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.

Aaron The Artist

By the grace of God, I’ve been fortunate enough to make a living doing what I love (drawing/designing) full time. When I realized that I could the same amount of money doing this on the side as I was earning at my (then) side and in less hours, I knew it was time to go in-all.  Read more>>

LowKey AsMe

Yes. I earn a full time living from my creative work. But it didn’t start that way. I worked as a bartender for years. It allowed me to meet a lot of people in the city. I slowly developed relationships at the club, while I developed skills, and business plans at home. Thats where I met The Vibes HTX crew. Thats the dj crew I’m currently a member of. As I got better I got booked more and slowly became my own boss. Read more>>

Axel Arzola

Working full time as a creative is a dream for many people. I knew that I wanted to do this from very early on. Growing up in Cuba that was a very hard thing to accomplish and I was able to do it by working on a lot of free projects initially until I learned my filmmaking skills and was able to charge for my work. Read more>>

Mary Beth Stinson

I am so lucky to be able to use my love and passion for dance as a career. I started dancing when I was six years old and have continued to dance through to the present. When I was growing up dance I both loved the different facets of dance and the many role you can play. You can be the dancer, the choreographer, the director, the production coordinator, the stage manager, the costume designer, the educator, and the performer. Read more>>

Grace Bio

I started my Art Career while I was a Senior in High School at Douglas Anderson School of the Arts (2004-2005). Fortunately, I got plenty of opportunities, but found myself getting burnt out bringing other people’s visions to life, yet not having any creative identity or style of my own. This created a rocky dynamic in my life as an Artist, so I unfortunately had to put my art on the backburner and get a regular job(s) to keep consistent income while I went through my journey of self discovery. Read more>>

Dave Koss

I’ve earned a full-time living working for myself for about 6 years. The hard part was having enough money to jump off from my existing job at an ad agency. It’s a big risk, so having 3-6 months of income is important. It also takes time to save. Read more>>

Trei Hill

I’ve earned a full time living working as an Adjunct College Instructor, Post Production Services (editing, VFX), and I’m adding my drone operation skills and my podcast into that list soon. The bottomline is, creatives traded security for freedom. Read more>>

Jaime Emfinger

I have created both of my businesses through passions. Dance.. Photography.. now Yoga. I was a member of the Texas Tech Pom Squad 95-99 and during the summers, I was hired by different dance teams in Oklahoma, Texas, New Mexico, and would teach choreography. Read more>>

 Fernando Ingles

Working full time as a freelance filmmaker it’s a little bit hard to accomplish specially in a city like Miami where there are so many creatives people aiming for the same goal. I used to work in retail at the same time I was a junior in college, while I was studying film. Read more>>

Sean Mullins

I just recently have gone full time freelance and running my own two businesses! I started my little company called Pensacola Vibes in 2015. I’ve always messed with photoshop and the adobe suite, but then I started dabbling with graphic design, web design, web coding, photography, and videography. Read more>>

Jillian Maifert

I wish it was like that from day one, but I worked at this business for over 3 years before I actually paid myself. During these first few years I reinvested my profits into material testing, building inventory, and creating my structure for in-person shows and markets. Read more>>

Tyler Shelton

At first, art was not my full time job, in fact it was very far away from it. In the beginning when I was just discovering art and who I was and what I wanted to say, my aesthetic was all over the place. Read more>>

Dawn Mahealani Douglas

enrolled in my first dance class at 3-years-old and already competing in beauty pageants at that time. From then on, anything that involved movement, expression, and a stage caught my attention. I worked my way through the world of cheer, various genres of dance, modeling, and acting throughout high school and college, and I was making money for print and television work. Read more>>

SUMMER LYDICK

I’ve always been an artist. Since I was 2 yrs old, I was drawing and coloring and crafting. Making beautiful things seemed as natural to me as breathing. After graduating with my master’s in painting, I started my own decorative painting business. For 15 years, I painted murals, furniture, kitchen cabinets, and created custom plaster and painted wall finishes for clients while I tried to do my artwork on the side. Read more>>

Zuzu

I’m excited to say that I’m currently a full-time creative artist and it’s a dream come true. I’ve been working as a freelance visual artist and muralist for over a decade and although it was not all rainbows and sunshine, it’s all worth it. Read more>>

Alisa Seleznova

As a 27-year-old young woman, I can say that I do have a full-time creative job that makes my living. I do what I love every day and it feels amazing. My very first little income was prize money at the competition at a young age which gave me an understanding that dancing can be rewarded. Then I started to teach little kids ballroom dancing back in Ukraine. I enjoyed doing that very much, especially when I see the result of how these little students worked hard at the dance studio and later showed their progress on the competition floor. Read more>>

Melvin Jones

This may be a long answer, as my path has been pretty twisty….. Yes to answer the question! I’ve been a professional musician/ educator for more than 20 years now, and I am able to comfortably support a family of 5 even with Covid as a factor. Read more>>

Luke Ostermiller

Earning a full-time living with art takes extreme dedication, but it is possible for anyone willing to put in the work. It all comes down to creating different revenue streams. For myself at this stage of my career, my income is generated by making one movie a year and directing as many music videos as I can outside of production of said movie. Read more>>