We think the world needs more artists, more creatives and more folks unwilling to spend their days as a cog in a giant corporate machine. We don’t necessarily dislike cogs or machines but we think the world clearly needs more artists and creatives and so we wanted to try to figure out how more artists can make it work financially since this is one of the major obstacles blocking so many artists and creatives from pursuing their art full time. So, we asked folks who have been able to make a full time living through their creative work, how they did it.

Carly Lind

I have just begun transitioning into a period of my life where the things I have always loved doing have turned into my career, and I am really loving where I’m at. I fought for it, but now that I’ve arrived, it’s a great feeling. My day job is curating content for different brands at a marketing agency, which began as making content on all platforms because I just thought it was fun. Read more>>

Niikah Hatfield

I’m on my third year of supporting myself as a full-time creative and artist. While I still have big goals in terms of where I want to go, I’m incredibly grateful I’ve been able to work for myself. I’ve always had a huge desire to carve my own path through life, and being an entrepreneur has been one of the biggest ways I’ve been able to do that. Read more>>

Gabriel Garcia

I have been doing creative work full time for about 5 years now. It has been the scariest most satisfying thing I have ever done. I do believe in hustling for what you want, but I also believe that there are strategic moves that one needs to make in order to achieve short and long term goals. One move that I made early on was to join an awesome community called Geekdom. They are a community shared workplace that believes in the investment of start ups here in San Antonio. Read more>>

Kaylen, Kelsey & Kristen Kassab K3 Sisters Band

Kaylen: “When people first discover us, it is normally from the TikTok ‘For You Page’ or from our weekly livestream concerts that are broadcast on YouTube, Instagram, Facebook and TikTok. After years of development, our worldwide reach is now peaking on TikTok and YouTube respectively. TikTok continues to be the leader where we enjoy regularly providing original content to 2.5 million followers. Read more>>

Patricia Dawn Quimzon

After several years of going from oddball job to job, I finally have a full-time creative job that supports me and continuously helps me grow! For the longest time, I was rejecting the creative part of me to satisfy my family’s expectations. But it wasn’t until years of being lost and then found through art and the small creative community in San Diego that I finally broke through that loop of confusion. Read more>>

Jada Johannes

Once I realized the amount of time and energy I was putting into photography, I quickly realized my ‘hobby’ needed to be leveled into a full-time business. I started out this journey by creating a website, Instagram, and many other marketing strategies so that I could increase my clientele and have a more concrete schedule, which also helped in financial areas. After creating a foundation, I began investing my time and money into learning the ins and outs of running a successful business, everything from taxes, invoices, Read more>>

Heather Haynes

When I dedicated myself to being an artist full time, I was 25 years old. I had studied 4 years in fine arts at McMaster University (2 electives short of my honours degree) and had played around in the craft/makers world and market for 2 years sewing and marketing “Hats by Heather”. I was ready to see where my fine art would lead me. My husband had a secure job and we decided if I was to make an art career work, I would need to get started now as I had the feeling it would take me ten years to develop my artistic style. Read more>>

Shawn O’Donnell

I always knew I wanted to do this music thing for a living ever since I was a little boy reciting the moves to various NSYNC Music Videos. I still remember working those 40+ hours a week at Guitar Center too. I’d ponder daily on how I was gonna make this all a reality as I sat there restocking guitar strings. I think a lot of us (including myself) had a lot of time to think about what we were doing with our lives during those months stuck at home during COVID19 back in 2020 too. Read more>>

Rahn Marion

Being a full-time artist was always in the background of my mind, and no one tells you how to live only as an artist. It was way more subtle and slow growing than I thought it would be. But through my creative jobs like picture framing, assisting with public sculptors, and creating crafts with First Congregational Church, and the huge installations of the Liturgical seasons. I’ve been able to sustain myself and focus on my work full time. I’ve been able to hone in on my style of art practice, and I’ve learned even when the money isn’t there just yet, if you do what gives you life it will sustain itself eventually. Read more>>

