Often there is no book or course to learn how to do what you want to do – so how artists and creatives overcome such challenges? How have some of the most talented artists and creatives in the community managed to learn their craft?

Todd Goodman

I am a self-taught artist, my educational process was trial and error. But I find it hard to look at my “errors” as errors, as those errors more often than not turn into something interesting and or beautiful. My approach to making mistakes is to find opportunities to learn and grow. Since I didn’t go to art school, I’ve never had anyone tell me I’ve done something wrong. In my mind, the concept of creating art wrong is absurd. Someone may not like it, but that doesn’t make it wrong. Read more>>

Cole Rupple

I don’t really think I could have done much to speed up the process. Even now, everything on my creative journey feels like it happened so quickly and in the necessary order, or was instilled at the appropriate time. Music and songwriting have been my passions for as long as I can remember. From a young child, I watched my Father thumb through song charts he had hand-written, while playing classic rock numbers and obscure folk tunes in the basement of my grandma’s house; a basement that strikingly resembled a full bar, Read more>>

Sofia Borrero

I learned to tattoo the old fashioned way, with a mentor at a street tattoo shop. Since I was already a skilled artist with pencil on paper, I knew that I could learn via youtube, but I always had this romantic urge of learning a skill from a master and inmersing myself completely in the life and the craft of tattooers. Read more>>

Tyson Cole

Cartooning is one of those art forms that looks easy, but is actually deceptively difficult. It takes years of practice to make a drawing look effortless, fluid, and natural, yet still communicate effectively and pack a punch. Every line needs to be intentional and serve a purpose. The best can paradoxically make you feel like you could do it, but also like you could never do it. I’ve been learning for 12 years and still feel like it’s hit or miss. Read more>>

Kaitlin Mason

My post-secondary education was where I learned the most skill and knowledge in the fine arts field. I was lucky enough to attend two different schools which allowed me to explore many different processes and mediums. Over the last few years, I’ve developed a layering technique using coloured pencils on wood panels to create my drawings. This choice of mediums began as an experiment because I was unable to continue to afford the cost of framing works on paper, so I tried wood panels. Read more>>

Rakaiya Araé

The thing I love the most about my crafts is that the learning is endless. From reading tarot to modeling I am constantly learning something new that helps me improve my technique. However I did dive deeply into the art of tarot, and I learned a lot in very small amount of time. That does not stop me from wanting to know more and is that is case for pretty much everything I do. Read more>>

Aparna Krishnan Reshmy

Some of us are fortunate enough to have the opportunity to practice what we have been learning and experimenting with since our childhood. This practice doesn’t simply manifest as muscle memory or the result of formal education. Instead, it allows us to connect the dots and transform abstract ideas and thoughts into tangible reality. Read more>>

Hannah Hanson

Artistry is a journey that really is never finished; there are always more techniques to learn, mediums to explore, and passions to be grown. For me, learning fore-edge painting was a process of trial and error. I had to practice on many different books with differing scenes to grow my ability to paint with depth, detail, and accuracy. Read more>>

Brox

For a little over a decade, i ran a recording studio in a warehouse. It was mostly local bands that would hire me to do demos/EPs/full lengths for them. I initially acquired the space as a means to produce my own work, but eventually invited people/bands to come in as a way to offset the costs. After a few years, the place was paying for itself, and i was making a little extra dough each month, which i would reinvest in my own projects. Read more>>

Liam Ulland-Joy

I spent most of my childhood telling and writing stories. As early as elementary school I was working on short stories and even a full length manuscript in a fantasy setting. But what I really needed to get where I am today was experimentation and experience. Read more>>

Rivita Goyle

I had a natural inclination towards music ever since I was a child, lyrics and melody would come to me naturally. I’d write songs in my journals and I sang in the school choir ever since I can remember. Read more>>

Party Favors

We just jumped into it and weren’t afraid to make mistakes and learn in an organic way. We aren’t sure if there is anything we could or want to have done to speed up our process. If we had a number one hit when we started we would not have been ready. We believe everything happens in it’s own time and reasoning so we know we’re exactly where we are supposed to be at any given time. Read more>>

Toni Small

Starting with makeup it all began with YouTube or as I call it “YouTube University “ back then I knew nothing about makeup , I just loved seeing the process and transformation. I eventually started watching videos everyday and practicing on myself , each time getting better and better it came so easily. The most essential skill with makeup is practice. Read more>>

Samantha Dell

I have two siblings who started out with some form of photography. My sister went to school for it, but doesn’t utilize it at all. My younger brother loves landscape photography and has a great technical understanding. I picked up a camera and he slowly taught me what each button meant. I wrote stuff down and studied and practiced a lot. When I had questions I would ask or look on YouTube. I started to rely on YouTube often. Read more>>

Warren Hood

I never stop learning. I have been playing professionally for over 25 years, won string player of the year 12 times, was inducted to the Austin Music Hall of Fame, but I am still climbing that mountain to be the best I can be just like I was at the beginning of my journey. I still feel just like that 14 year old kid sitting in with an unfamiliar band and trying to figure how best to contribute to the sound with the instrument in my hand. Read more>>

Young Nicky

I learned music from my uncle watching my uncle when I was a kid at my grandma’s house downstairs playing the piano! My Uncle Jeffrey Brooks has gold plaques & had songs on ykube 93.3 that he produced himself! I would of started pursuing music as a kid back then because I always use to write lyrics since the age of 10! My mom & lil sister use to find notebooks full of lyrics in my bedroom all the time & told my uncle that you’re nephew truly has a gift & talent! Read more>>

