We’ve seen way too many talented creatives quit because they couldn’t make it work financially. No doubt, the financial challenges of pursuing a creative or artistic career are daunting, but we felt there wasn’t enough discussion around how to make it work. So, we connected with artists and creatives who’ve been able to earn a full time living from their creative work and asked them to share their stories with our readers.

Nicholas Fennel

When it comes to earning a full time living as creatives, this would be Eric and I’s first objective with our project. In efforts to achieve this goal we have sacrificed the comforts of a ”normal” lifestyle to maximize the time and effort we put into the pursuit of this goal. The jobs we chose to work on the side are incredibly supportive of our music schedule and what our creative goals are. Read more>>

Julyah Rose

I am fortunate to earn a full time living as a model, actress, and artist. It wasn’t always that way though, I started modeling when I was a teenager, and I also started a job as a waitress when I was 16, I was always willing to hustle and had a good work ethic from a young age. At first as a model and actress and any kind of artist you can’t book consistent work unless you have an established portfolio, so the first few years of my career I did free collaborations to build up my portfolio and acting reel. Read more>>

Shauna Haider

Turning your passion into a thriving, full-time career takes a lot of time and perseverance. Read more>>

Kelsie Daily

I knew the hair industry was my calling but I had to figure out how to afford living in LA so I could work at a luxury salon full-time at the age of 21. I found Luxelab Salon where I interviewed and started working at the next day. I worked extremely hard and inserted myself into any projects or assisting that I could. Read more>>

Megan Broughton

I’m almost a year and a half into my journey as a full-time artist and I am still building that financial stability. Jumping off the proverbial cliff into this career choice was and is an exciting decision and, thanks to a couple other decisions, the roadmap becomes clearer every day. Most importantly, I am learning that making a full-time living from my creative work involves much more than just making and selling art. Read more>>

Lite Zhang

Space and audience interaction are important to me, more important than mere visual effect. I love converting existing objects and topics into my own unique vision. Through my research and contemplation of reflecting on objects, I strive to provide my audience with a completely sensory experience. I engage different senses with the addition of auditory, tactile, and immersive components in my installations to more fully engage with my audiences. Read more>>

Laurent Pinabel

After studying art in France, I worked for several years as an art director in communications agencies in Paris (France), then in Montreal (Canada). I created many visuals for show posters, as well as numerous pictorial environments. I’ve always needed to get my hands dirty. I left the corporate world to become a freelance graphic designer, visual artist and illustrator. Read more>>

Kristine Cooper

I went full-time in my career in September 2020, but really didn’t start earning enough to pay my monthly rent until 2021. It was rocky at first in full honesty. I was living off the little bit of savings I had, and cut out any and all spending ruthlessly. My parents didn’t believe that I was capable of making it, and I really didn’t know what to expect I just knew I needed to take a risk. Read more>>

Maddie McGuire

I’m extremely grateful I’ve been able to earn a full-time living from creative work or other business endeavors for the last eight or nine years. And on par with the lifestyle of most creatives, the work ebbs and flows financially. Last year was the most challenging year of my career (and the first time that I didn’t qualify for my SAG-AFTRA health insurance since I became a member of the union), and this year has been the most profitable and rewarding year of my career. Read more>>

Mychal Brandon

I have been working for myself full-time for the last 2yrs, using my photography and singing. Most know that LA is a tough landscape, and it takes time to build anything here. I started substitute teaching when I first came, almost 7yrs ago, to stay afloat. I was a longterm english teacher at notable charter school, and their senior pics weren’t the best. Read more>>

Melissa Stewardson

Yes, for the past 12 years my full time job has been my photography business. Luckily for me, my husband was and still is the breadwinner in our family so the income from my business didn’t have to be huge when I first started. I do remember my goal was to make $500 a month when I first started. Read more>>

Kevin E. West

The idea of ‘making a living’ (ie: pay all of your bills) purely from acting or other type of performance art seems logical and flows easily out of our mouths. However, the reality of accomplishing it, becomes much more difficult from the second we ‘decide’ to try and achieve it. I started out doing Stand-up, and simultaneously live paid improv work. Read more>>

