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. 

Darnell Renee

I began my career in Dallas, TX over thirty years ago shooting for a local paper and then soon after that The Dallas Morning News. Shortly after that I also began shooting for the Associated Press in Dallas. I continued to get assignments for a lot of magazine and editorial publications as well. Read More>>

Nate LeGros

I’ve been performing magic professionally for the past 17 years. In the early years, I balanced magic with a part time job as a photographer’s assistant. It was a great arrangement because my boss was incredibly supportive and gave me the flexibility to take time off whenever a magic booking came up. Read More>>

Roberta Spindel

I always knew I would be a singer. Since I was five years old, I used to say that I would become a singer and an actress. But music was always my true calling. Interestingly, it was musical theater that gave me the opportunity to record my first album in Los Angeles. Read More>>

Tokyo Japan

I’m not making money at the moment, but before I was making little money with monetization but? The stopped the monetization. I wasn’t making a living but I was getting $150, $50, $90 randomly during the month it was kinda cool but it wasn’t often. Read More>>

Kristopher Kirkpatrick

Yes, I’ve been earning a full-time living from this work since 2016. I left my paid apprenticeship building custom live-edge furniture at Artisan Burlwood in Berkeley that year and moved south to San Diego for the space to scale on my ranch and in the barn workshop. Early on, I kept the lights on by producing 12–20 more affordable tables per month. Read More>>

TattzbyRed

Yes, I’ve been able to earn a full-time living from tattooing, and honestly, I was fortunate enough that I never really felt the need to work another job after getting started. That doesn’t mean it was easy from day one, but I came into the industry hungry and treated it like a career from the start.  Read More>>

Yenis Monterrey

Honestly? It was never a straight line and I think that’s exactly what makes my story worth telling. I started as an attorney. A trilingual one English, Spanish, Italian trained to argue, analyze, and advocate. Law gave me discipline, precision, and a voice that commanded rooms. But somewhere between the briefs and the boardrooms, I realized I was built for something bigger than a courtroom. Read More>>

Sezin Ahmet

Being a full-time musician is different from working an office job in terms of actual work hours. The work we do includes driving (a lot), taking flights, rehearsing, preparing, playing at the actual gig, and carrying our own instruments. Therefore, the ‘creative’ part of it is just a fragment of what we do. However, playing gigs is not the only work option we have. Read More>>

YUJIE HUANG

I am very grateful to say that I do make a living entirely from my creative work now. But it definitely was not like that from day one. It took a lot of late nights, learning, and adjusting my path to get to this point. My journey really started to solidify during my time at SCAD. Read More>>

Megumi Pair

Yes, my Husband and myself are blessed to be able to earn a full-time living from our creative work and doing what we enjoy to do, as our primary job. We’ve been a professional balloon artist and face painter for over 10 years, and the journey has been both rewarding and educational. When we first started, it wasn’t an overnight success. Read More>>

Ale Casanova

Yes, today I’m able to make a living from my work as an artist, but it certainly wasn’t that way from the beginning. And, to be honest, I don’t think there’s ever a precise moment when you can say, “That’s it, I’ve made it.” Most artists live with a certain degree of uncertainty. Read More>>

Vee (Vidhi) Heiland

Yes, I have been making a full-time living from my creative work since 2021, but it definitely wasn’t like that from day one. I actually picked up my first henna cone 12 years ago, back in high school. I had asked my mom to do some henna on me, but she was busy and told me I should give it a go myself. Read More>>

Jen Wagner

I have been earning a living full time as an artist for 22 years. I had a two year old when I began, and I felt it was important for her to see me pursue my dreams to the fullest. I told myself that I would at least try. There was a lot of creative thinking. Read More>>

Betsy Hicks-Russ

Being a full time caregiver to a nonspeaking individual and wanting to challenge my mind, I started making videos and discovered I was reasonably good at it. Over the years, my videos got better and better and I cerated a strong following. I then started a podcast that I had no idea how to do, but each week got a bit better and better. Read More>>

