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.

Jeannie Rak

I never thought that I’d become a professional musician.

The story of how I started to earn a full-time living from music is a little convoluted, but if beleaguered teachers and first-generation immigrants are your thing, then settle in. Cast your mind back to 2017; three full years before COVID-19, I decided to become an Elementary School teacher. Read more>>

Alicia D’angelo

The beauty about being an artist is once you are making a full-time living, you no longer have to work full time. In the beginning, it’s more work than any 40 hour schedule. You have to take a side job to pay your bills… in my case, I was bartending. In your off time, you must learn the skill, practice and take on free work constantly to build your portfolio, resume and network. I warn you though, turning your art into commerce does risk ruining your love for it, more on how to avoid that later. Read more>>

Marjoni Mcbride

My journey into full-time photography wasn’t paved with luxury studios or endless resources—it started in the most personal space possible: my living room. That small space once meant for comfort and everyday life, became my first creative playground. I didn’t have the money for high-end equipment, but I had vision, and that was enough to push me forward. Read more>>

Makenzie Evans

The decision (and risk, let’s be real) to go full-time with photography was terrifying. I was always afraid of getting burned out from the thing I loved so much. In 2018-2019 my life took an unexpected shift and I had to make the choice to either get a desk job and despise it, or jump into photography full time. So I leapt! At first, things were very, very slow. I took on a couple of odd jobs in addition to pursuing photography, to make ends meet, and eventually my passion slowly turned into my full-time gig. While I’d been side hustling for years with this craft, I didn’t consider myself truly full-time until 2022. Read more>>

Kelsey Woods

The single question I get asked the most about my career is, “How did you become a copywriter?” When you see someone fully living out their creative passion, it’s easy to think they found their path right away. But I can tell you my journey to becoming a full-time writer was anything but quick, easy or linear. Read more>>

Roberto Dominguez

From an early age, I was captivated by the power of storytelling—both in movies and video games. That passion led me to pursue a Bachelor’s degree in Film and Media, where I directed three award-winning short films. Eager to learn from the best, I began my career as a Production Assistant on major Hollywood productions, including Che: Guerrilla (Steven Soderbergh), Green Zone and The Bourne Ultimatum (Paul Greengrass), Goya’s Ghosts (Milos Forman), Asterix at the Olympic Games, and Broken Embraces (Pedro Almodóvar). Read more>>

Ponleu Prom

For my creative work, I can generally earn a regular income by exhibiting my artwork. My name is Ponlue Prom, I was both 1994, and I am individual local artist. I’ve always struggled to find the right words to truly express how I feel about art, and more importantly,Why I do art in the first place?! I loved art when I was a little kid even I haven’t fully understood,and lack opportunity to learn. One day,fortunately I had found art school in Siem reaps.I have studied and worked hard to develop my passion painting.By 2015 I had been art teacher there.I try all my born talent the best with every finished work to breathe life into along forgotten culture so that its design, ideas, innovation, and lifestyle are display on my Artwork , canvas and papers. Read more>>

Josue Mejicanos

I feel incredibly lucky to be able to make a living doing what I love, but it wasn’t always like this. In fact, the start was rough. When I quit my full-time job to go all in on content creation, I had no money in my bank account, no backup plan, and no real idea of what I was doing. All I knew was that photography and videography lit a fire in me, and I couldn’t see myself doing anything else. Read more>>

Beata Golec

Music is my life. I am the owner of Golec Music Studio, piano instructor at the State University of New York in Geneseo, and director of music programs at Our Mother of Sorrows and Holy Cross Churches in Rochester, New York. Additionally, I serve as the music instructor at the Montessori School in Canandaigua, New York, and as examiner for Advanced Placement in Music Theory and International Baccalaureate in Music. Read more>>

Kit Thomas

Yes, but it’s been a journey with a lot of learning along the way. Now, I have the space and time to invest in myself and my art. Moving back home to Akwesasne Mohawk Territory, which straddles the border, has given me the perfect location to branch out into Canada as well. Making a living as an artist wasn’t something that happened overnight. It took time, persistence, and a willingness to adapt. Read more>>

Sabrina + Charisse Simpson + Holliday

Yes, we both earn a full time living from owning and operating LookLove. We started booking clients in August of 2019. We booked our first wedding within our first week of launching and it grew at a nice steady pace for the next 6 months or so and then covid hit. We quickly pivoted to honoring contracts later in the spring of 2020 to still be vendors within micro weddings and were able to stay afloat during the summer. Once summer hit, we started booking for 2021 like wild fire and its stayed steady ever since. The speed in which we grew was always a decent and fast one. With the exception of taking a two month pause with covid, we really were able to come back once the world reopened and kept up with bookings since then. Read more>>

Veronica Marie

Yes my makeup career was my only income for well over 3 years. When i moved to Georgia from Baltimore in 2019 I put my makeup business in overdrive. I joined Facebook groups pertaining to makeup and creatives. I did ALOT of jobs for free before i made any type of real money. I had to step out of my comfort zone and make connections. I reached out to photographers models & hairstylist. I did a lot of collabs. That’s how i got most of my clients in the beginning. Then once people saw my work and professionalism they hired me. Read more>>

Analisa Wall

I started singing at the age of 3 and by the age of 7 I was working professionally in theatre. I started my operatic vocal training a few years after and went on to have a career in Opera and Broadway starting in my teens. Believing this to fully be my path, I continued this journey by earning my BFA in musical theatre. I worked primarily in Equity productions in New York and Philadelphia and started a small jewelry business on the side. Without this business, I would not have been able to fully embrace this career without feeling the financial setbacks. Read more>>

