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.

Grace De Silva

Learning the craft of filmmaking and of running your own business takes time, patience and persistence. In my experience the best way of accomplishing much is by having a vision and taking big risks. Scheduling your goals. Staying focused on doing what you love; sometimes even a little every day goes a long way. It’s about committing to the daily habits that keep you connected to the work. Whether it be reading a script, a book, learning a new song, learning new technology, & techniques. Or going to see a movie. It all feeds the creative energy through play and discipline. Also learning to live life and letting go of high expectations. I’ve had to learn by doing without fear of failure or fear to be seen. Most importantly by getting out of my own way, not caring so much about what others think of me and giving space to allow things to unfold for my greater good. Read more>>

Juan Gollaz

My learning experience of what I do was with trial and error and learning from mistakes like most things in life. Not having the right guidance makes the process longer but at the same time more rewarding as you know you put the time and effort to be where you are. In my profession, the skills that are most essential is the ability to create and have a vision of the outcome. Read more>>

Nkechi May-Nzeribe

As they say, “necessity is the mother of invention”. I learnt how to Virtually style spaces (3D Renders) and do general graphic design because I found it easier to communicate through visuals on alot of ideas. Especially in the real estate market, I realised alot of people also struggle to communicate what their preferences are and it was a tad exhausting for all concerned to constantly try to figure it out. Read more>>

Marika Beroukas

I think so much of learning any craft is trial and error. As well as recognizing you won’t be an expert right away. Facing growing pains and failing along the way is such a positive part of growth if you let it be. When I was first exploring brand and web design, much of that was teaching myself how to use programs like Photoshop and WordPress – and being really terrible at it. Occasionally, I’ll think back to some of the first projects I did and I can’t believe clients were paying me. As tempting as it is to fast track being great, it’s all part of the process so I try to remember to enjoy the journey and each phase of learning. Read more>>

Maria De La Ghetto

Like most great comedians, trauma is usually how we get funny. Just kidding. Mostly. But honestly, that’s how many of us learn to be funny. In my case, I was always picked on for being the fat kid. My humor was my security blanket, coping mechanism, and even defense mechanism. Eventually, when I pursued being funny professionally, I learned how jokes were structured and the types of jokes, etc… It’s great to have natural talent but if you’re going up there every time just “winging” it, that’s unreliable. I didn’t officially learn how to write a joke until my 30s. I never had the money to take writing classes. Read more>>

Alexandra Bowman

There is a lot I have taught myself or have learned from my peers. If I have a question on how to go about a project, I reach out to another creative—community is important. I have learned the most from making mistakes and problem solving. I take classes to teach myself new software and experiment with new materials and techniques in my studio. My craft evolves with my art practice and life in general. Education is a constant process. Read more>>

TMCXJ

Becoming a Producer was the journey I needed to take to grow. A lot of times as creatives/Artists we tend to box ourselves in or let society or our situation put us in certain categories. Working with Lasikbeats pushed me as an artist and made me bring my A game to every session and being open to learn. Working off of Logic Pro X / FL studios with him the game has now changed. Read more>>

Kevin Messica

Learning to become a music producer/DJ can be a very difficult task with no set path to success. It’s a very long and intimidating process that requires constant learning and improvement since music is always evolving. There is also a big difference in learning to DJ vs. learning to make music and become a music producer. DJing in my opinion is much simpler to learn and can be a lot more fun and not quite so intimidating (minus the occasional stage fright). Music production on the other hand is never fully mastered in my opinion due to how complex it can be, but even understanding the fundamentals can take a very long time and a lot of determination and passion. Read more>>

James Reid Stafford

So I’ve been apart of the Film Industry for eleven years now. For the first five, I went from set to set learning and gaining information about the industry. Even though I was in front of the camera, I began to take interest behind it as well. I asked a lot of crew members how they got to where they were and they all mostly went to College for it. I knew it was a process and was something I wanted to do so decided to go to college in 2017 where I’d major in screenwriting and directing. It was there where I got hands on experience and learned the ins and outs of the film industry. Read more>>