Dorothee Kumpe

Earning a full time living from my creative work was a natural progression for me. As a creative child, I did everything from having styled photoshoots with my toys, to “baking” mud cakes in the yard, enhanced with worms and other creepy crawlies. I dressed up in my mothers closet and adored all things strange an unusual, vintage and antiques started to really interest me. Read more>>

Yaminah Legohn

For over a decade, I’ve sustained a full-time living through my creative pursuits. Alongside my primary endeavors, I’ve also explored side hustles, firmly believing that financial stability as an artist often requires multiple income streams. Read more>>

Marco Martinez

This is one of the most controversial subjects in Hollywood today and a part of why both the WGA and SAG-AFTRA went on strike. Inflation and to a large degree, price gauging has adversely affected everyone, not just artists, so earning a living from your creative work takes…creativity. Read more>>

Trevan McClure

It is refreshing to be reminded, what a gift it is that I make my full living from music; primarily through performing, but also from sync-licensing and royalties and that has been and is a wonderful gift. I still remember five years ago, when I had quit a job as a full-time barista at a cafe in Malibu. Within a few months, I was offered my first paying cover gig ever and shortly, I was doing two to three gigs a week and making as much in one weekend as I would make for two weeks work full time as a barista. This was a huge shift and level up for me. Read more>>

Katina Lockhart

It was not an easy road earning a full time living as a creative! At first I didn’t believe anyone would pay for my services, then I didn’t what to charge so I was letting my clients quote me anything. Finally I recognized my worth, settled on a price and began charging a suitable amount. Read more>>

Mary Little

As a visual artist, I DO make a living from selling my work. And it feels amazing to be able to say that. A little over half the studio revenue is generated through working with interior designers and art advisors. The other half is from individual collectors who, when they email, will inevitably write, “I’ve been following you for a few years and love your work. I’m now ready to buy,” before inquiring about the particular work. Read more>>

Justin Hustle

Making a living as a creative artist is a wild ride. It’s all about following your passion while dealing with the ups and downs of financial stuff. You’ve got to juggle your artistic dreams with the need to pay the bills, hunting for opportunities to keep the creative train moving. Read more>>

Billy Mustapha

I am so grateful to say that I have been able to earn a full-time living from creative work. When I first moved away from home to pursue dance professionally, I knew that I wanted to be dancing all of the time so I asked myself how can I find a consistent stream of income that is dance related. I have always loved teaching and choreographing so I found a studio and began teaching one day a week. Read more>>

Mike Weakley

I’ve been earning a full-time living as an entertainer ever since the end of 1989 when I joined the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus as a circus clown. After spending 7 years touring with the circus, I moved to Las Vegas for a year and performed as a clown at the Circus Circus Hotel. I then moved to Orlando and started stilt walking at the theme parks and local events. Read more>>

Marielou Mandl

I’ve been able to support myself fully from my creative work for many years but so much of that is about being creative about being creative. Earning a full-time living from your creative work is not for the faint of heart because it is not always so linear. Personally, it comes in waves – sometimes the season is bountiful and sometimes it is not. Full-time living doesn’t necessarily mean full-time all the time. Read more>>

Susan Campanaro

I have been an artist for the past 3o years in New York City. There is not one job that I have that is not creative. I have found that the key to making money as an artist is to not compromise, I will not work a job that does not develop me by using my talents. I found that being fearless and saying yes to what serves me as a person is how I will find a way to make money. Read more>>

Lane King

I’m now almost 2 years into full time music work, having built up the necessary skills, foundations, & relationships over the past 6 years since graduating college. My time is currently split between writing instrumental music for sync licensing during the weekdays, and performing in some capacity over the weekends, usually with bands or artists using pedal steel, electric guitars, banjos, etc. Read more>>

Daniel Pepin

So I studied music with Steven Kirby who was a world renowned Jazz and Classical Guitarist at The Music Nook in Milford Massachusetts for many years. I then went to study Spanish Classical Guitar with Mychal Gendron at The Rhode Island College. The knowledge I learned from these esteemed musicians and institutions put me in a position to be involved in many musical projects as diverse as Music Production and Creation, to Scoring Strings and orchestration. Read more>>