Margaret Colligan

I have been able to earn a living this past year solely through music lessons and shows. At first, I had a full-time job while gradually getting more gigs performing on weekends. The goal for me was to be able to support myself through anything music-related. Read More>>

Anna Cummins

I make a living as a full-time artist by selling my work in my local communities, and also online where I ship my pieces all over the country, and sometimes even around the world! From the start, I was lucky enough to find people who resonated with my work and wanted to support me, and I quickly realized this was what I wanted to do. Read More>>

Courtney Agee

Hi! My name is Courtney Agee and I am a full-time artist and creative – it has been a wild ride and I still can’t believe that this is my life. It certainly did not start out this successful from Day 1. While I have been an artist since I could pick-up a crayon, I did not pursue a creative career as an artist initially. Read More>>

Joseph Camp

To start off I lived in a very rural area, not much going on or to do. Where creative dreams sprout, but die if they decide to stay, so I needed out. Read More>>

Jana Rahimian

I proudly would say I have been able to earn a full-time living from my job. The biggest question I have actually been asked by people whether it be clients, people in passing or within friendly banter is ‘What do you do for work?’, ‘Is this your only job?’. Read More>>

Tessa Rand

I am lucky enough to have been able to be making a full-time living off of my art for about 10 years now it was a gradual transition process from my previous job as a disability care aid. Read More>>

Benjamin Caleb CGP

Making a living playing music, has probably been the greatest challenge of my life, but also my biggest dream. When I make money outside of music, i feel good, but when I earn it through music it’s special, I experience a unique and immense sense of joy. Read More>>

SamHel N/A

Yeah for a few years. I’ve made working behind a camera…work, as a full time job. Unfortunately work is a bit sporadic and pay is the same. It gets tough supporting a family on creative works. Hoping jobs come every month, or interested people wanna shoot and make something, or releasing a film that maybe people will like and wanna see? Read More>>

Andre Forrest

I’ve been very fortunate in that, for the over 10 years I’ve lived here in LA, I’ve been able to create and earn full time by doing the things I love. Whether that be with my Acting, Choreographing/Dancing, and or my Photography. I’ve always been a firm believer and advocate for going after what you truly enjoy doing. Read More>>

Gabriel Harrison

At first I was doing a lot of this work for free and no pay, spending a lot of money with little to no return. That ran for about 3 years with on and off pay, then around year 4, a production company I was working with here offered me a full time job, and it has been history from there.  Read More>>

Rob Bradley

My day job is teaching voice, while my music and shows help supplement my income as well. I get to share one of my biggest passions with students and help them achieve their goals with the techniques, tools and experiences I have in the field. This also keeps my technique sharp by running scales with students every day. Read More>>

Melissa Mueller

Yes, but getting here was definitely not a straight line. I grew up in a family where creativity was simply part of everyday life.. and humor. My mother was a hairstylist from the age of 17, and she was by far the biggest influence on my creative journey. Read More>>

Andrea Radeck

I started out as a biologist in college with an interest in pre veterinarian work and evolutionary biology. I did an internship at an emergency vet clinic that definitely proved I wasn’t cut out for it. Read More>>

Shahin Studios

It definitely wasn’t that way from day one. The studio grew project by project over many years through murals, design commissions, fabrication work, public art, exhibitions, and more recently collectibles and merchandise. One of the biggest lessons we’ve learned is that creative businesses rarely survive on a single revenue stream. Read More>>

Vinny Svoboda

I am lucky enough to say that I am a full-time musician! I’d like to think my overall journey to get to this place is similar to others in my field, but I’m sure I have some unique twists and turns. Read More>>

Stevie Hawes

I feel incredibly fortunate to be able to say that my day job is a musician, but it took a lot of time, work, and believing in myself to get to this point. After graduating college, I spent a few years working more ‘traditional’ office jobs within the music industry. Read More>>

Celli Villarreal

I am extremely grateful that I earn a full-time living from my creative work, as a tattoo artist and now as a yoga teacher. I actually saved up a decent amount of money first from serving and bartending. I fully stepped away from the service industry in November 2021. Read More>>