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?
Alison Guessou
I didn’t formally study filmmaking but took classes offered by local film non-profit organizations. My real learning came through hands-on experience—being on set, taking on different roles, and learning by doing. Each project became a new lesson, whether in directing, editing, or leading a team. If I could go back, I’d seek out mentors earlier and build a stronger network within the film community. Learning from others who had already walked the path would have sped up my process significantly. Mentorship is invaluable when it comes to navigating the complexities of filmmaking and avoiding common pitfalls. If I could go back, I’d seek out mentors earlier and build a stronger network within the film community. Learning from others who had already walked the path would have sped up my process significantly. Mentorship is invaluable when it comes to navigating the complexities of filmmaking and avoiding common pitfalls. Read more>>
Christina Park
After discovering my passion for storyboarding, I was determined to find ways to learn and improve my skills in the field. I proactively reached out to industry artists, seeking their advice and insights into animation to help guide me in the right direction. I frequently asked for feedback from peers and professionals and took additional online classes to further my education beyond what my school offered. One of my biggest challenges was managing my time effectively for storyboarding. Although I have more freedom now, during college, my commitment to the computer animation program often limited my ability to focus solely on honing my storyboarding skills. Although my formal education was crucial, I often wished I had more time to refine my draftsmanship and expand my visual library. If I could change one thing, it would be to spend more time drawing regularly and improving my skills. And if I couldn’t draw, I would have watched more films. Read more>>
Tommi Jo
My name is Tommi Jo and I am a songwriter and performing artist. I began my music journey from a very young age, singing from the time I could speak. I found artists a young girl from the early 2000s would like, such as Taylor Swift and Miley Cyrus (throwback to the Hannah Montana days). I think a first step in any craft is finding an inspiration that grows into a passion. Growing up, I always wanted to learn to play guitar and write music. I asked my parents for lessons, practically begged, but I was already involved in too many activities that kept me busy. Eventually one day, I decided I was going to pick up a guitar and just learn for myself. I learned my first chords from Guitar Tabs playing my favorite songs at the time. Then, I began to write. Read more>>
Amelia Mahrie
Growing up in a secluded little Wisconsin neighborhood surrounded by trees, deer, and wild turkeys meant that my imagination was my best friend. I got up to all kinds of creative mischief with my three siblings: we’d design our own storybooks, crawl around like cats, and play “little lost kids in the woods,” which sounds rather psychotic—but don’t worry, we always stumbled upon “abandoned mansions” and “puppies that kept us company,” so we were in good hands. (Wait until I tell you what our Barbies got up to.) Imagination was something I always relied upon, and it felt most natural to transition into a creative field that allowed me to keep exercising this skill as I got older. Read more>>
Joshua Todd James
Initially, I learned to write by reading. I read books nonstop as a child, a teen, and an adult. I could have sped it up by paying more attention in English class, but sadly, I did not. I was bored by school and sought refuge in books. In fairness, as a high school student, I had spectacularly bad teachers (my English teacher was, in fact, fired after my senior year). It was only far later in life that I got serious about learning more language writing skills. After reading Stephen King’s ON WRITING, I immediately went and bought ELEMENTS OF STYLE. Read more>>
Tamsin Skeels
In 2020, I was looking for something creative to spend my time doing during the early months of Covid. While housetraining our newly adopted puppy took up much of my time, I knew I needed something else to fill my days while my then college and high-school-aged daughters were spending their hours in online school, and my husband was holed up in the home office. Having been raised by a creative family in the mountains of NC, I’d been exposed to plenty of art forms and various types of multimedia crafts. As a child, I had opportunities to learn about textile arts, such as wool combing, yarn spinning and dyeing, knitting, cross-stitching, sewing, and crocheting. While I never pursued fiber arts in any professional way (I was a special education teacher for many years), I’d always had a fondness for these mediums. Read more>>
Wes Wells