Ryan Wilson

I started in video production with a few different more traditional positions. I was a videographer/editor at a digital marketing company, a public access station, and also for an online news outlet that covered sports teams in New Orleans. The goal was always to go full-time freelance, so I would pick up gigs on the side to bring in more money, learn more, and network with local people in the industry. Read more>>

Kristina Holman

Since 2020 I have been a full time photographer. After covid I took the leap after losing my part time job as a bartender to really commit to my creative career. Prior to this I spent 7 years having photography consume about half of my work week. Every time I went in for a shift at my other job I felt that I deserved more. I knew I didn’t want to work a job the rest of my life that felt like a waste of time. Read more>>

McKenzie Melia Calderon

So much goes into acting that people outside of the craft don’t know or think about (even for a 5 year old): The last minute audition and travel requests. Juggling school, booked gigs, and time for fun. That paired with the amount of time needed for studying and setting up for at-home auditions can be challenging. Despite those aspects, working with other creatives and the ability to experience once in a lifetime opportunities make it all worth it. Read more>>

Gustavo Rattia

Yes, I have indeed been able to earn a full-time living from my creative work. The journey, as with anything worth pursuing, wasn’t a linear path. It was filled with immense learning experiences, unexpected hurdles, and fulfilling victories. My interest in creative arts started early. The time I spent involved in artistic productions for theater and music nurtured my love for visual storytelling. But the shift from passion to profession happened after my graduation in System Engineering. Read more>>

Fábio Mariano

I am proud that I have been able to earn a full-time living from my art for a few years now, but it wasn’t always like that. In the beginning of my journey I had the support of my parents, but I also started working to support myself. I knew it was difficult for my parents to afford everything for me and I wanted to be able to contribute somehow. My first job was already dance related, I started teaching younger dancers. Read more>>

Xingtong Shen

From the very beginning, my journey towards earning a full-time living from my creative work has been a remarkable and transformative experience. It required unwavering determination, resilience, and strategic steps to reach where I am today. When I first embarked on pursuing my passion for art and paper engineering, it began as a cherished endeavor alongside my studies and other commitments. Read more>>

Cody McCracken

Yes I have been able to earn a full time living from my photography. It was definitely a journey. I feel like what really helped me was breaking down my monthly bills and costs of doing business. Once I got the number I needed to hit every month I saved up enough money to pay those bills for a year. Read more>>

Chris Dummer

Yes, I have been able to make a living by creating. Ever since the end of high school / beginning of college I knew I wanted to make creating things with a camera my full time job. For me though, it was all about doing in a way that gave me security and stability. So when most of the creative people I knew started freelancing full-time, I continued too focus on finding an opportunity that was full time with financial stability. Was that path an easy one? No. Read more>>

Nayreli Nevarez

I’m so blessed and fortunate to be able to live happily and comfortably doing other people’s hair for a living. It definitely wasn’t always easy, and when first starting, I didn’t honestly think I’d stick it out. I questioned my skillset and abilities constantly, and couldn’t help but compare myself to all the other people in the competitive industry. Read more>>

Jordan Messerole

I have been a full-time singer/songwriter for the last two years, after having done it in a part-time capacity for a decade before that. I’ve been able to make a living off of my songwriting and performing, but it takes lots of travel and performance to make it happen. I made the decision to go full time after being passed over for a standard job I had been interviewed for. After missing out on that opportunity, I and my wife decided that I should take the plunge. Read more>>

Carrie Hawkins

Up until the summer of 2021, I had always been a part-time artist while keeping a “regular” job. My creative path has taken many twists and turns over the years, but one thing I was always sure of was that I always needed to express my creativity in one way or another. It all began when I was six years old and ran my makeshift art studio out of the living room coat closet. I would present my mom with a portfolio of pictures I had drawn that she could choose from to decorate the refrigerator. Read more>>

Allie Gardner

One thing I think people who are interested in creative careers get stuck on is this idea that you always have to make your income in the same way, every time.”If you’re a voice teacher, that’s all you can do.” which is just not true. If you’re a session musician, artist, social media marketer, venue management, etc. that doesn’t mean that’s all you have to do. They say that freelancers today that actually make a full time income have on average 7 different streams of income. Read more>>

