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?

Richard Holder

My love for art started watching someone else believe it or not. I was in grade school in a classmate would come in and draw these characters everyday. They ranged from ninjas to basketball players and I used to think they were so dope. I would go home at night and try to imitate what he had created. Mind you they were box characters but it was enough to get me on my artistic path. Since then I have just kept practicing and getting better and now I’m creating realistic portraits. Read more>>

Mitch Martin

If you ask most anyone in the sports creative industry today, a majority of them will tell you they are self-taught or that they never really had a legitimate teacher starting out. This is true for many of us, including myself. Instead of actual teachers and proper education, we looked to Youtube as one of the important places of education and inspiration to help us learn and develop our crafts. Read more>>

Emma Little

When I was 13, my parents gave me a DSLR camera for Christmas. It was a Canon Rebel t3, and it had two kits lenses that came with it. I immediately started using it to take photos of my sisters and my cousin. I mostly used it to photograph them and their horses, but I would sometimes try to just go out and practice on random things as well. A lot of what I learned came from from just trying things out, but I also worked as an assistant and eventually second shooter for a wedding photographer for during high school and my first year of college. Read more>>

Caitlin McCormack

My grandmother taught me how to crochet when I was a kindergartener, maybe even younger than that. She would assign me crochet projects next to her on the sofa and, if she noticed a mistake, would tell me to “rip it” and begin again. I still make man, many of mistakes but she certainly embedded a sort of perfectionism in me. Read more>>

Kyle Dobbins

To be honest, it has been a long process of trial and error over the past five and half years. While I have become quite good at flying, even now I’m still learning new things while flying the drone and with correct photography settings. It’s a lot more in-depth than just stop, point and shoot like most photos taken today with various devices. Time and days without rain would definitely have helped me speed up the process, but time with my family and my full-time job kept me busy with 60-80+ hour work weeks. Read more>>

Biafra Inc.

I learned a lot of what I do by experimenting. Seeing things I liked and trying to figure out how it was made and guessing incorrectly and discovering new processes. Graffiti and street art were my introduction to art and creating and those are things that, at the time, could only be learned by doing it for yourself and figuring it out as you go. I applied that same mindset to other art forms as I got older like printing and painting. Read more>>

Mary Kray

Becoming a classical musician of any kind requires hard work, discipline, and financial investment. I have invested a lot in my training over the last 7 years to build up my voice to the caliber required to sing professionally. I received my undergraduate degree in vocal performance from Northern Arizona University in 2020, and my Master of Music degree in Opera Performance from Boston Conservatory at Berklee in 2023. Read more>>

Wayne X

I learned the craft by failing over and over again. This passion and skill building took place in college in front of an SSL console. I had excellent instructors who taught me how to think and form opinions on why I chose a certain approach. I applied myself day in and out, reading books and articles to educate myself. I took time to learn about some iconic gear, producers, engineers, and designers. I immersed myself into the studio until I couldn’t stand it. Read more>>

Jennifer Chong

I studied graphic design in college but was always inspired by light and photography. A camera was always in my hand. While working my design job I still took every opportunity to take photos and I often captured places I loved to visit and the food I ate along the way. While I am mostly a self taught photographer I did take some core photography and lighting classes. Read more>>

Anya Rose of Ants on a Log

I learned to perform music in front of others by asking my high school piano teacher and family to turn around and face the wall while I played. I told them not to listen, even though of course I knew they were listening. But then I could be free to make mistakes, and they could turn around when I said I was ready. I grew up in a family of artists. My parents, aunt, and parents’ friends were all experts at giving feedback. They would say things like, “I think it would help if you left more space after that one note, to let it sink in for the audience.” Read more>>

Emily Carter

I never considered myself a true artist until recently. Growing up I did ballet as a hobby, but have always leaned more towards the sciences than the arts: I completed my BS in Biology from UCLA, my MS in Environmental Policy and Management from University of Denver, and I currently work in energy efficiency. Despite my extensive science background, I have found my true passion lies within the arts. Read more>>

Nathaniel Windisch

Content creation within the music industry is an extremely saturated market, with tons of photographers and videographers willing to work for free. These days, you must set yourself apart as a creative. That being said, I worked for free for many years when I was still fresh to the industry. I was also super fortunate to have shot and written for my current university’s publication, granting me access to shows and experiences I would not have had otherwise. Read more>>

