Wanting to be an artist or creative is step one. Following through means investing in learning your craft, but we’ve heard from so many aspiring artists and creatives who feel unsure about where to start and so we’re incredibly grateful to the artists and creatives who’ve agreed to share their stories of how they learned their craft.

Shaelyn Dalziel

Growing up, I was always encouraged to draw and paint, especially since both of my parents were artists. As a small child, I was always observing my parents and their process of creating. After many years of watching, I became more interested in creating more serious works on my own. I began painting and explored colored, then I explored the simplicity of ink and charcoal. I developed my most concentrated work when I reached city college. My ideas and visions became more complex which challenged me to further my execution. Read more>>

Camille Meers

Countless hours listening to podcasts, watching YouTube videos, TikToks, and just taking photos of anything and everything in every lighting scenario. I took lots of photos of my friends and my pups. Learning manual camera settings was actually the easiest part- did not feel like it at the time but- the story telling that occurs when photographing is the hardest part. I am still perfecting my craft in how I tell someone’s story through images- and learning how to pose my clients in a way that is natural, feel true to them and looks cinematic & easy. Read more>>

Jesus Vasquez jr

learn how what you do now? I learned how to box at a really young age (9), after trying karate and wrestling I realized I need to be pushed further in a more intense sport. My father was very supportive of me trying all these sports, he would go out of his way to find a good gym, buying me shoes etc. At age nine i stepped into my first boxing gym but I didn’t start learning the actually craft of boxing until I had a few years of experience. Read more>>

Natalia Melville

I have been a henna artist for the last 10 years. I am a self-taught, henna artist. I have been drawing, since I was six years old. I grew interest for Henna when my coworker, while I was in college did henna work on me. During that time I was doing artwork on cakes and I knew with her doing that work on me I can do it on myself. I asked her to get me henna cones, and I started practicing on myself every day, any part of my body that I could reach. Read more>>

SinClare

Ive always been involved with music since a baby. I taught myself how to play drums. My grandfather was a pastor so I played for our church choir, thats where I fell in love with music, at church. From there it spiraled into other things like Marching Band. I also enjoyed writing as a kid. Won a couple poetry slams. So when I got old enough to record, thats what I did. I dont think anything could have sped it up. If I could do it all over again though I would have put out a demo while I was in highschool. Many obstacles was in the way, but the main one was funding. Still is today. Read more>>

Tim Smith

I learned photography from trial and error; like all creative people starting with an idea and working with a craft until you get it to a point where you want show it. I would have opened myself up to trying new view points and new ways of seeing familiar things. I would also be less afraid to experiment in my work and got myself out of the I can only do one thing in this space mindset. Read more>>

 ZACH MURRAY

It was a happy accident, born from failure. I started out (circa. 2017) opening an online sweatshirt shop selling science fiction themed garments. At this point I had ideas but not the capability to design the graphics that went onto them. I used to hire illustrators to bring to life my really poor sketches, using crowdsourcing sites to list jobs. About a year after launching the business, and not many sales later, I found that I enjoyed creating the artwork more than the fashion side to my business, I was a lot better at it too, Read more>>

Aaron Scamihorn

I’ve been driven by an almost-primal need to create. When I see art or design that challenges my understanding of how it was made I can’t help but dive in and give it a shot. Early in my career, this was digital portrait illustration. I’d never touched a mac computer or opened an adobe application, but I knew those were the tools I needed to just give it a shot. Tons of painstaking trial and error later I had recreated a portrait of Andre the Giant. All that to say I would offer the advice to anyone getting started: “Commit to what you want to make and do as much of it as your life and schedule will allow until you’re great at it.” Read more>>

Lucia Medico

In 2017, I found myself getting a divorce after 9 years of marriage and raising a 16year old young man. I was feeling defeated and needed some personal inspiration. Music had always been a healing space for me. Especially, since I was raised in the Hip Hop era. I had seen that a local DJ, by the name of DJ Tyrone Bizzon Miller ( aka DJ Bizzon) offering free DJ lessons through a evening program called Scratch Session at a local Art gallery named Walker Point Center for the Arts. The Session lasted approximately 3 months, one time a week. Read more>>

Elizabeth Eansor

Interior design is a creative field that combines artistry, technical knowledge, and business skills. It involves designing functional and aesthetic spaces within a building envelope. One of the main reasons I chose interior design as my career path was because of the creative freedom it provided as a profession. However, Learning the craft of interior design was quite a journey. A lot of what I learned about the skills required of an interior designer was learned in a BID (Bachelors of Interior Design) degree program at Sheridan College. Read more>>