When I was younger I kind of always knew I wanted to design clothes and create clothing. I used to make small clothes for my Barbie dolls out of scrap fabric I had I didn’t have a sewing machine so I picked up hand sewing online and taught myself a bit it wasn’t anything fancy but it was mine. In 2016 I learned about what cosplaying was and bought my first cosplay the same year to attend my first anime conventions. I fell in love with the craft immediately and learned that people can make their cosplays. After graduating high school I bought my first sewing machine and started making small things like pillowcases to practice. I would say I’m still learning how to sew and I am currently working on a new cosplay. Read more>>
Alexandra Zone
Jewelry has always been something I loved. I started wire wrapping back in 2018, but it never quite felt like the right fit for me. I would often find myself admiring the beauty in unique pieces, always drawn to the ones that had something different about them. When I saw a local class offering to make your own statement ring, I couldn’t resist. That was the moment everything shifted for me—I dove headfirst into the world of silversmithing. Outside of that class, I’ve been completely self-taught. Honestly, I’m a bit of a nerd when it comes to jewelry. Whether I’m out and about or browsing online, I’m constantly inspecting how pieces are made, learning from what I see, and trying things out in my own work. Sometimes they work, sometimes they don’t, but that’s the magic of it. It feels like a bit of alchemy—experimenting, learning, failing, and eventually creating something beautiful. Read more>>
Cassie Castillo
My mom made many of my clothes when I was growing up, so I learned to sew from watching her. I always loved our trips to the fabric store to pick out sewing patterns and fabric. Eventually I started to make my own clothes and I went on to get a degree in fashion design. I worked in the fashion industry for eight years, first for a company that make sleepwear, loungewear and underwear, then I moved on to a junior sportswear company. I had always been interested in lingerie, but there were only a few lingerie companies in southern California and I just never quite landed a design job there. After getting married in 2011, I had to move away from California and the fashion industry in general. Read more>>
Sabina Jung
I cultivated my craft through independent learning and the use of online resources, seeking out tutorials and jewelry magazines to educate and refine my skills. Initially, I focused on mastering various jewelry making techniques to develop my talents, and eventually discovered my personal style in creating distinctive sterling silver gemstone jewelry pieces. Then I discovered a little known medium called precious metal clay, and I was immediately captivated by the endless creative possibilities it offered. Its unique ability to be molded and shaped like clay, yet fired into solid metal, had me obsessing over the limitless design potential. I invested in the necessary tools and equipment, and enrolled in online classes and instructional videos, studying the art of working with this casting method. When my first silver pendant emerged from the kiln, I knew in that moment that I had discovered my true calling. Read more>>
Laryssa Suaid
My journey in photography started early, as I come from a family of photographers—my grandfather and father both had deep roots in the craft. However, formalizing my learning process came from real-world experience. I worked in various studios, and one of the most formative experiences was working for free for an entire month at one of the top studios in my city. Every day, I’d take the bus, pack my lunch, and essentially spend money to work, but it was a priceless opportunity to learn from the best photographer in town. Looking back, I realize that mentorship and hands-on experience were essential in shaping my skills. If I could have sped up the process, I would have focused more on finding additional mentors early on and perhaps taken more structured courses. However, those early challenges helped build my perseverance, which is crucial in this industry. Read more>>
Peter Brinson
I’ve been teaching game design students for over 20 years. I’m able to stay relevant – to sustain my empathy for what my students go through – because I’m always learning. Video games are so hard to make, and I find myself perpetually learning. This all makes sense when I accept that functional artists are always out of their depth. Ideally, they find themselves just below that threshold, not completely out of their depth, and not well over the line (a bored master of their craft). The key is to identify how to turn your own limitations into intention – into a style or voice. If you’re waiting to master the tools before you can express yourself, then you’ve got it all backwards. Read more>>
Zell Page