Ny’Ea Reynolds

It’s been a little over a year since I became a full-time creative and I can honestly say that I haven’t made a huge living off my work yet. I get booked for gigs from time to time (ex. commercials, voiceovers and production related work) but it’s not always consistent. I’m still in the early phases of my career and I’m learning to navigate the ups and downs that come with being a creative. I used to want to rush the process but I know that great things take time, which is why I’m taking MY time. Read more>>

Ryan Lanzel

Making a full-time living from your creative work may seem daunting. From a young age I always thought of the stereotypical struggling artist in their endless pursuit of entering fine art galleries or publications to earn a paycheck. Although my artistic career certainly started with its fair share of struggles, my journey has led me to a newfound perspective on the possibilities of a fruitful artistic career. Growing up in a family business of industrial manufacturing I had the opportunity to observe and participate in a wide variety of jobs from the initial concept to the fabrication of a product. Read more>>

Melissa DeWenter

As any freelancer knows, it is not always easy to maintain a steady income. I hoped that one day I could make freelance patterning/technical design my only job, but I was worried about making enough money (and making it consistently). So, when I first started freelancing, I had a full-time regular job. I worked my full-time job for one year while working to build up my clientele and my reputation. Read more>>

Hannah Greene

Becoming a full time artist, the main question and emphasis quite often lie in the keyword “Full Time”. When the general public hear that I am a full time artist, their immediate concerns fall in the field of “struggling artist”. But how funny and great it is that those statements are merely my own insecurities. They were at least, when I first started out as a full time artist. Read more>>

Joe Castro

As of today I can count 30+ years in the music business. Some how I’ve always managed to earn enough money to pay for my bills. Like any other job there’s been ups and downs and there were times when I was forced to get a second even third jobs to fulfill the monthly budget, but one thing o couldn’t avoid is to always be around music projects either singing, writing or producing. Read more>>

Pinkie Dabney

I make a living doing multiple things. I work as a female truck driver and I am a full time blogger and create educational/ motivational content. It’s always rough trying to keep people engaged enough to keep views up so that revenue can keep rolling in but I keep my “WHY” at the forefront to keep posting and creating better content. The setbacks come with change in trends and dealing with judgement from others but they fuels me to push harder. Read more>>

Red The Shooter

Wow, let’s take a trip down memory lane! To answer the question, yes! Yes, I have earned a full-time living from my creative work! What a blessing! It wasn’t easy, but very worth it. In 2017 I quit my full-time job and took a significant risk by working for myself, leaving a well-paying job and full benefits. I had a dream that I was writing my 2-week notice, and that next morning, I did just that. Read more>>

Michael Simmons

After 30 years of public service in the military and as a first responder, I have been able to start a new career path as a Landscape Photographer. This new path hasn’t been easy but has definitely been rewarding. I had traveled this world and great country of ours but being able to do it again with a camera is a dream come true. I now have the capability of making a living from teaching landscape photography workshops but even better, my workshops come with a twist and we do it overland style. Read more>>

Norris Comer

My journey to living full-time off my creative work with my own company has not been a straight line at all. I think the trip resembles more of a crazy, twisty rollercoaster ride that threatened to fly off the track and crash into a ball of flame a few times. Read more>>

Lisa McCraw

I’ve been lucky. I started my career as a pro photographer when a friend asked for help with their overflow of weddings. I had been taking some street photography up until that point but nothing serious. I jumped into my first wedding feet first and never looked back. That was over 15 years ago and have been a full time pro ever since. I’ve photographed weddings and sessions all over the US including LA, Washington DC, NY, Florida, and North Carolina. Read more>>

Max Hockley

Like the famous quote from Comedian Steve Martin, it took me 10 years to become an overnight success. I started making YouTube videos in 2011 and I didn’t make any money until about 2014. In 2014-2018 I made an average of $100 per month, not at all worth the time I was investing. That said, I wasn’t in it for the money. In 2019 I decided that I wanted to quit my job and pursue life as an independent businessman and content creator. Read more>>