Yakiv Tsvietinskyi

I had quite an unusual creative path for a jazz musician. I grew up in a Ukrainian village and received a formal classical music education. In those times, jazz was not an existing thing in my area. So when I started college in Dnipro as a classical trumpet player, I had to figure out everything on my own. I listened to records by Miles Davis, Chet Baker, Thelonious Monk, Glenn Miller, Count Basie, etc. Read more>>

Indy Saluja

Since I decided to go to medical school instead of theatre school in my 20’s, I had to find professional teachers and high end classes to learn about acting. That learning, of course, never ends. However, I quickly realized that this would be a hustle. I drove from Kitchener-Waterloo multiple times a week for years to Toronto while balancing a career in the Emergency Department and juggling family life with three children, but there are no short-cuts and I had to pay my dues. Read more>>

Honee

Creating digital content always came naturally to me. I used to make parody song videos with my family members for fun. I would burn video edits to CDs and turn them in as school projects. I started seriously getting into making content when I started my YouTube Channel “Honeeology” in 2021. I learned how to edit my videos from what I like to call “Youtube University” Anything that came to my mind I achieved it through hours of research and trial and error. Read more>>

Shannon Carpenedo

I have been involved in the promotional product advertising industry since 2004, connecting with a well established industry distributor as their administrate assistant…..making copies, opening mail, filing catalogs, fetching coffee’s and answering calls. Being there 9-5, M-F, I quickly learned the ropes out of necessity and evolved my role from basic daily office tasks to connecting more each day with manufacturers, suppliers as well as customers……processing orders, shipping logistics, product research, sales, quoting projects for different events and learning how to use Adobe Illustrator and other important vital artwork programs. I grew up in the industry, starting at age 24 and really learned to love it and discovered a natural skill for it that just made perfect sense to me. Read more>>

Trizzy Casey

Early on in my life I always knew I was meant to be in the creative space & as time went on everything continued to build on each other. I wasn’t exposed to the idea of being schooled on many of my crafts until my adult years, even then, the old phrase “If it ain’t broke don’t fix it” kept screaming out at me. Some call it a natural gift, some say it’s luck, but I just call it learning through life. Read more>>

JP Dancing Bear

I took publishing out of the equation and focused on my voice. I read everything I could both poetry, but also fiction, and non-fiction. I read things aloud. Got a sense for others’ voices. I read my work aloud and got comfortable with my voice. I listened to poets reading their works, I got a sense of what gets conveyed through tone and feeling, and pace that is not necessarily spelled out directly on the page. Read more>>

Malachi Baa

I learned through Poetry, and through my big cousin. Watching my cousin rap is how learned how to turn Poetry into music and also how I learned how to tell my story through my music. If I was to stay focus and not let others fear of failure get to me I feel like I probably would’ve been where I am now sooner. But I believe in Gods timing and that it was his will in me for me to make it the way I have. Read more>>

Myra Lynne

Proving joy is the best part of creative living Read more>>

MARLA MASSIE

standup comedy is my life now, but it wasn’t always easy. Anybody who tells you standup comedy is easy…is a liar. this is my story. Read more>>

Brandon Brown

So we started off in 2017/2018. I was working full time driving delivery trucks on night shift. We didn’t have much of anything due to a house fire about 2 years prior, but our new house did have a small two car garage. We wound up buying a random lot of tools and an aircompresser for $500 off someone who needed the money . Having the urge to be creative and make something, I asked a friend to come over on my next night off and we would stay up all night creating random things out of cheap or free lumber that we could get our hands on (this is where the name Night Owl Worx came from). Read more>>

Klarissa Grissom

Learning the craft Read more>>

Kxng Coffield

I think for me learning how to actually make a structured song was important for me. Initially I think I’d just load the beat up and rap, granted I still do that sometimes. But being around the group (ill.Wav) & also just being a student to the music I like it was easy to soak up those tools. The collective I’m in with JUSTOMOBBIN, 4evaSol, teejaythelegend, Antoriquo, Spaceboyicy & JodiiSoo helped me learn a lot of different aspects of music. JodiiSoo really helped me with layering my voice on certain songs. JUSTOMOBBIN helped me with networking and playing the game basically. teejaythelegend just inspiring forreal I think bro is so talented. Read more>>