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.

Will Jay

I am very fortunate to make a full-time living from music. I made some money when I was in a boy band as a teenager (we were paid a yearly salary for 2 years but that was it). Once that was done it was basically back at square one. Here are some of the ways I’ve made money over the years. I competed on The Voice in China and when I came back to the US I was invited to perform at colleges for Asian student associations. Read more>>

Joseph Quintana

As most freelance workers go through in the beginning phases of developing a steady workflow of income due to mostly from my experience was not enough people within my circle who are in need of my services, After so many performances, recording sessions, nights out at the local venue/bar where fellow musicians hang and meeting as many friends as I can socialize with who helped me connect with new artist and producers is where I started to see my network grow. Read more>>

Zhen Zhou

To be honest, it can be a real struggle earning a full-time living from creative work and I had to work for many years before I could even match my entry-level pay (when I had a corporate job.) What really helped me was networking and learning about income avenues from other creatives in the same line, as well as being open to a wide range of different opportunities. Read more>>

Christopher DeLisle

I am proud to say I currently earn a full-time living from my YouTube channel and the brand I have created around low carb recipe creation online. I have been through multiple day jobs, even to the point of having an administrative career in higher education, but I was always missing the creative side that was so important to me. Read more>>

Cynthia Appiah

The Journey to Embracing My Creative Destiny Growing up, I always felt a strong pull toward a creative career. However, being raised in an African family, the emphasis was often placed on securing a stable income. While I am grateful to my parents for instilling this sense of responsibility in me, I recognized that my true passion lay in creativity. Read more>>

Ally Gardiner

Yes I am very lucky to be able to earn a living and do a creative job full time. I started tattooing during the Miami ink boom of the late 2000’s. Tattooing was becoming more mainstream in the UK as a result so I was busy from the start. It’s really important to not take that for granted. Save your money. Read more>>

Neil Patton

I graduated from music school in ’94, but not sure of what to do or where to go. I had wanted to be a “rock star” when I started school, but soon realized I hated suitcases. I also realized I wanted a stable home life with the woman I was thinking about marrying (also a musician), and a life on the road was not going to help that goal. Read more>>

Adam Hawley

Yes, but only by being involved in several different aspects of the music entertainment industry. Earlier in my career I gigged around town, played at church, taught in lesson studios. Later I toured almost exclusively as a “guitarist to the stars” traveling with Jennifer Lopez, Brian McKnight, Natalie Cole, Backstreet Boys, Lalah Hathaway, to name just a few. Then I started teaching music at the collegiate level. Read more>>

Nizzy Mac

I started creating content about 8 years ago and fell in love with it. I had a passion for filming videos and editing long and short form content. I have always had a full time job while creating content which always was a struggle issue for time. I would either wake up very early or stay up super late to create content outside of work hours. Read more>>

Hussain Jamil

Certainly! Here’s a response based on Hussain Jamil’s profile: Yes, I have been able to earn a full-time living from my creative work, though it wasn’t always this way from the start. My journey began with my education at the National College of Arts, Lahore, followed by a Master’s in Art and Design from Beaconhouse National University. Read more>>

Serena Duffin

Earning a full-time living from my creative work has indeed been a long and challenging journey, culminating in my recent Emmy nomination for Outstand Period Costumes For A Limited or Anthology Series or Movie. As a young girl, I would visit my father on movie sets, dreaming of one day working in the hallowed grounds of Hollywood. Read more>>

Kylee Phillips

I’ve always sought to have a “real job” that somehow relates to my creative work – I used to work for a corporate entertainment company and for the past decade or so I have worked for a music booking agency in addition to working as a musician and performer. Growing up my dad really instilled in me the idea that you can be a grown up and take care of your family without having to give up the things you love, and for me earning my living through my day job means my passion can stay my passion. Read more>>

Jaymes Butler

International television and film actor Jaymes Butler . His dream to work in the film business began at the early age of 8 years old. He would create and perform backyard shows for the neighborhood “Rug Rats”. His love for the stage began to develop, at Redlands High school under the direction Mrs Billie Daniels (A.K.A Mrs D) . Read more>>

Angelo Metz

I am fortunate enough to earn a living from my creative work. I was 15 years old when I earned my first paycheck for a music performance. That propelled me to pursue music as a full time career. I had been studying guitar since age of six, and kept studying until I graduated with a Doctoral degree from USC in 2006. Read more>>

Monica Renee

Yes, I have been able to earn a full-time living from my creative work. The journey has been challenging but incredibly rewarding. I started with a passion for storytelling and a determination to turn that passion into a career. Initially, it wasn’t a full-time endeavor. I balanced various side jobs while working on my creative projects during my free time. Read more>>

GEOFFREY GORMAN

I have been a full time artist for the last twenty years. Before that I worked in the arts as a gallery dealer, arts writer, curator and advisor on the business of art for artists. Having that background and experiece in the art world gave me invaluable insights and connections into the workings of being a professional artist. It helped me jump-start my sculpture practice once I started making work full-time. Read more>>

Joe Scrocca

Not yet but most of the shows I am getting are now paid shows so hopefully by next year (2025) this will be a full time, financially sustainable career. I started doing stand up in December 2023. My first paid gig ($10.00) was February 2024. Most of my paid shows are $40.00 to $100.00. Hoping to bump that to a firm $250.00 per show by the end of this year. Read more>>