I am, for all purposes, a self-taught ceramicist and artist. I have been drawing and painting for as long as I could remember and I started my ceramics work when I was in one of my final years of college. The only reason I started ceramics was because of a friend I had worked with in the Disney college program. As we got to know each other better, he said that I would most likely really enjoy it and that I should just try it out and see what I think. I took one intro class at my University (which was not the best) which provided me with little to no instruction. Almost the entirety of my ceramics experience has been trial and error. I would have loved to have been able to take any classes earlier on– if I was able to start in high school or before that even– I think that would have helped me in the long run and I would be much further along than I am now. Aside from that, I could have cut out an entire degree, and gone down a different degree path than the one I chose. Read more>>
Kat Kemmet
From the start of my decision to pursue acting as a profession to now, I have been in constant training. My first major decision as an actor to commit to the idea of acting full-time was when I hired my first coach- Scott “Sharky” Hodges. He drilled into my mind early on the value of putting the art first. I credit him for steering my on a path of career longevity. He ensured I recognized the commitment of pursuing acting as a career and not a hobby means being a lifelong student and maintaining a curious approach to the work. Since working with him, I took a two-year long training program at a Meisner-based school in Orlando called Truthful Acting Studios, went from there to The American Academy of Dramatic Arts in Los Angeles and later began studying with Kate McGregor Stewart. Read more>>
Madison Baron
When I decided to start podcasting I really didn’t have any idea what to do. I just knew that I wanted to start a podcast. I knew I had solid ideas, long form subjects, and I had a network of interesting panelist. Getting started was actually the easier part. It was the learning of programs, technology, and acquiring how to host a podcast to stream it. I easily could have hired someone to work on the editing, but I was strapped for money and wanted to do this as low budget as possible with the best results. I turned to Learning how to use Adobe premier. I definitely could have also invested in courses but decided to follow YouTube university, not really a uni, but there’s a plethora of information to help you learn how to use the editing software like Adobe. I learned the basicals of premier when I was launching a YouTube channel that I no longer entertain, but that gave me the basics to edit for my podcast. Because my editing software is so complex and frustrating, I wish earlier on I had a community of support. I really only had one friend who mastered the program, who did help as much as possible, but at times when I wanted to quit out of frustration, having a group chat, community, or like podcaster would have kept me more sane. Read more>>
Keyu Hao
I was an illustration student at Kingston School of Art. My journey began with an academic foundation where I spent quality time in theoretical study and artist lectures. There were a lot of critical questions to help me discover my interests and experiments. I also spent lots of time experimenting with various methods to expand the boundaries of contemporary art. I would say that research skills, critical thinking, and self-reflection are most essential. When it happens to a project, it is a good start to research relevant topics, books, studies, and artists to inspire in many aspects. When it happens to narrow down and find out the concept, it is helpful to have a critical conversation with myself to discover what I want to deliver the value of or to be seen. Read more>>
Aidan Owens
I grew up on a farm where cooking wasn’t just something we did—it was an integral part of our lifestyle. I spent countless hours at my neighbors’ houses, learning cooking techniques, which sparked my deep curiosity and passion for food. To hone my skills, I’ve always been eager to learn—from reading cookbooks and watching videos to picking up tips from fellow chefs. I’m constantly pushing myself to grow and challenge my creativity. Dining at different restaurants inspires me to think outside the box and keeps my ideas fresh. Staying organized and being open to continually learning is essential in the kitchen. Cooking is an evolving craft, there’s always more to discover and ways to improve. Being a chef is demanding, and it’s not for the faint-hearted. What drives me most is knowing that food can unite people. It has the power to bring people together by creating shared experiences that transcend cultural and social barriers, fostering connection and community. Read more>>
Lindsey Glass
It all started when I found my first agate on the beach in Malibu, CA. It had a cave of crystals that grabbed my full attention as I rinsed the sand out of it. I had no idea what I was looking at besides the absolute beauty of it. I joined Facebook groups about rock identification, bought books about agates and jaspers and about rockhounding in Southern California, and bought my first rock tumbler. I started tumble polishing small pieces of quartz, agate, and jasper I found on beaches and soon had so many beautiful rocks that I needed to learn how to turn the most beautiful ones into jewelry. My background as a microbiologist sure didn’t help with this. Read more>>
