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.

Jon Davis

Oh man, That’s the dream, right? I wasn’t sure I’d ever be able to make a living off of building stuff the way I do. You might argue that it would be easier to mass produce furniture and decor, but mass production has much higher startup costs. Building one-off custom pieces is cheaper to start up, but the trickier part is being able to drum up enough business to keep the commissions rolling in. Read more>>

Marilyn Johansen

I am an artist and art instructor today. I love constantly creating. I have all my life. It’s a very satisfying place for me. I have shared my passion for creative work in many different ways. I was always the kid that loved drawing and coloring. Life took me in many directions and my creative work changed. During my time as a classroom teacher ,not teaching art, but elementary school. Read more>>

Ruth Kim

I’m incredibly grateful that I can say I am earning a full-time living from my photography business — and it definitely did not happen overnight! When I quit my full-time job in the fall of 2020, my income went from about $50k to zero when I hit “send” on my resignation email. It was a huge and potentially stupid risk — at that point, I hadn’t even landed my first real client and I had zero proof of concept that I could even make this work. But for better or for worse (and thankfully it was for the better!), the pandemic had taken its toll on me and I was itching to make a change. Read more>>

Erika NJ Allen

“It’s Rarely Day One: Earning a full-time living from creative work is usually a gradual journey. Most artists don’t achieve this immediately. They often start as amateurs, experimenting and honing their skills over time. My own journey began when I was laid off from a 9-5 corporate job, complete with free lunch Monday through Friday. Read more>>

Danny Olson

After graduating college, I embarked on a journey to Los Angeles with a firm commitment: to devote my every ounce of energy and time to becoming the best producer and artist I could be, regardless of immediate financial returns. I wholeheartedly embraced the mantra ‘do what you love, and the money will follow.’ Read more>>

Natalya Kochak

I went to The School of. the Art Institute of Chicago for my undergrad and later my masters degree. I knew it was imperative while in school to figure out a way to make a living from my art using my skills. I wanted to be a full time contemporary artist, but realized that would take time to develop. So while in art school I took a semester off and went to business school. I then began doing every internship I could. Read more>>

Jana Millstone

I’ve supported myself as a clothing designer, illustrator, jewelry designer and ultimately as Design Director for gift products and home decor at Lenox China. I always felt that I would have rather been painting but have learned that all creative pursuits require the same disciplines. Now as I work full time on my own creative projects I realize that those lessons paved the way to any success I have had. Read more>>

Wendy Lazar

I picked the worst time to go full-time with my dream job. Let me explain: I started I Heart Guts as a freaky lil’ side project to my graphic design freelance work. By day, I created websites for Los Angeles art galleries. By night, I packed and shipped cute organ button, stickers and goofy gutsy T-shirts. When I started making plushie organs, the business side of things really took off. Sales went up, I got some nice press and stores wanted to carry the plush organs. Read more>>

Noah Peterson

I spent the majority of my life making a living as a saxophonist. I played in a lot of bands performing many kinds of music. I also pushed the groups that I was in to record. I’m a big believer in original music and write/create a ton of original work. I publish this on streaming sites and make a lot of videos for people to watch online. It’s not easy and it’s not well paid. But you can make a living doing it and it’s a beautiful, but hard life. Read more>>

Suzanne Weinert

I am at a place where I’m making a full-time living from my handmade jewelry business, but it for sure wasn’t always like this. It’s taken a lot of hard work, dedication, and supplemental income from part time jobs. For the first 5 years or so, business was pretty mellow. I worked hard but didn’t see much growth. Read more>>

Rebecca Mansueto

Yes I have been able to earn a full time living from my creative work! It’s a very difficult endeavor in regards to following your purpose and for me that has always been entertainment. I made it happen by training very hard, particularly in dance when I was an adolescent and shortly after I began auditioning for jobs. My first major job was principle dancer and choreographer for the Locreado Dance Company in Sydney. Read more>>

Marcel Santos

I’ve always known I wanted to be an Artist, there was never any other option for me because creating art is what brought me genuine joy. It did not happen over night as you may imagine, there were countless trial and errors, good and bad days, but I never thought about giving up, that thought never crossed my mind. I started by setting up stations at board walks around LA. I was inspired by, and took that idea from when I was younger and took a trip to the beach with my parents, there I saw Artists on the board walk drawing caricatures, people’s pets and etc… Read more>>

Vanesa Surtzy

As any creative may tell you, it is not always easy to make money in abundance. There was a point in time when I felt that I had to decide if I would live my life for passion or if I would deprive myself of that and focus on earning a stable income. I ended up choosing to blend a balance of both. With painting, I had to bring myself to accept that there were more avenues that I could indulge on, such as festival styled body painting. Read more>>

Brian Kostar

I made the decision to go full in May of 2022. I had worked in the restaurant industry for most of my life, so the decision was an apprehensive one at first to go full time as an artist. The thought of not having a steady paycheck was a little nerve racking.. Luckily I have a strong support system. Read more>>

Zhenya Rock

For more than 30 years, I’ve successfully turned my love for music into a sustainable, full-time career. But let me be clear: it didn’t happen overnight. My musical roots are deeply embedded in Romani and Balkan folk traditions, and I’ve always had an insatiable desire to innovate. By fusing these traditional elements with rock and jazz, I carved out a unique style that became my signature in the industry. Read more>>

Laura Baggett

There have been times in my life where I was earning a full-time living from my creative work. I was in the flow and seemed to book job after job. There have also been times, years even when I wasn’t earning from my acting. If I could go back and talk to my younger self it would be to find something else I love and really work at it. Read more>>

Skip Press

I’ve made a living writing and editing for decades. I’m currently writing a Substack called “Chasing Mark Twain” that explains about a decade and a half of that journey. I’m lucky, I guess – I knew I’d be a writer when I was seven years old. It wasn’t easy because all my family were against it. Jealousy, sorry to say, based on their own failed dreams. Read more>>

Shauna Bailey

Art as a career, is notoriously synonymous with words like “starving” and underpaid. In fact, that’s a large part of why it took me so long to lean into my skills and turn them into a career. After so many years of being told that it’s impossible to make a living off of art, it just became fact and I rarely questioned it. Read more>>

Newt Grover

Earning money off your creative work is hard it requires learning your craft and dedicating your life to your craft. It requires you to develop some business acumen such as sales ability, budgeting and the general things that every business owner deals with. Creatives tend to not think of their jobs as running a business. We just make stuff, but this mindset is wrong. You need to run your art studio like a business. Read more>>

Lila Seeley

Earning a living as a full-time creative has come from years and years of hard work, perseverance, supportive peers, and of course plenty of emotional rollercoasters and breakdowns. I’d say at the core of it all is truly your drive, passion, and confidence. When I started out I didn’t have a lot of self-confidence, but I did have loads of drive and passion. I let my desire to work as a creative freelancer lead in the beginning. Read more>>

Stephanie Johnson

After many years of service in the military, as a federal civilian employee, and working for a public university, I’ve been a full-time creative entrepreneur for the past two years. In the years leading up to realizing my dream of living a full-time creative life, my artistic pursuits were relegated to the free time I had outside of my professional responsibilities. Read more>>

Hayet Rida

KHOI is a journey in duality. Read more>>