Teddy Osei

As a mixed media ceramic artist from Ghana living and working in the United States, I would say that my learning process has been a combination of formal education, self-study, and hands-on experience. My formal education in ceramics started in Ghana, where I learned the basic techniques of working with clay. I then went on to study ceramics at Eastern Illinois University for my Masters Art and am currently a final year MFA candidate at Missouri State University, where I was able to deepen my understanding of the craft and develop my artistic style. Read more>>

Annie Shannon

It took many years of trial and error. I grew up with YouTube, but didn’t fully understand how to look up tutorials so a lot of what I learned photography wise was either self taught or something that a friend showed me. When it comes to the business aspect, I knew NOTHING. They don’t teach you how taxes work, they don’t talk about entrepreneurial things at all. Knowing what I know now, I would look up the following things: Read more>>

Sydney Snider

When I started in photography back in 2008, my first deep dive into learning was my high school photography class. From there I went on to study photography at Grand Valley State University. Although I do value what I learned from a technical aspect from these classes, they really didn’t teach me how to be a business owner or a wedding photographer. Now, there is so much information and workshops online, that the last five years have been pivotal to my growth as a photographer and business owner. Read more>>

Brenna Thornton

Over the years, it has taken a lot of patience and perseverance to learn my strengths as a voice actor. It doesn’t come over night, it’s a long journey and varies depending on person to person. Knowing what I know now, I definitely wish I had started my journey into voice acting sooner and been less fearful of attending workshops, as I could’ve known so much more than I do right now. When learning something new, go in with a strong willingness to learn, pay no mind to the uncertainties in your subconscious, Read more>>

Jacob Green

“Trial by fire” is the best way I can describe my introduction to photojournalism. I did have some handy video production and journalism skills I had learned from college, however, it was the on-the-ground experience that helped to sharpen my wits. I certainly could have sped up my learning process by utilizing the wisdom of seasoned photojournalists in the field. Skills are developed by the process of sharing lived experiences and I didn’t know that going into the field. Read more>>

Shawntae Sneed

I am an independent author of three published books and an entrepreneur. I am currently in the process of building my business. I learned how to write by adequately researching the topics I wrote about and through trial and error. I could have begun connecting with other independent authors and entrepreneurs in order to gain insightful information from their experiences. Experience is the best teacher. As an independent author and entrepreneur, learning my craft is an essential skill, and exercising patience throughout the journey is a must. Read more>>

Nathan Wagner

I had grown up doing a lot of theater, and I think that that background in live performance helped me a lot in my development as an entertainer. As a kid, I was obsessed with cartoons and animation, combining this with my theater background, I found that voice acting was a super fulfilling and exciting type of performance! When I began to take voice acting seriously as a profession, both attending workshops and creating voice-over content were incredibly helpful steps in making connections and honing my craft. Learning to collaborate and be open to direction are essential skills, and adopting that mindset early on was incredibly important. Read more>>

Chase Lloyd

I began my creative writing journey when I was elementary school. For fun, I would sit down and write my own short stories. I always lived inside of my own head, and writing became an outlet for me. As the years passed, I would continue to write my own stories. It wasn’t until, I got to college, that I decided that I wanted to major in creative writing. I have always been a movie buff, and I knew that screenwriting, was what I wanted to do. Looking back on it, I wish that I hadn’t of taken so much time off from my writing, upon graduating. Read more>>

Brian Mills

Looking back on where I started compared to where I am now, one of the most important lessons I’m thankful for is that learning your craft hinges on exactly that. Embrace the learning phase. It’s ok to be terrible at something your first (or second, or tenth) shot at it. That’s all part of the process, and there are truly very few folks at there who can say it took little to no effort to get to where they are in their expertise. Have patience with yourself, and free yourself from the idea that not being skilled right away means it’s not worth your patience, your energy, or your time. Read more>>

OJ Neon

When I was 5, I would steal like 20 sheets my mom’s printer paper and use them to create sequels for my favorite movies as a kid. I wrote my first rap when I was 6, got artist of the week in my elementary school at 7 or 8 then started writing poetry at 10. During that time, I created this fire stick man comic loaded with all types of stories, no dialogue, just 2 notebooks full of action, fights, and abstract storylines. When I was 13, I started making music by recording on my StraightTalk android. I would hold my phone close to my laptop speaker, rap into my phone speaker so it recorded me and the beat at the same time. Read more>>