Jim Galli
I learned about ropes when I started slacklining 8 years ago, when I started rigging Highlines that’s when things started to get more serious. I think I could have gotten some certifications sooner to get myself in professional situations quicker. I think having a good sense of coordination and balance were helpful, being able to manage fear pretty well from my background in skateboarding was also a plus. Over all I think trusting myself was crucial. The sooner you commit to things the more you will start to learn about those things with a more serious interest. Having fun and doing things as a hobby is cool but it won’t necessarily get you to your truest intellect about what it is you actually are pursuing. Read more>>
Angela Maria Parra Toledo
I think that as long as you are still showing up for yourself, you’ll definitely learn, maybe what works and what doesn’t. How your instrument responds and reacts. Which are your strengths and your weaknesses? I like to think as if we were scientists with our own art. You just got to keep exploring, finding constantly different ways and perspectives. Our body is different every day; work with that difference and take it as an advantage. Talking about how I could speed up the process. I personally appreciate the timing. The one that we all have, I’m not fully sure if there’s a need for speeding things up. I just try as much as I can to make it juicy and enjoyable. Of course I have my insecurities, and sometimes I would like to get everywhere faster. Which is why I try my best to remember myself; what you are living now is priceless. Read more>>
Adrianne Shelton
When I was growing up, my mom was a professional family photographer. I remember her draping a piece of velvet from my closet door and experimenting with her camera when I was very young, remember her putting together her first studio in the front room of our house, and eventually growing her business to the point of having a commercial studio and gallery space in a beautiful part of town. I would help her out in the studio, hold the reflector for her during outdoor sessions, and I never realized how much I learned about the art of photography without ever being behind the camera myself. When my middle child was born in 2014, my husband bought me a camera (with a detachable lens!) and I used it constantly to document her and my oldest child. I kept it on automatic most of the time, while teaching myself the ins and outs of camera settings, lens types, and what they all meant for the final outcome of an image. Read more>>
Ricky Baba
I learned from books, forums and YouTube tutorials. Combine that with discipline, trial and error, and experimenting with different styles and techniques over many years. Consistency and persistence are key. Having a strong foundation in art fundamentals like color theory, composition, and anatomy helped me learn the tools faster. To speed up my learning process I’ve developed the skill of intentionality. What I mean by that is making every creative session count. The urge to create art often overwhelms artists with too many things we want to do, with multiple paths to accomplish them – but not all are equally important, making prioritization difficult. This can scatter our efforts. Kaizen, a Japanese philosophy of continuous improvement, offers a solution by applying the Pareto Principle, which states that 80% of outcomes come from 20% of actions. By focusing on the few tasks that matter most, we can improve discipline and efficiency which leads to faster learning. Read more>>
Kailey Bonillas-tracy
I learned my craft through a mix of the right mentors, personal exploration, and the self-discipline to keep at it consistently. Much of my growth came from personal projects and experimenting with different mediums. To speed up my learning process, I wish I had started putting myself out there sooner. Preparing is important, and I believe luck and being prepared go together like honey and cinnamon—but the sweet stuff is in the ‘doing.’ The application can always be adjusted. It doesn’t need to be perfect—just expressed. The most essential skills for my journey have been adaptability, curiosity, and the ability to be present. Adaptability allowed me to explore various creative outlets, curiosity drove continuous learning, and being present helped me fully engage with each project or collaboration. Read more>>
Amy Hutchinson
I started oil painting five years ago. Before that, I played with interior design and drawing, and even spent a couple of years in woodworking, but I had never tried traditional painting. I immediately liked the results and the process. It never occurred to me to become a professional painter until my friends and family started buying my paintings. It dawned on me that maybe I could actually do this for a living. I spent the next couple of years painting as much as possible and experimenting with different paints, brushes, surfaces, and techniques. I took numerous classes and workshops and studied YouTube tutorials. When I become obsessed with something, I dive down the rabbit hole and don’t look back. As a habitual experimenter, I often fail, but I also occasionally discover a new method or technique that elevates my art. Read more>>
