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.

K. Lynn Smith

I’m a comic artist, which means I’m a full-time artist and writer, publishing a number of graphic novels and selling them through signings, conventions and crowdfunding. I got my start by creating a western/fantasy webcomic called PLUME, which honestly just started as a hobby. At the time, I had a full-time office job–all blazers and pencil skirts–and didn’t think a comic career would ever pay the bills. Sure, I thought maybe I could make a few bucks on the side, but never did I think it would be my full-time gig. But then the webcomic started attracting an audience, and the numbers just grew and grew, until finally, I was in a spot where I could quit my day job and start full-time in creating art. Read more>>

Youngchae Jeong

I’m grateful to earn a full-time living from my creative work, which involves various stages. I started playing the bass at eighteen in a church in South Korea. Since then, I have primarily served as a supporting bassist, aiming to enhance the music on stage or in rehearsals. As a supporting musician, I have honed my skills and strived to understand the music sincerely to support the composer’s vision entirely. It took me years to reach this point, as I consider myself a slow learner, and I’m still progressing. Graduating from Berklee College of Music six years ago was a significant step in this journey. The people around me have played a crucial role in my growth. My network expanded as fellow musicians recommended me to others, and it continues to grow as I meet more people. Read more>>

Alejandro Guimoye

I am a full-time freelance creative in the film and commercial video industry. I am grateful that I earn a full-time living doing what I am most passionate about – storytelling. My journey began shooting weddings to pay off my maxed-out credit cards after college. Weddings allowed me to practice shooting videos, think on my feet, and practically handle pressure. All skills that are needed in filmmaking. After 2 years of shooting weddings, I eventually got burned out and decided to go to Panama with two other wedding videographers to shoot a short film. That became my film school and gave me a foundation never to stop working on my craft and fully pursue a career in the creative arts. Read more>>

Noah Scalin

In 2001 I left my last full-time job working for other people and have been making a living from my creative output, in one form or another, ever since. I studied theater design in college, but ended up shifting to graphic design as I graduated college. I was lucky that an internship in my senior year, became my first job the following year. But I always did freelance work on the side. Eventually I found myself spending all of my weekday evenings and all weekend doing client work and I realized it was time to shift gears into making a go of running my own business. I launched Another Limited Rebellion in 2001 as a socially conscious design firm and never looked back. Read more>>

Ann Geary

Making an actual living wage while tattooing certainly did not happen right away. When I first started as an apprentice, I was doing tattoos for $30-$40 each and usually about 30% goes to the shop and 15% goes to taxes. It wasn’t until I really started to promote myself, learn the ins and outs of advertising, and spending every free moment outside of actual tattooing doing more drawing that I realized the first several years of this job requires serious dedication. Tattooing often feels like it’s more of a lifestyle than a job in that way; I make my own hours and can work as much or as little as I want, and yet I rarely have a day off. Honestly I feel that I did just get a bit lucky in the beginning of my career that I was able to make tattooing my full time job less than a year in, but that’s not a standard and it shouldn’t be. Tattooing as a discipline requires practice, patience, and incredible amounts of dedication. Read more>>

Josel Guzman

Well, lol of course at first nothing is easy, but in my opinion what is needed to be able to achieve what the heart really dictates is desire, the desire to learn more every day, to perfect the necessary techniques to be able to execute a good art and be willing to learn everything. I have always thought that knowledge is power, the more you learn, you can teach your knowledge to the future. In the course of learning to tattoo, there were moments when I thought “what is this for” or “it seems illogical to me this technique of drawing the lines” without realizing that it is actually very important to learn the fundamentals and care for the best quality and experience for each client and also, that way things can arise in a better way. Something I did and in fact I still continue to do is that I offered my work at a price that was comfortable for customers, that way I filled my portfolio, which is very important to show my work to customers. Read more>>