Esteban Gast

I grew up watching movies. And, perhaps to a fault, I thought that life was like a movie. As Oscar Wilde once wrote, “life imitates art far more than art imitates life”. Anyways, all that is to say that I have been searching for these “montage” moments. Moments where I would start writing, performing, or growing in my skills and then, after a catchy song, I would be really good at them. And sadly, life is far more boring. And long. And boring. Like, so boring. Read more>>

Paige Smith

Something that’s often been said by so very many talented artists is the best way to learn is by doing. The reason it’s so commonly stated, in my opinion, is because it’s true. Decades ago, when I was a theater student at Kansas State University, I had a vague idea of what being an artist was. I knew I loved to write and act and tell stories, but the actual path before me was a complete mystery. This is something that most artists go through. In truth, none of us really know what we’re doing, but we know we want to try. Read more>>

Konstantin Ladurner

One of the biggest advice I give to younger musicians who are just starting out is to move out of their hometown and to the biggest city possible. And it’s not only because of opportunities in the industry but mostly to fully learn their craft. Because the best way for musicians to learn their craft is to be around other musicians who are better than them. To be around true professionals. Sure, you can spend all day on YouTube learning how to make beats, etc. but the best and fastest way to learn something, in my opinion, is to see someone else do it. It’s inspiring and daunting at the same time because you realize “damn I need to step it up”. Read more>>

Jess Engle

I first began my lifelong lesson on being an artist when I was about four and my Nana gave me a box of colored pencils and put an apple in front of me on the kitchen table. For the next ten years I kept drawing apples and eventually my subject matter expanded to exotic birds, animals, plants, portraits and eventually to the hardest subject (for me) the abstract. I am a kinesthetic learner, which means, I learn by just doing it. Even though I paint most days, I usually come into the studio feeling like I’ve forgotten everything I know. This is good. When I don’t have that beginner’s mind feeling and I think I know what I’m doing I get into trouble, because in the “knowing” there is no room for the life to come through. Read more>>

Kayla Williams

As an artist, writing music and coming up with pretty melodies has always felt like second nature to me. Nonetheless, that doesn’t mean that I am not constantly learning new techniques everyday. When you find something you love, learning more about it genuinely fuels you and in my case that is how I can work on a song for 4 hours at a time, and not even realize that so much time has gone by. I dedicate countless hours to honing my vocal technique, studying various genres, and working with different vocal coaches because I know that a little bit of progress a day leads to long-term progress which brings me closer to my goals. Over the last year, I’ve encountered challenges and breakthroughs, and each experience has contributed to my growth as an artist. I believe that learning in this field is a continuous process which is what makes the journey so enjoyable. Read more>>

Linda Queally

Learning the craft. My creative life has become a beautiful pearl laden tapestry of experience woven from formal and informal education, fantastic travel, generous mentorship and lots of practice over time. Academically, I studied the basics of drawing, painting and design at Otis Parsons in Los Angeles. Then much later I received a degree in Gemology from SCC and became a Certified Pearl Specialist with the CPAA as well. Read more>>

Dina Lockridge

Learning how to become an artist is a complex and interesting journey. At an early age, we are taught basic art techniques, ways to capture color, light, shadow, and form. If one seeks to pursue a career in art, these lessons become painstakingly joyful and frustrating as we try to capture the lesson being taught to us. For me, while I loved and exceled at still art, it wasn’t what captivated my passion. I embarked on learning about sketching the nude female form to grow my skills for shapes and depth and as an experiment to see if this was the way I would capture the art I wanted to create. There were many aspects I loved and appreciated in practicing this art form, but I felt more drawn to abstract versions of the human form. I then delved into abstract art technique studying about my favorite abstract artists and this led me to my passion of color. Read more>>

