One of the most daunting aspects of pursing a creative or artistic career for many aspiring artists is not knowing how to learn the craft. So, we asked some very talented artists and creatives to talk to us about how they learned their crafts and we hope their stories will help you in your journey.

Jesse McCloskey

The Swain School of Design taught me how to improve as an artist by never falling in love with my work. My teachers encouraged equal amounts drawing and erasing. If I can’t destroy my artwork, I’m trapped by it. Read more>>

Rosemery Garden

YouTube, haha! To be more specific though, there’s a channel called Busy Works Beats by a guy who goes by ‘Game’, that I came across back in 2013. I had just downloaded the free version of Fruity Loops and had no clue how to use it. Read more>>

Robin Olsen

Being an artist was always in me from the time I painted a large mural out of mud on our freshly stuccoed house at the age of 5. While my early work was not well received by my parents, they did always encourage me and provided plenty of materials for more acceptable expression later. Read more>>

Christine Nguyen

I learned my craft in the video ad industry thanks to my team & clients at Bear Hands Media! I work with diverse and passionate creatives – who come from all walks of life. Read more>>

Dave Tough

My guiding motto and the main thing I always communicate to my students is to use God’s gifts he has given you to bless others. If you figure out a way to do that you’ll be fine and find your path in your place of purpose. Read more>>

Gabe Del Valle

Most of my work has been writing and storyboarding for animated cartoons for television. It requires a culmination of a lot of different skills: drawing, storytelling, cinematography, acting, animating and thats just the tip of the iceberg. Read more>>

Merick Devine

What’s the saying? 10,000 hours to be a master? Well, I disagree. After 10,000 hours, I think you’re just be beginning to really understand what you’re doing. Read more>>

Samuel Murphy

I learned (almost) all of what I know from Youtube! I began just exploring things I was interested in which in the beginning was mostly photography. Still photography taught me basics of light, composition and color. Read more>>

Alyssa Fiumara

I learned a large portion of my art skills in high school. I was lucky enough to have gone to Eden JR SR high, where there was an amazing selection of art classes. I dropped study halls to take more art classes. Read more>>

Marissa Voytenko

Like most things, I saw encaustic before I learned how to work with it. I was in an art gallery north of Boston during my graduate school days when I saw my first encaustic painting. Read more>>

Lesley Grant

I think that learning and mastering your craft is part of a lifelong pursuit in any field, but especially in creative fields. I remember when I was little, my mom enrolled my sister and I in all kinds of activities like ballet, piano, taekwondo, soccer, theater, etc. Read more>>

Ziyan Wang

As an artist and designer with a bachelor degree from Rhode Island School of Design, Department of Furniture Design, I was introduced to and explore deeply in various kinds of materials and crafts during my studies here. Read more>>

Tricia K. Otwell

For the most part I’ve gone with the trial by fire approach, thankfully that has worked for me. I am always chasing a vision within a theme. That theme may be the remodel of a client’s bedroom, or it may be a life like prop for a large event or a whimsical spin on a holiday piece. Read more>>

Congrez

Learning the craft takes an extensive amount of time, effort and energy along with studying the industry and art itself. Seeing things from another person’s perspective can spark inspiration or simply show you all different kinds of ways to attack things. Read more>>

Cheryl Steffen

I began with graphic design. I never went to school to learn the skill. Worked at a retail store that specialized in custom design for cards and invitations. This was way before Minted and other online sites. Read more>>

London DeGarmo

I started learning visual arts in middle school. Like most kids, it wasn’t something I took seriously. My teacher entered one of my pieces in an art show held around the school district, and it won 3rd place. I started to look more into art as a hobby at that point. By 8th grade, I was hooked. Read more>>

Lyndsey Schappe

I am 100% self taught. I started as a hobbyist in 2014 when I got my first camera. I lived in Washington state for 4 years, and at that time travel/blogging photography was really big on social media. Read more>>

Archit Sharma

I have been taking photos for a long time before I got an actual camera for myself, sometimes on my dad’s old film camera and sometimes on mobile phones z i never followed the rules of composition, Read more>>

Jane Wu

I obtained the majority of my design skills through formal education at professional design schools. Although my interest in Fine Art originated in childhood, my formal introduction to graphic design occurred during secondary school. Read more>>

Holman Alvarez

Thoughts about learning music I’ve been studying music since I was a teenager, and I have understood that to be a musician is a commitment to life. You need to learn and practice your skills to make them work in your context. Read more>>

Sam Lulloff

Almost all of the knowledge I’ve gained in this field have been through trial and error so I’m deeply grateful for my colleagues and collaborators that had enough faith in me to allow me to fail before I could start designing projects that I’m proud of. Read more>>

Nehal Modi

I think design is a lifetime learning process, though my creative journey was afoot since childhood. Painting, doing crafts, animation and slowly discovering that there is world where this is a job. Read more>>

Callie C. Miller

I’ve always been a writer. I’m from a very small town in the middle of nowhere that to this day looks like a desolate wasteland. Being outside wasn’t fun, so in my free time I read (mostly Star Wars novels, more on that later). Read more>>

Tricia Brown

I write books for adults and for children, but writing for children often takes me into schools. That’s where I’m always asked, “How did you decide to be an author?” I’ve got to laugh, because it wasn’t a conscious decision that I made. Read more>>

Kallie Marie

The great and horrible thing about this line of work is that you never stop learning your craft. You’re always improving your craft, and the technology never stops changing either. Read more>>

Kesly Young

There are people who make and copy and paste through their work. I feel as though my main objective is to step outside. To work not ONLY on the practice of my craft but to also PUSH the boundaries in which my craft can go. Read more>>

Gloria Martinez

I am a self-taught jewelry maker with a passion for learning and an “everything can be figured out” attitude. Since I have no formal training from metalsmith schools, I rely on jewelry making books, industry resources, jewelry classes from local shops, and my own research. Read more>>

Bryce Maopolski, Reece Maopolski and John Haring

Learning the craft of being a musician has so many facets and intricacies. Beginning with the simple discipline of practicing your instrument with dedication and vigor, all the way to learning the ins and outs of the industry we hope to thrive in, the most key skill in all of this is perseverance and unwavering belief in your goals. Read more>>

Kanika

I have been studying, learning, and practicing my craft as a performing artist and singer-songwriter since the age of 5. Now being an adult, I can definitely say this has been and continues to be a journey of self-discovery and growth. Read more>>

Elizabeth Jenness

At some point in my youth I was struck with a need to express visually. I had discovered that I could say things visually I couldn’t say verbally. There were artists around me who were working where I could observe them. Read more>>