C. Henny

I started in 2018 with no knowledge at all about music. I learned really by watching my bro Ali make beats in the dorm & I would watch Guap rap at the crib. I got tired of paying studios for studio time so ended up watching Ali engineer & teaching myself how to engineer. I don’t feel like I could have done anything to speed up the process because I’m so precise with everything I do that it has to be A1 before it goes out so I take my time with it and it paid off. Read more>>

Grace Mia

Throughout my career, learning the art of modeling and improving my craft has been quite the journey. There are so many aspects of fashion, modeling and beauty that can make for amazing creations. From being comfortable and confident in front of the camera to learning unique poses to practicing my runway walk, I have learned a great amount of techniques that have ultimately help further my career. Read more>>

Sayer Mowat

I don’t think anyone learns to create art. I think that we learn to live, we learn to feel, and then we interpret it. Emotions, moments, thoughts, experiences – we take them and we turn them into songs, poems, paintings. We are a reflection of ourselves. The reflection that we allow the world to see. Over time we just get better, or more abstract at sharing it. Read more>>

José Oldenburg

I started writing stories when I was 9 years old. It was my way to cope with the world. I loved getting lost in my own stories, and play out my own characters and plots in my mind, this is a tool I still use to this day. It’s a good time. One of the most essential skills I have is the ability to play, most ideas come from not forgetting how as a kid, playfulness leads to storytelling. The biggest obstacle has been the desire for recognition I’d say. My work flows better when wanting to be famous is not the driver of the bus but some kid asleep in last row of seats. Read more>>

ToNora Warden

It was not until late in life that I realized what it was I enjoyed doing. When I look back at things that I took interest in growing up, it makes sense where I am now. I cannot attribute any formal training to learning carpentry or woodworking, but I’ve always had an inquisitive take on how things were made or built. I immediately noticed that I could envision how something was made or put together, replicate it. And since I’m a visual learner, I can repeatedly watch how to do something and tackle it. Read more>>

Sterling Giles

If you want to be great at something, you have to study the greats. It takes hours and hours of research and mastery. But what’s cool is with virtually anything you want to master, there’s likely a pioneer who has already done the leg work. Once you’ve studied (which honestly is an ongoing process), you’ve got to find way to let your voice and art to be seen and heard. Be genuine and don’t be afraid to put off promoting your creation until you’re ready. Run your race. Read more>>

Sarah Glaser

I first learned to illustrate digitally out of necessity. I had done illustrations with pen and ink and pains for many years, but my partner wanted to quit his job and travel for a few months. I wanted to travel too, but I did not want to quit my job. So, I searched for a way to complete commissions on the road. I bought an iPad and a subscription to the online learning platform, Skillshare. A few online courses later, I gave myself a daily assignment: illustrate one letter of the alphabet every day with a backcountry snowboarding theme. By the time I had finished the letters my skills had grown so much that I began at A again. Read more>>

Caroline Guilbert

Even though I discovered natural dyeing while pursuing my master’s degree in color, the supplies were from pigments and dyes already extracted. There were specific recipes given by the provider with tips on how to achieve the best results. Similar to how we use paint directly from the tube, the dyes were premade and ready to use. Now, I extract natural dyes from food and flower scraps to color my work. So far I have been letting the waste direct which color I can obtain from it. But, in a new series, I am flipping this approach by looking to achieve a specific hue and experimenting with various biowastes to achieve it. Read more>>

Grayson Bowling

I can honestly say that learning my craft has been a lifelong journey. As most would probably see in their own creative works, I’ve grown with each project over time. Sometimes the best way to learn, is to simply play with new techniques and materials. For years I used only graphite for artwork, but then I tried charcoal, then pastels, then pen nibs, and so on. With each new material, I started by simply playing, to see what I could do. Read more>>

Yutong (Susie) Lu

I have been passionate about drawing since I was very young, and during my primary school years, I became fascinated with Japanese animation and manga, which ultimately led me to decide to pursue a career as an artist. Throughout my studies, I have found that conducting thorough research is incredibly important. By collecting different types of information and understanding various styles, I can better determine which style suits me best. Additionally, attending various workshops has allowed me to learn different drawing techniques and approaches to art. Read more>>

Kerri Schlottman

For most of my life, I’ve been a person who learns by doing. I grew up in a working-class suburb of Detroit where most of the young people had jobs by the time they were fourteen, if not much sooner. We had to work. I started working at age ten cleaning a law firm where my single mom worked. By the time I graduated high school, I’d been employed at Kmart, Dunkin Donuts, Meijer, and, for the longest stretch, a factory called Morley Candy Makers where I worked on an assembly line with about thirty other young women stuffing chocolates into boxes – every day after school and on Saturdays. Read more>>