Isabella Brinkworth

I have been singing and writing songs ever since I could talk! It started as a child when I would make personalized ringtones for all my family members. I would write on every school “get to know me” card that I wanted to be a singer, and I would get up on every stage possible to sing my heart out! Although it came naturally at first as I got older I started to really notice the eyes on me. I started to notice people looking at their friends when I was on stage and making little remarks. If I could go back and start again I would tell myself and any other aspiring artist that you can never impress everyone. Everyone has to do “embarrassing” things or you will never grow to be good! Read more>>

Helen Lary

Where I am now is definitely not how it all started. Learning the ins and outs of my business took a lot of time and mistakes, but I really feel like this business means so much more because I learned it all from the ground up. Looking back, it has been a journey to finding my creative voice as well as learning how to run a business. Read more>>

Jenny Lanna

The most honest answer I have to this question is also the one that no one wants to hear. I learned how to do what I do by simply doing it and doing it often. The different painting techniques I have acquired were not taught to me, I developed them by working at them every day and making mistakes all the time. Something I could have done to speed up my process of learning would be to not have gotten frustrated with failure. When I was really learning how to paint, I would get frustrated easily and I would end up doing anything to avoid dealing with those mistakes. Read more>>

Diego Ramirez

I spent a lot of time growing up alone, and this was my own decision. I didn’t really like to socialize a lot. The only thing that kept me in solace at the time was movies. Indie, big budget, pick a genre and I’ve watched it. There were so many movies I watched at the time that just inspired me. Around then I would daydream shots and entire movies of my own that played out in my head. I can remember what was the spark of how I learned to start doing what I do, and that was simply to just write down ideas on a notebook. Whether it was a story idea or a shot in my head; good or bad ideas, I just wrote it down. Read more>>

Adriel Bencosme

I started my creative journey as a photographer and was quickly advised to pick up video since it was starting to gain momentum over photos in many aspects. Now we use video as one of the most powerful mediums of communication in both storytelling and advertising. Recently, though, artificial intelligence has unleashed the previously hard-to-reach potential of photography by eliminating the costs of travel to exotic locations, top talent/products, perfect lighting, and high-end camera equipment. Today we are only limited by our imagination which is the fundamental element to a creative with a camera; taking our imagination and bringing it to life. Learning the craft never ends and the tools of the craft are taking exponential leaps forward. Read more>>

J.T. Patton

Learning how to fly the drone is just one step in doing aerial photography and videography in the entirety of the business., Initially, I believed I could just buy a drone, learn to fly it and then take pictures and sell them to various markets that needed them. However, I was not fully thinking of all the processes and learning concepts that I would need to start this business. First, to sell photos or video’s commercially, you have to have a Unmanned Aircraft Systems license, obtained by the FAA. This process took a while to fully learn the materials enough to pass, and then get the license. Secondly, tapping into the creative side of myself which I wasn’t aware was there. Read more>>

Thomas Swanson

Nothing taught me more than simply being dedicated to my craft. I have spent tens of thousands of hours doing music production and engineering for other people and important projects. Knowing the importance of working on someone else’s music, and living up to the trust that clients have in me has always pushed me to become better, therefore learning a lot along the way; and I continue to learn. I also attended Berklee College of Music online where I was able to fine tune my skills, and build confidence within my own standards. Read more>>

Qingruo Zhao

My career path is pretty unique, so I hope my story can be inspiring for someone suffering from a career-shifting period.
Fun fact: my undergraduate major is Auditing, so when I realized that I wanted to ANIMATE three years after graduating, I barely knew where to start and here’s my path:
Study how to use Cinema 4D in 2017
Become a full-time producer for a year.
Apply to SVA Computer Arts in 2019 with a portfolio from that year.
Interning for a year after graduation in 2 different studios. Read more>>

