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?

Jeff Savage

You know, it’s funny how sometimes our professions choose US. Over the course of many years, I would receive comments about my conversational, everyday voice from not only people I knew, but also from complete strangers who had no incentive to go out of their way to give me their feedback. Read more>>

Dylan Rodney

Learning the craft was long very long road. I used to want go to give up but i never did, I kept going doing a lot of free work & perfecting as I go. After a while the more I learned the more it became breeze took my almost a whole year and till this day I’m still learning. Read more>>

Sonic Yogi

I started my career as a classical musician. I went to music school and studied in masterclasses with some of the top musicians of the day, and so forth. Later I toured as musician with a classical fusion group for around 15 years. However, when I started practicing sound therapy over a decade ago, I realized in many ways I had to unlearn many of the musical “rules”, and instead play against them. Read more>>

Hi-keif

This is an interesting question, as I have a tendency to learn things and forget the process or what it was like to not know once I do. I can recall that it has been a lot of just doing it — practice shall we say. I used to spend time taking bits and pieces of information for YouTube or Instagram and applying them until they made sense to me, and even invested in a music producer online course. Read more>>

Emma Evans

As a producer, my background in other aspects of film was very important for me to build realistic productions with enjoyable environments. Just my baseline understanding of what technical set-ups involve allows me to – for example – pick locations not only based on the artistic choices the director envisions but also the accessibility for loading set pieces or equipment in with ease. When I first started to produce things I didn’t realize the power that really gave me. Read more>> 

Stevie Lucas

My grandmother started to teach me how to crochet and sew when I was six years old. It was really challenging, especially since I’m left-handed. My grandmother thought I was holding the hook wrong, so she always put it in my right hand to correct me. I learned how to do a lot of things right-handed because of this. It definitely slowed things down for me because I’m wired to do things a certain way. We lived in a very old-fashioned, Mennonite community. Being left-handed was sort of frowned upon. Read more>>

Monica Moszkowicz-Simms

I branched out to amigurumi after finding a book at work with crocheted animals. “Amigurumi” is the Japanese art of crocheting or knitting stuffed toys – also called “ami” for short. I quickly learned a lot of different stitches and skills required to make these creations. I wish I would have tried harder to learn crochet at a younger age when my mother tried to teach me. I could have been creating amis through most of my life! Time is one obstacle that gets in the way of learning this art. Read more>>

Tara Gilboy

I have loved to write ever since I was a little girl. I was always the kid who was happiest inside reading rather than out playing with friends. I learned to write over a lifetime of practice, both reading and writing. I often tell my writing students that the most important thing you can do as a writer is be a reader. If you read every day, you develop a natural feel for story, absorbing its beats and structure, the rhythms of its language. Read more>>

Sean Malkasian

Obsession is key in how I approach difficult things. What it takes for me is just the urge to make music and listen to music. Listening can be just as important as practice. I wouldn’t call obsession a skill, it can be a blessing and a curse. If I’m pursuing something very difficult I have to obsess over it. The obstacle and difficulty of it makes me obsessed; and the loop continues. Also, being humble is key. Read more>>

Claire McCarty

When I knew that I wanted to pursue the arts in college, I began loading up art art courses my junior and senior years of high school. I was able to work on projects independently and explore different media and ideas. One day, I noticed a Potter’s wheel in the corner of my high school art room. Despite my teacher not working with clay, she said I could give it a whirl and play around. Read more>>

Zack Morris

It’s funny looking back at how I got to where I am, and it’s a wide array of things that taught me what I know now. I’ve been developing my style as a photographer for the last 10 years, so it has taken lots of experimenting and learning from other photographers in creating my own unique artistic style. The biggest part to my professional development, as cliché as it sounds, has been: practice, practice, practice. Read more>>

Mike Habs

My style and methods have been self taught and developed over the past 10 years. It had always been a goal of mine to always challenge myself and to improve or change some aspect / element in every piece I completed. I suppose it was this iterative approach towards painting that kept it exciting and invigorating to keep pushing my craft into what it’s become today. Read more>>

Michelle Graham And Giles Hash

When we first began, none of us had any idea how to create a podcast. Well, that’s not fully true. We knew the mechanics of it. We knew how to use microphones, we knew podcasts were often conversational and interesting. We could edit the audio and upload it to the Internet. And for a while, that’s all we did. We churned out several episodes we were incandescently proud of…and which later turned out to be absolutely awful. Read more>>

Sarah Collins

I’d call myself a self taught maker. There is no ‘right’ way to design and create, especially something as unique as jewelry. I went through a lot of trial and error at first – finding the materials I liked best, figuring out what type of designs resonated with me and getting a handle on the pliers took me some time. I really love ring and bracelet bending. I take antique and vintage silverware that I’ve sourced from local thrift stores and create one of a kind pieces. Read more>>

Ollie Sanders

Back in the day growing up in England, somewhere around 1994, I found myself hanging out with a friend who had some dj turntables. I wanted to learn the art of djing as it fascinated me. My friend already had a setup and I knew it was time for me to gather up some equipment for myself. My family & I had recently moved house, where I remembered my parents leaving an old Pioneer stacking system in the shed at the old house. Read more>>