Greg Oconnor
I learned how to play the piano and compose scores and songs by exposing myself to many different genres of music over a long period of time, starting when I was 4 years old. My parents always took me and my siblings to concerts and musicals. I studied classical piano, starting at age 6. I played piano and alto sax in various instrumental ensembles in grade school and high school. In college, I performed in the jazz band, a pop band, a funk band and was in the glee club. In grad school, I learned how to write for various instrumental combinations from teachers that were working composers in film and television. Read more>>
Maya Oster
I believe many aspects of my life have fused together in order for me to be a filmmaker, but I would attribute how I learned how to direct, write, and produce films to growing up watching movies all the time. My mom used to wake me up early before I had school so we could watch a film in the basement together, and I loved it. My lack of formal training as a growing filmmaker allowed me to develop a very unique eye; I try to create art that inspires me the way the moving picture images and soundtracks I grew up with and love did. Although now as I’ve furthered my film education at the University of Southern California School of Cinematic Arts as a Film and Television MFA candidate I have gained technical knowledge about how to be a great filmmaker, I still believe it to be subjective to some extent. Read more>>
Kathleen Studebaker
I learned fabrication from many different sources (as I imagine most craftspeople do). As an undergraduate in Memphis (TN) I majored in sculpture and focused mostly on wood. After earning my BFA I spent three years working at a custom glass furniture company (also in Memphis), where I learned how to be very (very) careful with my materials, and some important lessons about precision. For my MFA I moved up to IL, did a lot more wood working and really came to understand how to think in three-dimensions. I also began working with iron and steel, which had a huge impact on my aesthetic. After graduate school I moved to Louisville, KY for a job at a custom trophy company (I know that sounds odd, but I promise it’s a real thing; a whole industry in fact). Read more>>
Cliff Collins
As an educator I am always learning. I am always open to new opportunities which included teaching subjects where I had little knowledge but a desire to learn more. When I was offered the opportunity to teach photography I began taking classes and incorporated what I learned into what I taught. Stretching your abilities and knowledge are key and exploring with like-minded people is exponentially better. The more you shoot the more you learn, and the more you learn the better photographer you become. Read more>>
Ali Gardezi
Learning to produce music made it much easier for me to learn DJing. A lot of it came down to developing an ear for elements of a song and how they sit in the audio spectrum. Learning to produce involved a lot of youtube videos and going through a trial and error process guided by what sounded good to me. I appreciate the process I went through in that it was totally organic and went around whatever else I was doing in life. Compared to going to a school to learn production, I was free to develop my own style and sound that was independent of any direct influence. The skills that are most essential to me is being able to listen and know when a sound fits into a mix, composing so that a song feels like it is changing and developing as it goes on, and when to scrap parts or a whole track because it is not working. At this point the only obstacles in my way are time and money. Being an artist usually requires doing something else to support yourself monetarily while still making the time for your craft. Read more>>
Ainaz Alipour
I began my practice with a foundation in studio art, video animation, and digital art, but my evolution as an artist has been deeply intertwined with my cultural heritage. Growing up Iranian and connecting with local sewing crafts and embroidery techniques from northern Khorasan, I developed a passion for working with textiles and soft sculpture. These crafts, which are often passed down through generations of women in my culture, became not only a technical foundation but also a way for me to explore themes of cultural representation and power dynamics. The most essential skills for me have been adaptability and experimentation. Working across diverse media—from fabric to VR—requires a willingness to embrace trial and error. Learning to push the limits of what fabric and digital media can do together has been critical to the projects I’ve developed, especially when crafting detailed, intricate textile pieces that require a mix of patience, design, and technical precision. Read more>>