Thomas Ross

Learning, in my opinion, is a lifelong pursuit. I’ve always been fascinated with how things work, and photography was no exception. Most of what I learned in the beginning was trial and error, since Google was barely a thing and there was no such thing as YouTube. I found my first mentor while I was looking for a part time job in college. I ended up working events for a high volume photographer, and he showed me some of the basics for framing and getting the attention fo my subjects. I put the pursuit for my passion away after graduating, trading it for a real job in the corporate world as a Financial Advisor for a few years. Read more>>

Ania Thomas

I learned to play music from everyone I could. Every musician is unique and each one can offer something unique. This is because we all have different tastes in music and our hands all do not work the same. Everyone’s movement and technique varies. The most essential skills for learning: Patience. Dont compare yourself! Be patience. Love what you do. Enjoy your journey. My obstacles were “insecure” people.. Read more>>

Kate Hush

I believe to truly understand one’s neon journey, it’s best to be at least a little familiar with the process of how neon is made, so allow me to try and explain. Imagine you have a line drawing sitting on a tabletop in front of you, and in your hands you have a hollow glass tube that is a few feet long (think of a drinking straw). Then next to you, the table, the drawing, and the glass tubing in your hands are several torches all emitting fire and flames. These torches are used to heat up small sections of your glass into a soft and pliable state. You do this by holding your tubing in the flames until it is brought to the perfect limberness, then you remove it from the heat and place it onto your tabletop drawing as fast as you can, all the while twisting and bending and manipulating your softened glass into mimicking the lines of your design. You do this over and over and over again until your drawing has been fully recreated in the glass tubing. Read more>>

Pedro De Leon

I am self taught for the most part, I’ve sketched all my life (even when I wasn’t supposed to). Eventually in college I took a starter course pertaining to the Adobe Suite. I was able to complete demos on both photoshop and Illustrator. After that, anytime I needed help learning how to use the software, I just googled the answer or process to get over any obstacle while working on graphics. I believe research is the most essential part when it comes to learning a new skill. The answer is literally right at your finger tips, so don’t be scared to try something new and when you get ‘stuck’; GOOGLE IT. Education is also essential, if you have access to a college level education, take it every time. Read more>>

Chris Leib

I learned on the job, as I came into an illustration position by chance after University. When the job ended, unlike my colleagues who had gone to art school, I didn’t have a portfolio with which to pursue further work in the field. One of my co-workers had been doing freelance work for ad agencies and was making very good money at it. I loved the work, and had been making more money than my friends, so I figured that was a good excuse to take art classes and develop a portfolio. Read more>>

Kevin Fong

I graduated from Berklee College of Music with a degree in film scoring and have maintained a steadfast commitment to expanding my knowledge and honing my craft. I consider a deep understanding of music to be the cornerstone of my expertise. However, I have encountered challenges along the way, particularly in managing my time effectively and navigating creative roadblocks. To address these challenges, I’ve proactively worked on time management strategies, sought guidance from seasoned professionals, and actively engaged in activities to stimulate and enhance my creativity. In essence, my unwavering dedication to learning and a structured approach to skill development have been pivotal in my pursuit of excellence in the field of film scoring. Read more>>

Lena Wagner

The learning curve is exponential in the beginning and what makes me happy is that it never ends because it keeps you in that learning process. You level up, but you never stop learning. Photography is a passion that keeps you on your toes and if you make the effort to go out there, explore, experiment and dare to be open to making mistakes, the outcome is rewarding. Lately, I have been mixing up my photography with videos and drone footage which are very different ways of shooting and editing. It can be frustrating when your clip doesn’t look like what you had in mind and I tossed my computer out the proverbial window more than once. That’s where team work and your support networks come in: shooting with others, exchange photos/ videos, getting someone’s opinion whose work and progress you value is a big part of the process. Read more>>

Natalia Valle

Painting has been a passion of mine for a long time. There was always something about that particular art form that I connected with. However as a young girl, my introduction to art was really the base of it all – drawing. As early as four years old, I would pick up any crayon, marker or pencil and draw houses and trees in every blank sheet of paper I found. Even at a young age, I knew the importance of refining a skill like drawing. All the years of sketching and doodling on napkins or newspapers and magazines led me to finally be excited to begin translating drawings into paintings. In high school I began my painting path with some trepidation at the start. It was an adjustment to be able to “control” the process because I was afraid of making mistakes and completely start from scratch. Read more>>