Kaegan Alazander Blaq

I learned how to direct films by doing it, if that’s makes sense. Sometimes you have to try something and then learn about it as you go. Sometimes we will think ourselves right out of something we want to do because we are scared to fail at it. So I failed and got better learned from my mistakes. Read books and watched YouTube videos all these things helped me. I’m still learning but I’m far better than where I begin my career. Read more>>

Justin SMith

I practiced…A LOT. It took some time to really get DJing in itself down but once I got used to everything it helped me branch out into other parts of music. I probably could’ve accelerated the learning process if I didn’t have so many things going on at the time back in 2012/2013. But ultimately that ended up helping me pursue my craft even more. The most essential skill that I felt I had back then was discipline. Just having to reassure myself that this was something I really wanted to do. Read more>>

Kylee Johnson

I started by watching a few Youtube videos then I started practicing in my small apartment kitchen. One thing that really helped me was taking a professional class and I wish I would have done it sooner. I failed, A LOT. I made a lot of earrings that broke and now I know the science behind “why” my earrings weren’t the greatest quality. Read more>>

Barbara Heinrich

Simply said, Art is a lifetime process and to be an artist, you have to embrace a lifetime of experimenting and learning. Like many artists, I began with classes from a very young age and continued my education through college and beyond. My courses gave me some fundamental skills in how to use materials but more importantly, I learned techniques that other artists used and ways of looking at a work of art that helped me to see something differently. I also got the chance to try new things and fail…or succeed. Read more>>

Exigent

Every musician has their own ways of learning, but in general, consistent practice and experience are the most important things. Practice schedules will look different for everyone, but just like a workout routine, you won’t see progress if you don’t practice. However, practice alone doesn’t make a great musician. Experience is the other piece of the puzzle that comes with time. All of us have been students of School of Rock, where we each had unique experiences with our own instruments and learned to develop our musicianship skills. Read more>>

Lucas Hughes

I haven’t finished learning and I think that’s the biggest thing. I have never allowed myself to be comfortable only knowing what I currently know. I began doing research about the entertainment industry on a few different websites. Backstage, Variety, Deadline all became places I would spend hours. As I learned more the more specific my research became and it allowed me to hone in on what I considered to be the essential things. Read more>>

Amy Sumida

I’ve been writing novels since I was a teenager, back when I used an old word processor instead of a computer. I remember submitting novels to Harlequin Romance when I was twelve. I, of course, received a lot of rejection letters and that can take it’s toll on a kid. I didn’t give up writing, but I did give up on submitting books to publishers. It was a hard industry to get into, even for adults, and I accepted that I probably wouldn’t succeed. But I loved to write and kept at it. Read more>>

Craig Stephens

The road to learning a new skill is different for each individual. For me, learning to draw and paint started with fun. As a kid I fell in love with comic books. I read them all the time. I brought them to school and traded them with my friends. My best friend and I would draw our favorite characters copied from our collections and the compare them at school the next day. There was no reason to do it except for the pure joy of it. It turns out that I was just good enough at it that I started to get positive reinforcement from my peers and the adults around me. Read more>>

Jonathan Sobel

When it came to learning photography, a large portion of knowledge just came from simply doing. I did do personal education here and there, but for the most part it was the result of going out and shooting photos. when it comes to photography, understanding light is probably the most crucial thing to it all. Your framing, composition, and concept can all get better over time, but if you don’t have a fundamental understanding of lighting, you will constantly set yourself back. Read more>>

Taylor Fraser

In the film industry you have to be self motivated and seek out opportunities. I approached people I respected in the industry and asked them to teach me what they knew. It’s important to keep saying yes, even when you’re intimidated. You can always learn a new skill, and jumping into the deep end is a good way to learn quickly! I volunteered and interned until I gained experience. If you live in Colorado (most people in the industry live and work in LA/New York), breaking into the niche community of filmmaking/podcasting can be daunting, but it can be done with enough persistence! Read more>>

Crystal Smiley

I never really thought I could see myself as a photographer until I picked up a camera in college as a requirement. It did not take long for me to fall in love, capturing people within their element however, it was not an overnight committed decision. It took five years later when I was suggest to help step-in for a photo shoot that I decided from that experience, I could further this love of photography to the next level and build my craft around it. Read more>>

KR BANKSTON

Writing has always been a natural gift for me. I’ve written for as long as I can remember, mostly journal entries through a turbulent and abusive childhood. Being able to craft the written word onto pages served as therapy in a time when I couldn’t actually see a therapist. As I’ve ventured into commercial publishing, I’ve learned alot of hard knocks lessons. I’ve also met some wonderful people along the way who helped me. Read more>>

Adele Hendricks

I am constantly learning my craft by attending classes and demonstrations and by viewing other artists’ works – both ones that I like and those I don’t like. I also spend a lot of time on YouTube viewing tutorials that are available on a variety of different painting techniques. I also love to watch artists paint. Seeing the scene unfold on the canvas is fascinating to me. If I had had the opportunity at a younger age, I would have studied art history and worked as an apprentice for a master artist. Read more>>