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.

Piper Page

I learned how to make music, and how to have a music career, in the same way that a lot of artists do–from experience. I had no idea what I was getting myself into when I first started, and I believed that the only way for me to truly know if this was a path I wanted to continue down, was for me to just *start*, no matter what obstacles or hardships I encountered. You learn by doing. When I first started songwriting, I was 12 years old. What do 12 year olds know about songwriting? I just tried, and then eventually as I got older and started to understand things like tone, style, cadence, and chord progression, I got better. Read more>>

Bridgett Hancock

My learning process started the moment I could pick up a crayon. For as long as I can remember I’ve been drawing, and always wanting to get better. In school, I took art classes and once I was old enough to have a phone, I watched art tutorial videos on YouTube. It’s crazy how many new skills you can pick up just from watching videos. My advice to anyone who’s wanting to learn to draw is to ashore info from other artists as often as possible. Read more>>

Dyan Padgett

I was a Fine Arts major in college. Although I studied art in college, it did not fully prepare me for a career in the arts. My undergraduate program was an exploration of the arts – slowly guiding me to the conclusion that I wanted to become a painter. However, because I took classes across a wide range of mediums, it did not allow the time or space to hone my skills as a painter. Nor did it prepare me for the unique financial situation of being an artist. I basically walked away with a degree and the knowledge that I wanted to paint. Read more>>

Jon Hoban

I learned digital art and graphic design through a combination of formal education and hands-on experience. Attending art school in Long Beach, California, from 2006 to 2008 provided me with a solid foundation in design principles, typography, color theory, and software skills. Beyond the classroom, I honed my craft by working on various freelance projects and doing an internship at Skechers shoes, experimenting with different styles, and engaging with other designers. Read more>>

Andi Porretta

I’ve been drawing for as long as I can remember. When I was only a kindergartener, I remember getting complimented on my Easter bunnies and schoolbook doodles. From early on, I guess I had a natural ability for capturing what I saw in my head or in my line of sight on a piece of paper. But no matter how good or bad a drawing looked, I simply loved making them. Growing up, I loved being in the arts and crafts classroom and even took after-school courses at Moore College of Art and Design and the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Art. Read more>>

Destine Dumetz

I’ve always enjoyed writing, but over the years, it became my comfort. I found myself writing in the mornings and sometimes late at night when creativity sparked. I’ve also recognized the value of writing with meaning, whether on topics like spirituality, the impermanence of life, or the maturation process in womanhood. About seven years ago, I began improving my writing skills, and years later, I started speaking through my podcasts. Whether crafting poetry or Instagram captions, I would meticulously refine my work to grow. Read more>>

Cortney Wilson

Practice! Watching! Practice!!!… because my mom did hair, the gift was passed down. So I always had what they say a “knack for hair”. Now , was a master stylist? No way. I jumped into the pool of hair by taking clients at a low rate so that I could practice and get a lil bit of money. There were ladies at my mother’s salon that had it going on! I mean skillful, and full appointment books ! Whenever I wasn’t assisting, I was by their sides getting tips and learning! Read more>>

Dan Lai

I am a dancer teacher and choreographer in NYC. There really is no guide or formal training (unless you go the college route) in becoming a dance teacher so a lot of how I learned was observation along with trial and error. I based a lot of how I teach on the teachers that I looked up to when I was taking dance classes. I think patience, leadership and communication are fundamental skills in being a teacher. Read more>>

Rika Nakayama

I began animating when I took an experimental animation class in my sophomore year in undergrad. I watched some mainstream animation films and shows growing up, but never knew how diverse and exciting the independent animation world was until I learned experimental animation. There are unlimited possibilities and diversities in this medium, where animators invite the audience to their unique universe which operates in its own logic to tell stories and meanings. I liked drawing, painting, building objects, and imagining stories growing up, so if I had known about animation and had access to equipment when I was younger, I would have been obsessed with animating from an earlier age. Read more>>