Blossom Robertson

It has taken many years and a lot of work, but I make the bulk of my income in the field of art! I say the field of art because it can take more than just “selling your art” to make money. While I went to college straight out of high school with a focus on fine arts, life happens and my path was detoured for many years. I spent over a decade in banking, but that was not a role I was born to play in life…….while I learned a lot, and met a ton of influential people in Clarksville, I was built for something more creative and free flowing. Read more>>

Chartruice Morgan

Before the pandemic, I was fully able to live off of just performing/my art. Since the pandemic, that’s just not the reality anymore. I will currently have to search for a day time job for the first time in years as every club/venue I worked at has cut costs and let a lot of their performers go, or just don’t have the funds for them anymore. I’ve been surviving for a while thanks to a goFundme an artist from tiktok started for me, but that is running out. Read more>>

Kirsten Maxwell

I was a substitute teacher for my kids’ school district and we would travel on school holidays using credit card points. I received a lot of questions about how I was able to plan trips with 3 kids in tow. I didn’t know any differently. There was a local “mom blogger” who was running a successful website so I asked her to sit down and explain to me how it worked. After that meeting, I said “that’s crazy, it’s so much work and I would never want to do that.” Read more>>

KOFFI IDOWU-NUEL

I started off as a stage actor in 1998 in the university of Lagos, Nigeria. It was never that easy to break out into the mainstream entertainment circle in my country but with perserverance and consistency I found my path to the public. I got the opportunity to do stand up comedy routines within and outside the school and in 2003 ventured into music and got a hit record and blew in 2004 Read more>>

Clint Pittenger

DJing started for me in Hollywood California. I was playing in a few garage glam punk bands when the scene was big and after a couple of years of struggling to keep the band alive a friend suggested I DJ, so he showed me a few tricks, I bought some records and started mixing house music in Los Angeles and loved it. Read more>>

Pter

For first try as a tattoo artist was not easy. Earn a full time living as a creative is tough. You need to express yourself with art and this art must be “buy” for other, so needs to be as powerful as you can, to create more impact. Like the first year I only spend time to create a good profile, nice tattoos but regular ones. After 3 years I started to find my own style. You need a good base for that, a base created by clients and good stuff.  Read more>>

Ely Roberts

I started my business in 2008 which was not a good year so it was a slow start for me to build clients based on Craigslist and word-of-mouth. Since then I have built a six-figure income based on SEO (search engine, optimization) Marketing, and networking. I provide services for weddings, elopements families, Headshots, and magazine work. In addition, I run two YouTube channels that review gear and give tips on everything from photography to outdoor and lifestyle. Read more>>

Renee Peoples

Fortunately, we have successfully pursued our passions while building a fulfilling family life. Despite facing adversity and skepticism from others, we remained steadfast in our goals. This journey, marked by both triumphs and challenges, has taught us the importance of self-belief and perseverance. Balancing family life with our aspirations has been demanding, yet rewarding. We believe that this gradual process was essential for our growth and ultimate success. Read more>>

Akanksha Puniyani

Growing up, I always felt passionately about anything creative. I was consistently at the top of my class in craft classes, drawing classes, photography, or any activity that involved creative design. My teachers, friends, and family would often come to me for anything creative, whether it was designing a project or poster, drawing, or painting, and they all told me that I should choose a career in the arts. Read more>>

Coltyn VonDeylen

I have been! I’ve worked part time since 2017 as a voice teacher and musician. I will say that initially I made very little and had to work in a school or other part time jobs as well. I began with a lot of volunteer singing and self promotion. I sang in choirs, bands, theater, churches, anything that would take me at any price. Eventually, people heard me and would either ask me to teach them/their kids or would ask me to perform for them with an offer to pay. Read more>>

Laura Jones

I worked on building a community around my creative work, and worked on building up my portfolio of clients for nearly three years while working full-time as a Primary and Early Years teacher. I think there is a big misconception that if you’re ‘serious’ about making a career from your creative ideas or talents, that you should quit your job and throw everything into that from the beginning. Read more>>

Jiahui Yu

Yes, I tried to earn a full-time living by my creative work for a while, but sometimes it’s still not enough to cover my daily expenses. I’m a composer, and most of the time I write music for other people to earn an income. However, if there’s no long-term partners to cooperate, it will be really difficult to have a stable income. During the time I was trying to self-employment, I certainly didn’t have a “job” every day.  Read more>>

Adam Lebowitz-Lockard

Sort of? Sometimes? I wish I could say things were more stable, but making a life in the arts outside of a 9-5 means they usually aren’t. It’s scary, for sure, but also exciting! On any given day, I’m doing at least two of the following things: working on a script I’m writing, producing one of these scripts, in a theater rehearsal or prepping for an audition, and teaching. Right now I’m focused on writing and producing, but this past Spring it was teaching and theater. Read more>>

Theodore Smith

Yes, I moved out to Los Angeles aduring the model boom. I was able to get started as a model maker working on a ton of movies. CGI was on the rise and made a lot of model making obsolete. I saw it coming and I changed gears to costume and props. Years later I had a full time job at a prop house for 15 years working on film and TV. Like any full time job, it became exhausting. I took a break from it to catch my breath. Then I Started teaching people on youtube and eventually left the prop shop to devote all my time to creating content. Read more>>

Sawyer Cloud

Before becoming a full-time illustrator, I’ve done many different jobs. I was a librarian, first grade teaching assistant, drawing teacher and a video maker. All my former jobs revolved around education and children , somehow shaping my current job as a kid lit artist. Even though drawing and writing for kids have always been my dream job, it was never a clear path for me and it took me many years to get to know my career. Read more>>