Heather Bartels
I am 100% self taught in leatherwork. I believe all the training I had previous in mediums, such as fibers, metalwork , bookbinding and ceramics, were integral in me being able to forge a solo path and gain the skills needed for leatherwork. In hindsight, in person classes at an art/folk/craft school would definitely been an easier route! I think the most essential skills in leatherwork are an insane attention to the smallest details, precise measuring, and impeccable hand sewing. As always for artists, and definitely for me the biggest obstacle often faced in gaining more skills was and is money. Read more>>
David Dilin
It would be difficult to accurately trace where my learning began. I could start with being raised in a family of musicians, singers, and preachers. I may give credit to the inspiration of artists that I met, worked with, or was exposed to. Or I could thank my brother for pushing me to manifest my potential into my first body of music. Whether it be what was imbued in me at a young age by my family, or what inspired me and pushed me, I owe my education to exposure. I let my schooling be all that God and life directed my way. And then one day everything became technical. I wanted to know the terms behind the chords, the theory behind the music, the science behind the art. I obsessed over cadence, word play, rhyme scheme, chord changes, every little thing. Knowing what I know now, I wish I could have learned these things from the start, so that converting ideas and feelings into sounds would be as easy as speaking a language. I find that to be an essential skill – translating what’s in your head & heart into something that can be explained or understood by others. Read more>>
Jumana Mograbi
I became interested in photography at 12 years old when my step dad bought me my first digital camera (I think he was afraid I would break his each time I used it) and ever since then it has become a part of my life. After moving to the States I was able to take darkroom photography classes in highschool and my interest in the subject only grew, I started to slowly see it as an art form and as a way of finally seeing at the world the way I wanted to. I then received my Bachelors in Photography from Parsons School of Design in 2021, I established my vision and artistic style there, and I felt very supported by my professors to continue understanding why I wanted to create. After graduating I began working as a freelance photographer and retouchr, often collaborating with people I knew and focusing on personal projects. Read more>>
James Knight
Books- the secrets are all kept in books. Character development, technique and method are the fundamentals that must be mastered. Getting a great mentor and surround yourself with peers that are better than you when you first start. Always stay extremely humble and honest with your material and presentation. If you master your craft people will think you actually have a special gift or ESP, this is a huge responsibility and should not be taken lightly or advantage of. There will never be a point where you have learned all there is to know, innovation and trends will keep you constantly learning. Read more>>
Araceli Esparza
Before, I was a writer, and still today is that I’m a reader. I truly enjoy reading books about many things. I started writing poetry in high school and joined a poetry circle made up of only women of color. This experience was very powerful for me and pivotal in my decision to pursue a master’s in creative writing. I learned about storytelling and how to incorporate storytelling as part of a movement; now, I teach women how to free their voices, money, and speaking opportunities through our organization, Midwest Mujeres. Read more>>
Lindsay Kastuk
I started with doing makeup on myself mostly! But this was a hobby at the time. It was good to learn how different products worked and worked together. Later on when I decided to make this my career I spent time on YouTube learning some basics – hygeine practices, how to do makeup on different skintones, and a natural base makeup. I wanted to make sure I was doing makeup safely and that I was able to do makeup on everyone. Read more>>
Mandy Szymborski
I learned makeup by watching inspiring artists on social media. It is nice that makeup artists post educational videos and show behind the scenes of their kits, set up, and craft. I constantly studied their work and art and tried to perfect it. If I knew what I knew now I would take more master classes and 1:1 lessons. I am for sure a hands on learner. The skills I developed that were the most essential was patience. I look at artists that have a high number of followers or have opportunities in New York or LA and I have to remind myself that everyone has their own path/journey. I have reminded myself that I cannot get discouraged by what other people are doing and I need to keep true to my artistry and keep perfecting my craft. When I look back to work I even did a year ago and I am amazed at how far I have come! Read more>>