Jason James

How did I learn to do what I do? Oh, that’s a deep rooted question. I guess the easiest and most straight forward answer is I went to school and took class. However, let me also say that I am constantly learning about what I do and how I can do it better. Read more>>

Hamzah Tarzan

Since 2007 when I started the real thing in making movies, as a self thought and move on to get my degree in filmmaking from Hollywood, and after making my second feature I realized that you learn more from being on set than behind a table in front another filmmaker who thinks his way is the right way. Main thing to know about filmmaking is if you are not fully in it, it can break you easily to pieces in all aspects, you have to know and have what it need. Read more>>

Brittany Uecker

Hosting jobs always looked so fun to me, whether it’s livestreaming for a clothing company or red carpet interviews, but never a career I expected to get into. A friend of mine knew I had a ton of improv experience & suggested I try it out. If jobs have a “love at first sight” moment, then this was definitely it. It was like those first days in an improv classes; that high alert listening & the buzz of being live (even if it’s through a screen). It brought so much life back into my creative self that had been dwindling during covid without classes and shows. While not everyone needs am improv history to host, I found my improv training to be the most helpful tool in hosting. They both focus on listening, being present & finding natural ways to work in your own personality. The more you do it, the better you get. Hosting & comedy are very similar, often the only obstacle is to get out of your own way & your own head to reach your potential. Read more>>

Lindsay Scanlan

I knew I wanted to be in the creative field before I even was capable of fully talking in sentences. My favorite movie growing up as a kid was Studio Ghibli’s ‘My Neighbor Totoro’. It’s a beautifully animated film with a gentle pace, but it was still so magical and different from the movies I had seen before, that it made my little six year old head explode. I was obsessed. I wanted to draw like that, to create like that- SOMETHING. Read more>>

Ben Armstrong

I remember writing a song when I was about 14, and at that time, I thought it was really great, even though it wasn’t. I was a big fan of The Beatles and The Who, and that’s what inspired me to start writing songs. Newspaper Taxis is actually the first band I’ve been a part of, and we’ve been playing in the Raleigh area for about two years. Read more>>

Susan Moss

Some visual arts disciplines require a long period of study, apprenticeship, practice. I salute that! But, for me, learning to draw, paint, sew, and embroider began at a very young age and proceeded informally without much guidance. I always wanted to engage with materials, try things even when I didn’t know how, test ambitious (for me) ideas… and, often fail. I was honing my craft without knowing that was what I was doing. Later, I began to see these skills as a path to making art. I believe that at some point visual artists have to apprentice to themselves, rather than a teacher or master craftsperson. And, that plowing ahead, making mistakes, and learning through the process is essential. Does this sound like a teacher talking? Well, I am also a teacher. Read more>>

Zach Rohe

I spent years taking pictures but it wasn’t until I made the full commitment to photography as an art that my work started to click. I wish I would have made this commitiment sooner, and it involved just working on being a better photographer every day. Read more>>

Ingeborg Frye

The method of painting I practice, pour painting, is one I had to learn mostly by making mistakes, by stumbling and falling, through perseverence and desire. Initially I watched some videos and such, but it seems as some important aspect was often omitted. So I tried different paints, different surfaces, different aides and tools, and I still learn something new each day. Read more>>

Hawa Maya Bangura

Learning the craft of photography is an exciting and ongoing journey that revolves around the mastery of manipulating light. At its core, photography is the art of capturing and controlling light through a box with a hole – a camera – to transform moments into timeless photographs. To embark on this creative path is to delve into a world of technical and artistic knowledge. Read more>>

William Jefferson Jr

Always learning each and every day . It’s always something new and I can learn from anyone no matter how much experience they have. Read more>>