Isaiah Lenoue

I’ve been fortunate to earn a full-time living from my creative work in post-production and editing within the entertainment industry. This role requires a combination of both technical expertise and social skills, which are essential to the job and not easily acquired. It’s a bit of a “trial by fire” – you either have these skills, or you don’t. Achieving a full-time career doing what I love didn’t happen overnight; it was a gradual process. Like any profession, I had to work diligently to develop the necessary skills. Read more>>

Shiqi Hu

Currently, I am collaborating with my university classmates on IP creation and operations. We develop various IPs and release them on online platforms, continuously refining their content based on audience preferences. We create stickers, illustrate daily comics, and even collaborate with brands, ultimately commercializing our IPs through multiple channels. Read more>>

Jared Wright

I have been lucky enough to maintain myself as a full-time freelance artist for more than ten years now. I had been drawing since I can remember and started painting in high school mainly doing lowbrow Mixed media stuff, Lots of spray paint, drips and complete lack of respect for color theory as we all do at one point, right? I worked a lot of jobs I my early twenties but I continued drawing and painting in the evenings and would always share my art on instagram. Eventually I was at the point where I was working two full time jobs, one the I hated and one I really enjoyed, but I was so burnt out that I wasn’t creating any art during this period. I decided to quit the job I hated and about a week later the job I liked told me they were going out of business. Read more>>

Michelle Branson

You know what they say- ‘Those who can’t do, teach.” I’m pretty lucky in that I have almost always known I wanted to be a teacher. The thing that really stinks about this is that I guess I heard that saying one day and internalized it. I thought that teaching would just be my only art practice forever. That includes stuff like making examples and tutorials for my kids, completing the occasional project with them to show process, painting signs for whatever sport is happening, and that would be it. Honestly, it seemed like enough for a while because teaching is super demanding and you are capital T Tired at the end of the day. I loved my job though. I was obsessed with the town that I taught in and got super wrapped up in community projects. Read more>>

Yubicela Brito

No, earning a full-time living from my creative work didn’t happen overnight—it’s been a journey of paying my dues, taking risks, and constantly learning. When I first moved to LA, I worked as a hostess and server in the food industry while pursuing my passion on the side. I created short films, auditioned, and even took on free work just to gain experience and build relationships in the industry. Read more>>

Kellie Berrios

Being a DJ, it was a difficult decision to quit having a “normal” job and go full force into my career. As I would try to balance both for many years, I realized I was lighting the candle at both ends which would of ultimately led me to burn out. It wasn’t until later in my career that I decided it was worth it and I was worthy to pursue it full time. Between my years of experience, countless hours of practice and preparation, extensive network and clientele accumulated, it was a no brainer to put all my faith in myself and my ability to succeed. Read more>>

Martin Dawe

My studio has been fairly successful over the last 40 years with a portfolio that includes several hundred commissions. I employ several artists and an amazing mold maker. there have been ups and downs, especially in the beginning, but now I think we have a very good reputation and get much of our commissions through word-of-mouth and we have a high rating on Google searches. I did hire an SEO company 4 years ago, which was expensive but worth the cost. Read more>>

Karen Smith

I do make a living from my creative work and it was a decision I made back in 2012 that I wasn’t fulfilling my purpose here on planet Earth. I wasn’t just happy with a 9-5pm, benefits etc. I had this gift that I was born with to create art with music, poetry and performing arts. I had always wanted to pursue a career in the entertainment world but was discouraged at an early age because it was such a risk. I always expressed an interested in music and theatre but wasn’t encouraged by my family. I needed to get a “real job” is what I heard so much during my early years, despite of my interest. Read more>>

Dawn Rix

I joke all the time about “I make music not money!” After my song Tennessee Miles had such great success and longevity people asked how much did I earn off of it? My response initially was enough for a slice of pizza and my “TN MILES” personalized license plate. Read more>>

Bhavna Misra

As an artist, my journey toward making a full-time living from my creative work has been both rewarding and challenging. It wasn’t something that happened overnight—in fact, it has been a gradual process of refining my skills, building a network, and finding the right opportunities. Read more>>

Christine Hales

It has taken a long time for me to be able to earn a living from my creative work. I graduated from the Massachusetts College of art in Boston with a dual major- Teaching and Painting. Being able to teach has made a big difference in supplementing my income when commissions or sales have been slow. Read more>>

Arrogant Kei

Yes, I’ve been able to earn a full-time living from my creative work, but it took time, consistency, and adaptability. My journey started with digital art, and early on, I relied heavily on commission work to bring in income. As my audience grew, I expanded into selling prints of my work, which helped create a more stable revenue stream. Eventually, I launched a clothing line featuring my art, allowing me to diversify my income further. Read more>>

Steph Calvert

I’ve been self employed as an artist and designer for 14 years now, and being a full-time creative professional can be a little scary money-wise! There’s definitely been times where I’ve made a really decent paycheck as an artist and designer, and times where it’s more of a batten down the hatches, ditch every bit of unnecessary business spending, and be super grateful for my husband’s steady paycheck and our focus on living within a budget without credit cards. Read more>>

Aspen Spencer

For the first three years, DJing was my side gig. I had a full-time job that paid the bills, and DJing was something I did out of passion and because someone offered my $50 to DJ my first ever gig—I started out by playing small local clubs, DJing for local artist, and whatever else I could get. It was a slow grind, but I was building my name in the Portland scene, taking every opportunity to sharpen my skills and expand my network. Read more>>