Nath Milburn

A lot of what I do now was learned by watching others and figuring things out on my own. Growing up in Kentucky when internet was still becoming what it is today, we didn’t have a lot of access to what an animator or filmmaker was. We had very limited resources or access to similar artists. The internet opened our world up to others trying to learn the same processes. Read more>>

Glenn Douglas Packard

YES! I can not imagine doing something that isn’t creative, it literally gives me a rush of energy like nothing else. I sometimes wonder what it would be like to have a 9 to 5 job and I am thankful I was born with the creative gene and the know that anything is possible if you set your mind to make it happen. Read more>>

Lori Royce

It was instinct. Read more>>

Jesse Obremski

Learning the craft. This is a great topic because I see this as one that is never complete. There are many quotes along the lines of “we are students for life” and “we are always learning”. I believe both of these and many sentiments on a similar vein because the main value that I see in this: the emphasis on self. Growing up, being born, raised, and based in New York City, Read more>>

Brian Liesse

I have been taking pictures all of my life. It’s something I saw other people doing and always wanted to do it myself. A lot of my learning process was trial, error, and time in a risk-free situation that allowed me to experiment and learn at my own pace. It also allowed me to develop a connection to photography that goes deeper than “it’s just a job” or “just my creative outlet”. It’s part of who I am. Read more>>

Laura Skinner

I’ve been really into creating fashion / wearable artwork recently. I learned a lot of sewing basics as a kid – my parents gave me a tiny sewing machine for Christmas when I was 7 or 8, my aunt taught me how to properly use a machine when I visited her during summer break, and I had a middle school teacher who taught me hand sewing techniques in an after school craft club. Read more>>

David Moreno

I taught myself how to play the drums by just picking up sticks and hitting away at furniture to make beats until I got myself a drum kit. I played in bands and during that time I picked up guitar, bass, harmonica, piano and anything I could get my hands on. Eventually when I went to college I got a laptop and started making songs by myself and I fell in love with the craft of songwriting. Read more>>

April Pawlak

My initiation into astrophotography started with a desire for better hiking photos, and astrophotography was this distant, somewhat intimidating field I’d admired from afar. The complexity and the assumed high entry cost were deterring factors. However, a local photography class and countless hours of YouTube tutorials later found that the entry barrier was lower than I had imagined. Read more>>

Gary Dyak

When I decided to retire I knew I needed a hobby to fill my time. I decided to take a community college class in drawing. My instructor became my mentor and friend. He recognized my technique that he said would define my art. I went on to receive an Associate Degree in Fine Art. After 23 years as a research analyst I fought to use the creative right side of my brain. Read more>>

Casey Hanson

I started in film, definitely trial and error. Shooting in low light with fast moving characters is a challenge, and when you are shooting on 35mm film, there were many disappointments. When I transitioned from film to digital, I was first very apprehensive, the unknown is scary…but soon I was delighted at the faster processing and the ability to see the results immediately. It was amazing. Read more>>

Erin Marton

I took a photojournalism class in college that was required for my degree. This was my first experience with learning to use a DSLR camera, and I was immediately hooked. I convinced my parents to let me borrow their camera and began taking it everywhere to practice. Read more>>

Mawdoodsv

When I decided to start taking art more seriously, it was an extremely impulsive decision. At the time, I hadn’t been doing any. I had been following art accounts on social media and was intrigued with work using Copic markers and mixed media; then I decided to invest a couple hundred dollars into expensive materials hoping that it would guilt me into using them so I wouldn’t lose out on the investment. Read more>>

Chad Whitaker

I first was first introduced to sculpture in my first semester of graduate school at Indiana university of Pennsylvania, while pursuing my Master of Fine Arts degree. I had initially entered the program as a print making concentration. In that class I felt a freedom and a connection to materials that I never had before. Read more>>

David Thibodeaux

I think that every working artist is always in a process of creating and developing the tools of the craft and discovering the joy of doing the work. Read more>>

Saphera Peters

Ever since I can remember, my creativity has been a driving force in my life. Whether it was poetry, story writing, or music, I always had an outlet for my artistic expression. At the age of 12, I set my sights on becoming a photographer, and that dream carried me through my university years. Read more>>

Supreme Sol

It all started with the overall fascination with the craft. I was always interested in and obsessed with the technical aspect of rap, so as a teenager I studied the greats like Eyedea, Ras Kass, Canibus, Big L, Royce Da 5’9″, Tech N9ne, MF DOOM, and many many others in order to help learn and hone my skills. Not too long after, Read more>>

Rachel Taft

As soon as I could pick up a pencil or crayon, I remember I was drawing. When my parents wanted to keep us children entertained, my sister got a book, my brother had his game boy, and I had a legal pad with a pencil. With that being said, I now consider myself a self-taught artist. I’ve taken a few art classes here and there, mostly in middle school and then in college I loved my interior design drafting/rendering class, but I don’t have a traditional art school background. Read more>>

Nya Wallace

I am a true visionary so designing my tray sets came to me naturally. It was more about trying to produce it and bring it into the physical. When I first started I was only using paper, scissors and a printed image. As I advanced and received more customers I began purchasing other tools to help bring more value to my products. One of my favorite machines is my Cricut. The options are endless. I learned how to operate it through logic, Facebook groups and the infamous Youtube University. Read more>>

Emily-Rose Santamaria

As I’m growing my creative career, I am always learning new skills. I started out not knowing much about the way to use a camera, just a desire to take good pictures, but every day I learn more. I love getting to know my camera and seeing what can be created. Read more>>