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.

Anthoney Charaman

I learned to do what I do by putting myself in spaces where people were already doing what I wanted to do and they were doing it better than me. Another thing that helps too is having the confidence to put yourself out there even if you don’t have all the knowledge or experience. Read more>> 

Gabriela Aleksova

I was lucky to begin my photography journey by learning from one of the most established photographers in Bulgaria, Nikolay Treyman. I signed up for a workshop of his when I was 13, and that helped me learn the basics of the craft and its history. Read more>>

Elliot Strunk Todd Coats

We’re self-taught storytellers. Well, self-taught podcasters. We’re both graphic designers, so we have years of storytelling under our belts from producing things like posters, logos, brochures, annual reports, presentations, videos, ad campaigns, websites… You get the idea. We’ve made a lot of junk. Read more>>

Elyn Kazarian

I learned to do what I do through a combination of formal education, self-teaching, and practical experience. I earned my Bachelor’s degree in Illustration/Fine Art Painting at ArtCenter College of Design in 2013, where my focus was primarily on painting. Read more>>

Michael Ryno

I purchased my first camera in February, 2016 and the following week attended a Lone Tree Photo Club meeting to learn photography, My involvement with various photography clubs and organizations have been extremely beneficial in improving my skills. Read more>>

Lily Love Smith

I’ve always been fond of collage ~ grabbing a pair of scissors, gluesticks, and some of my mom’s magazines to just cut them to shreds, I remember the first time I created a collage out of my own volition and interest. I remember skimming through the pages and finding the imagery that intrigued me and related to my fifth grade self. Read more>>

Haze Amor

Honestly lots of practice. Took a lot of trial, error, and time. Something that I could have done to speed up my learning process was read more books about the subject. Not knowing technical terms for certain things sometimes would hinder the way I was communicating. Some skills I think were most effective was being adaptable. Read more>>

Cody Simpson

I learned by diving head first into an industry I had interest in, and worked full time 6 days/week for 5 years to get as much experience and knowledge as possible. This fast-tracked my improvement and skills in design and sales, and helped me build confidence with myself and trust with my clients at a much more efficient rate. Read more>>

Monica Bodirsky

My skill set is a little unusual relative to the mainstream. I learned to be a practitioner of the magical and esoteric arts through observation, reading many academic and mainstream books related to the occult, divination, folk magic, Witchcraft and paganism and from the many mentors I’ve had. Read more>>

Tarah Pollock

A freckle-faced strawberry of a Texas child, I began dancing at three years old. As many young girls in Texas do, I started with tap, jazz, and ballet. I recall a number with patent leather tap shoes with red bows and a Shirley Temple-style red and white polka dot dress for a routine to On The Good Ship Lollipop. Read more>>

Pat Strawser

I started taking classical piano lessons at the age of 10, and though I got to where I could play okay, I wasn’t terribly good at most of the classical repertoire. I had a love/hate relationship with playing the instrument for a long time, since some material was just a little too hard for me to play, and I didn’t like to practice. Read more>>

Ana Cortez

I learned the art of cartomancy through a combination of personal exploration and the profound influence of my father’s art and ideas. Growing up I was surrounded by otherworldly and very esoteric influences. My father’s paintings for playing cards were enigmatic and rich with mystical symbolism, but it was never pushed on me. Read more>>

Noah Rosner

A lot of what I learned about harmony early on I must give credit to my father, who taught me to play guitar and encouraged me to sing as a child. He got me my first guitar on a business trip where my family went out to meet him, I think it was in California. Read more>>

Sarah Fuselier

I think the two most important parts of learning how to illustrate is passion and patience. Without passion, you aren’t motivated to take risks, try new things, and explore. Having things you love, and want to capture and express will make your world feel so much brighter. Read more>>

Nydia Plumley

According to my parents, I requested to learn the piano at age 3. I grew up in Trinidad and while there, I took ABRSM (Associated Board of the Royal School of Music) piano exams and did well. When we moved to Atlanta (I was 13), I won a promotional contest for a guitar supposedly owned by Blues Saraceno. Read more>>

M. R. Erfman

Becoming an author definitely takes a learning curve and it just so happens that the curve is a circle. There hasn’t been a single moment in my journey that there wasn’t something new to learn. Between watching countless YouTube videos on writing a novel, tictoks tips and tricks, and listening to various podcasts I built my knowledge up. Read more>>

Teresa Vu

As an artist, you are always expected to draw all the time, 24/7. To build any skill, time and effort are the most important investments and with art, this is the standard. Luckily enough, I’ve been drawing for my whole life and have always had a pencil in hand, doodling random sketches in the margins of any paper. Read more>>

Dania Denise

The biggest advantage I had to learning filmmaking was being in front of a camera as an actor and model since the age of 15. I essentially grew up in front of the camera and on various sets. That exposure made me naturally comfortable in that world but it also piqued my curiosity to no end. Read more>>

Lu Liu

So, about how I picked up the craft – I dove into printmaking for quite a few years before switching gears to illustration. My professor, Robert T. Brown, was this incredibly skilled technician with a personality that just lit up the room. Everyone adored him, and he was basically the heart and soul of our department. Read more>>

Paul Padgett

Honestly a lot was self taught, when I was 16-17 I became very interested in learning how to do harsh vocals after listening to extreme metal for a while, listening to bands like WhiteChapel, Oceano, The Acacia Strain, Elysia and Suicide Silence really inspired me to try it out. Read more>>

Kerrington Vaughn

So because I’m a Fashion creative learning how to do these things came in different phases of my life. For each gift that I have recently I’ve learned more from God and my fashion community. I believe if I would’ve been open to creative connections early in my career the learning process would have been quicker. Read more>>

Sarah DiMuzio

During the first lockdown of 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic my life slowed down enough for me to turn my attention to learning new skills that I’d often wished I’d had more time to invest in. My interest in audio/music tech blossomed after just a few weeks of teaching myself the basics of home-recording, and pretty soon I got my first job working in music tech software. Read more>>

Glass Press

We both were blessed to grow up in musical families and were encouraged to get into it. As for speeding up the process, it really does take a level of discipline to “enjoy the suck” as you learn and get frustrated during the process and be willing to be bad at something until you get to a level of proficiency that makes it a fun experience. Read more>>

Anthony Castillo

I started my musician journey back when i was growing up in my old trailer with my whole family. Music has always been something i loved and something that seemed so free and creative. My dad would listen to a lot of 80s music and my mom would listen to mostly all the hits in latin america radio. Read more>>

Murdo Barker-Mill

I learned to do what I do through a process of consistent practice and collaboration. It all started with small projects with friends, which allowed me to experiment and refine my skills in a low-pressure environment. Each project taught me something new, and over time, these incremental lessons added up to a solid foundation in my craft. Read more>>