Alberto Anaya

I went through the traditional path as a composer at different conservatories in Europe, which involved several years of intensive training from a very early age. While this approach had its pros and cons, I don’t think there is a better way to learn. Later on, I was fortunate enough to receive a Fulbright Scholarship to attend NYU’s Master’s program in Scoring for Film, TV, and Video Games. During my time there, I focused mostly on electives from the Sound Engineering Master’s program and read many exceptional books while working on independent projects and student films. This is how I learned to do what I do. Read more>>

David Violi

When I started out, as a teenager, I had no training. I was living at home and one day picked up the local newspaper, not the big one that comes to your door, it was that tiny one that you get for free at like the grocery store. I saw an ad for auditions for a local play. So, I just hopped in my old, beat-up Chevy Nova and went to the audition. I had zero idea what I was doing. But, as fate would have it, I got one of the leads. Who knew? I think it was called “My Three Angles” about three convicts. I just went off instinct and, hey, I wasn’t half bad. Read more>>

Austen Brantley

I first started seeking out private ceramic sculpting lessons from professional sculptors because I was dissatisfied with the progress I was making on my own. Working one-on-one with a professional sculptor has been an absolute game-changer for me. First and foremost, the level of personalized attention received during private lessons is unparalleled. Additionally, because of the professional sculptor’s extensive knowledge and experience in their craft, they can bring a unique perspective to my work that I may not have considered on my own. Read more>>

Reena Wu

Learning to tattoo was something that was very challenging for me. I had been drawing all my life, so I had walked into my tattoo apprenticeship thinking, how different could it be? Turns out, it’s crazy different. Drawing straight lines was never really a big concern for me when creating art, and I would often prefer looser and more uneven strokes when using pen and pencil, so the precision of tattooing was very new to me. I essentially had to rewire the way I approached thinking about lines. Read more>>

M Moore

I’m still learning to “do what I do”. I basically know how to draw, everything after that is a version of drawing and adaptation. A few lessons have stuck with me over time. (1) The mark-making tool and the “eraser” are democratic. Keep one in each hand and use them simultaneously. (2) Everything is editable. Don’t be precious or protective over some areas that you think in this fleeting moment are “really good”. If you can make it once you can make it twice. (3) Constantly move your marks around, work on the entire surface at once. (4) Literally stay on your feet and back up. Read more>>

Josie Renkwitz

I went to art school, and got a BFA in Animation. Art school is not for everyone, and I think it’s purpose needs reevaluating, but I don’t regret my choice and I think I got a lot out of my school experience. The following is something I did that helped me at the time, and something I wish I’d prioritized more. 1.Communicate with professors This seems obvious, but it’s really important. Some teachers in college will be a lot like teachers in high school, but most will not. Your teachers are also kind of your peers now. Read more>>

Laura Marshall

My mom is a wonderful oil painter and very creative, so as a kid she always had some kind of artsy project for me to do. She always had paper and paints on hand for me to play with and never balked when things got messy. I tried a lot of different types of art as a kid but when I was in high school I got very interested in photography. I majored in art in college and while I was still mostly focused on photography, I also enjoyed a wide variety of mediums like oil and watercolor painting, ceramics, and printmaking. Read more>>

Chef Mona Arnold

As a chef and pastry chef, I have come to realize that there is always something new to learn. The culinary world is constantly evolving, bringing new techniques, trends, and challenges, and I am always eager to stay up-to-date and expand my knowledge. I’m constantly seeking opportunities to learn, whether it’s through attending culinary workshops, experimenting with new recipes, or collaborating with other chefs in the field. I believe that there is always something to learn from others, and I’m always open to different perspectives and approaches. Read more>>

Hoodtstar Dreamz

As an eager Person trying to learn about music, there’s alot of $ I invested into the wrong information & also wrong companies etc that turned into lessons, there’s ppl who Prey on this eagerness & thrive off of using unknowledgeable artist. The Best teacher for me were mentors, rather it be other successful artist, radio show personalities, managers etc. I ignored so much good advice when it could have made my learning that much quicker & easier. Read more>>

Rebekah Laur’en

I’ve been professionally performing a little over ten years now but have been learning my craft since I was a child and honestly, you are forever learning your craft. Learning your craft is also learning yourself, this is a constant journey but it truly gets better the more you do and the more you learn. Read more>>