Jerry Gureghian

When I decided to become an actor, I wasn’t quite sure where to start, but living in Los Angeles, I knew I had access to some incredible resources. The first steps of my acting journey in a tiny room of an acting studio in Hollywood were both terrifying and exhilarating. The intensity of that initial experience led me to walk for two hours afterward just to calm down enough to drive home—a routine I kept up for the first six months. As I settled into the actor’s life, a friend recommended auditing a class at the Lee Strasberg Theater and Film Institute in West Hollywood. Read more>>

Carlyn Stewart

The most frustrating thing growing up was being surrounded by people who knew exactly what they wanted to do with their lives (or at least had the outward confidence of such). I started in art school, worked in marketing, then ended up graduating with a degree in Archaeology and a minor in Geosciences. However, through my life there was always a strand of creativity- whether it took the form of choreographing dance, performing in a play, creating clay earrings to fund my wedding, or creating social media posts and videos to engage audience of the National Park or Historic Site I worked for. Read more>>

Risa Iwasaki Culbertson

I was making things for as long as I can remember but it wasn’t until I created my stationery line, Papa Llama, that I consider the official start to my creative business. I wanted my cards to have a handmade touch, designed and made in the city I love, but in a way that would allow me to print larger quantities. I didn’t know how, but I knew that was the criteria. I had some experience in screenprinting but letterpress machines were just so damn sexy and looked dangerous, so I decided to try to figure them out. That took me down the road to having my own shop, running my machines, which eventually lead me to other things I didn’t know how to do like needle felting, sculptural works, building installations, teaching workshops, etc. Read more>>

Jonathan Yudkin

I began learning my craft in public school,recognizing an attraction and enjoyment of creating music and being involved in extra curricular activities that gave me the chance to implement what I learned in the classroom. The learning process is never over, you absorb as much music and information as is comfortable for you at your pace. Speeding up intake should be driven by desire or a work necessity. Learning as much as possible about your craft is essential,the more you know the more you see,the more music you can draw from and illuminate your path forward. There are no obstacles to learning, especially now with internet assistance. Read more>>

Izayah Grace

I pursued my craft as a fashion designer by attending fashion school. I chose this path because I wanted to gain a thorough understanding of the industry from an educational perspective. I believed that school would help me develop the essential skills I needed and teach me how to make my creative vision marketable. Read more>>

Kate Watson

Often I think most people assimilate acting with a form of a magic or luck. That you either have the ability, or you don’t. And while I believe perhaps some of that is true, that belief can undercut the real work that is done behind the curtain. With filmmaking in particular, I think it’s paramount to understand the fundamentals of your working medium, as well as exploring your artistic creativity. Talent is craft with the aptitude of your intuition and connection to guide it. Read more>>

Nikhil Thombare

I have been dabbling in acting and directing since my high school, but the craft of method acting I learned in Lee Strasberg theatre and film institute. Here in the institute I learned what method acting actually is and what are the different components of method acting. the basic fundaments of acting is to experience life and to be aware of yourself and your surroundings always, so as to become a good actor you need to ingrain the life that’s happening around you and with the experiences inculcated in you basically making you just a medium to convey an event truthfully. Read more>>

Leah Walton

I am a self-taught DJ. I learned to DJ through YouTube, a course I purchased online (shoutout to Crossfader!), and endless hours of practice. I would occasionally link with other DJs to trade knowledge, but for the most part, I taught myself. Knowing what I know now, I wish I had gained a mentor and collaborated with other DJs more often. This still stands. Mentorship and community are SO important when learning a new skill, not only to expedite and enhance your learning, but to feel supported and seen. Read more>>

Maryam Remtulla

I would say I learned how to do what I do in a real “trial by fire” sort of approach. I started working on music video sets in 2017 as a production assistant with no real knowledge of what making a film really meant. In a few years time, I had produced countless projects ranging from short documentaries to feature -length horror films. Through constant exposure I soaked up everything like a sponge. No day on set is the same, and everyday I learned something new, or a new way to approach a problem, so putting myself in as many different film environments as possible gave the insight and skills required to excel as a producer across the industry. But, a large portion of excelling in any industry is networking, and it’s hard to network if you’re burned out from working 18 hours days time and time again. Read more>>

