family. When I started teaching and became a mother, I realized stories were so important for literacy and language development I had the realization that stories could teach and entertain. To go out to tell stories to the public took on another level of skill. Read more>>

Alex Ortberg

I started performing music in elementary school, but had been immersed in it even before then. My father is a musician, so I was surrounded by pianos, guitars, and the sounds of classic rock coming through their vintage stereo. Once in school, my teachers recognized both my talent and my enthusiasm for music, specifically drumming, so they put be behind a drum set and in front of an audience. Read more>>

Paytan Rapue

Aside from a few art classes in school, I basically learned to draw, paint, and develop my artistic medium by myself. I never enjoyed the crowds of lunch rooms, so in high school I would spend my free time in the art room with my best friend while she was developing a portfolio for her studio course. Seeing so many creative individuals doing what they loved freely gave me the inspiration to do the same, and it was at this time that I began to take my artistic creativity far more seriously. Read more>>

Tim Jurgensen

I learned how to tie dye simply through trial and error. In 2020 I wanted a Carhartt brand tie dye shirt and I couldn’t find any options. I had always wanted to try tie dye since I never did as a child. My partner had tie dyed before and told me to buy a kit and we could have a fun activity. I had 0 knowledge of how to tie dye or mix colors. I have never really been great at painting, drawing or any other artistic skill. Read more>>

Jodie Smith

I wasn’t going to pursue a career in design until my Art teacher at school submitted one of my pieces to the local gallery competition where I was later featured. I never even went to see the exhibition when it was on and told no one about it, as I didn’t think I was good enough still! I then studied Art & Design at college, specialising in Textiles. Read more>>

Lyndsey Arorash

I remember before I started taking dance classes in the studio, I would watch videos that showed ballet classes. I also had a little barre to use. When I was 8 I started taking classes at a dance studio named InMotion School of Dance in Bermuda. During my years there, I was exposed to various dance styles which helped me be able to adapt to any style. I like to believe that everything happened as it was supposed to which can also go with how everyone is on their own journey. Read more>>

Juan Palomino

From the get-go, I had (still have) a passion for photography artwork; to the day, I mostly saw it as a side job because for me, it was simply a productive way to have fun. Therefore, I looked into it as a method of passive income. When I was a college student, I took an artwork photography class where I learned what I felt were the basics such as understanding the components of a camera such as aperture, shutter speed, and ISO (a camera’s sensitivity to light). Read more>>

Elizabeth Brooks

The skills I have developed as a visual artist were through “self-taught” means. This meant years of practice and trial and error. At first I tried oil painting blindly. There is a bit of science to it and if you don’t know what you’re doing, it can lead to a lot of waste and a very bad final product. Eventually, I looked up tutorials and techniques online and this greatly sped up my learning process. Read more>>

Rich Najuch

My sewing and embroidery skills really took a giant leap forward once I decided to invest in a high-end machine from a Brother dealer. Not just because of the machine – though the difference between a discount store sewing machine and one with far more functionality from a machine dealer is huge. The main reason that my skills improved so rapidly was because of the other people in the community of the dealer’s shop. Read more>>

Jessica Hobart

I began learning how to be successful at resin/epoxy art by hoping on the Tik-Tok trend during the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic! I watched numerous videos on both that platform + many others and eventually began to connect myself with other artists via Instagram in order to learn more. Eventually, I made contact with an alcohol ink artist who taught me the basics of working with inks and my artistic abilities expanded tremendously with her assistance. Read more>>

Mandrill Hardge

Learning the craft begins honestly with getting connected to a person or persons who have been in the film/tv industry for a while. These connections grew my desire and passion to master my skill set as well as stretch it creatively. I have been extremely fortunate to work alongside industry top Dept Head and Hair Designers. These masterminds have shaped my eye for authenticity and precision in styling. I have also been fueled to be more of a designer myself in regards to character development in hairstyling. Read more>>

Diana Jean Puglisi

I learned how to sew and create patterns from my grandmother as well as during fashion design classes when I was young. I was an oil painter before I began working solely with textiles, so I very much still think like a painter in terms of color theory and composition. I first used textiles in my practice when I found myself deeply interested in Croatian lace because of its connection to my heritage—my grandmother was a lacemaker. Read more>>

Kimberly Fox

Honestly I tried so many different hobbies and it took about 10yrs to find what I loved to do, working with epoxy resin. I had the box for months before I actually had the courage to open it. this was during June of 2020, when most people were scared and depressed, it has helped my mental health so much, just by having that outlet. I watched tons of YouTube videos, joined Facebook groups for people interested in resin, researched safe practices and different techniques. Read more>>

Taylor stephens

I learned what I do by simply having a love for food, photography and staying consistent. Being more consistent in the beginning would have definitely sped up the process. The most important thing I learned is that you don’t need the latest and greatest equipment to take great pictures and videos. You just need practice. Read more>>

Eric Williams

Ever since I was in high school and college I’ve loved the art of creating whether that be through my fashion expression, dancing and photography. Learning about content creation through actual practice allowed me to develop my skillset in lighting, concept designing and videography. Through these three skills, I’ve been able to really love the process of creating various amounts of videos including makeup, societal hot topics and gardening. Read more>>

Martin Dunn

Everything I do is self taught , I learned how to rap by studying the greats and creating a sound unique to me. Knowing what I know now what I could have done to speed up My learning process was purchase all the pieces needed for a home studio like the ones i have in my home now. Not only does that help save money on studio time but it also helps with sharping my pen a lot faster. Read more>>

Zhijun Cheng

I was born in Foshan, China where I took an interest in art from a very young age. Because my mother used to be a kindergarten teacher, she often taught me to draw at home when I was young and that was my earliest artistic enlightenment. After my mother discovered my talent in art, she sent me to study with different teachers, and I also learned sketching, sequential illustration, Chinese traditional painting, and other painting techniques from different teachers. Later, as time went on, my art education became more and more professional. Read more>>

BlissBliss

We each grew up in homes that enjoyed music. Lang’s mother played piano and his dad played sax (not very frequently). He was exposed to classical and jazz early on. Renee grew up listening to Motown music as a little girl but was also exposed to many different kinds of music through her high school choir experiences as well as lessons in college and her own love and pursuit of listening to many different styles. Read more>>

Jamez Hunter

I have always been a visual learner, so when it came to doing my own makeup or performing stunts on stage, I had to watch videos over and over again before my first attempts. Makeup wise, it was trial and error due to everyone’s facial features being different and realizing that certain techniques do not translate well on everyone’s face. Read more>>

Tiffany Alexandria

I moved to America when I was 26 from Taipei, Taiwan. Never have I questioned what it meant to be a Taiwanese, nor have I had to REALLY cook for myself as eating out was so convenient and affordable in Taiwan. It wasn’t until I moved to Rochester, MN, people started to confuse me as “Thai”, or ask me what Taiwanese food is like, that I started to really deep dive into my own culture and cooking everything from scratch in order to learn more about my own history and story, I’ve been taking all of it for granted. Read more>>

Devan Diltz

I started teaching myself music production in the spring of 2020. When quarantine first started I was let go from my job and decided to use the extra time on my hands to learn a new craft. What I thought was going to be a hobby quickly turned into a new found love for me. Before learning how to produce I had about 10-15 years experience playing instruments and composing so I at least had a strong musical background. Read more>>