Blake Mickens

Songwriting is a skill that comes with practice and experience. I wrote my first song when I was 13 years old and I really didn’t know what I was doing. I was simply trying to emulate the music I was already listening to. I think the more songs I wrote, the more that I lived, and the more music I exposed myself to, the easier It became to write. There is no shortcut to writing and learning, there is no way to speed up the process and I think that is what’s beautiful about it. You just learn to find your voice and you keep doing it every day. The songs I wrote two years ago aren’t the same songs I wrote two days ago but they’re both me and they’re both part of my journey. Read more>>

Formerly “cam”

“I was late to the music stuff because I was pretty deep into sports as a kid. There were things like someone having a piano at their house at a Christmas party, or a friend who has a guitar with strings missing or a drum sets missing cymbals, stuff like that, so I always had it around me type of thing, but it just took me a while to really jump in for myself and start creating. I was lucky to be playing sports, though, because it taught me a lot of the disciplinary aspects of learning, which probably feels the worst with something like an instrument because it feels like your fault if you’re not good enough, and can’t really measure time, and skill the same way as sports, or like cooking (Laughs) I don’t know, things that are a little more routine and everyday type of thing.” Read more>>

Zach Knell

Learning to produce music is a process that’s not to be rushed. It will come in layers throughout your life. The important seed from which everything grew was just a genuine love and fascination of music, which led to hours of curiosity writing song lyrics on paper and singing the melodies before I even knew how to play instruments. Then, you sit at a guitar or piano long enough, you start being able to materialize things you’re hearing or wanting to do. I got really interested in multi-track recording on GarageBand from a really young age, around 10, and I just spent years recording lots of songs, finding my voice, picking up tricks along the way from trial and error, friends, YouTube videos, etc. Read more>>

Robin Robertis

“I picked it up by hanging out with creative misfits—artists, photographers, musicians. Basically, I surrounded myself with people who encouraged me to color outside the lines.” “A little less ‘trial and error’ and a bit more ‘asking for directions’ might have sped things up. But hey, where’s the fun in that?”“Curiosity, resilience, and the ability to laugh at myself when things went hilariously wrong. Turns out, that’s a pretty essential skill!” “The biggest obstacle? All those pesky ‘rules.’ I found that when I stopped trying to follow them, the real magic happened. Plus, who needs rules anyway?” Read more>> 

Kayla Gutierrez

I threw myself into YouTube, watching other creatives share their tips and stories of how they got started, it really motivated me and helped me with my journey. Knowing what I know now I would’ve definitely been more easier on myself with my work and my creative process, I feel like I was too hard on myself especially with this work can be very time-consuming and draining, which stopped me from being open to trying out different avenues of creativity. The most essential skills I believe having is organization and consistency. My most challenging fear was other people’s opinions and not putting out quality content. I’m a very private person so recording myself and taking pictures of myself was very uncomfortable at first until I got more relaxed. I always say “You got to get comfortable with being uncomfortable” so once I got over that it was easier to evolve in my work and be confidently me. Read more>>

Jamie Chamberlin Granner

I made it my mission to become the voice teacher of my own dreams. The voice is the only instrument that is housed within the body of the artist. It is a deeply personal, sometimes volatile mechanism that on any day can make us doubt our fitness for the stage or studio. Looking back on my singing journey, while I have enjoyed many successes, I began to notice at certain times in my life, particularly those of stress or upheaval, that my confidence in my own singing would also fall victim to the tough times I was experiencing. When you count on your voice for a living, this will keep you up at night. Read more>>

Sgv Vibes Music San Gabriel Valley Vibes

The band started back in 2017. We all in a way started from scratch with no experience whatsoever so learning the craft in the world of reggae has been fascinating. Just a couple of friends unwinding every Friday until our first show in 2018. Fast forward 2024 having to share the stage with Jamaican global reggae icons and heavy weights of the industry, has been an experience of its own, grasping new techniques and rhythms by these honorable artist and combining roots reggae to our Latin roots; became a major part of what SGV vibes sound is. It is incredibly rewarding to watch the band evolve and improve daily with more understanding of the craft. Read more>>