Is Art a Dead End Career Path? // Paint with Me + Explore Your Options

Have you ever had someone tell you that you won't get very far as an artist? Perhaps they've told you it's a dead-end career path, or assumed you'll be a starving artist. Maybe you have also believed these things. There are so many possibilities you can take as an artist, so I'm going to tell you about a few in this video. I hope it encourages you not to give up on your artistic endeavors. Just because you're considering art as a career option does not mean you're setting yourself up for failure. You CAN be successful! You CAN have a GOOD art JOB! So let's explore a few paths you can take!

If you want to hear more, please let me know in the comments!

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MUSIC
Water Lillies by Density & Time
Patent Doll by Freedom Trail Studio

[SoCraftastic]

This would be a great video for aspiring art students to share with their family, especially if their parents are skeptical of the potential for success in art. Also, I still do not feel I have found my style after many, many years of creating different types of art.

[lauriss]

I was feeling so depressed and sad because I was insecure about doing art for a living but your video really helped me! Thank you so much!💖

[AndraMarieArt]

I am trying selling my art for the first time! I just started and Etsy shop! It's not very put together but at least I started. But hey, if you wait until it's prefect you'll be waiting forever.

[bluebloom]

So I've been studying art for as long as I can remember and now I'm pursuing it as a program because I want to give it the dedication I think it deserves. I've heard basically everything like art is a hobby from my high school teachers to students mocking me because I'll just be a starving artist and my parents have been trying to get me to study something else like law or business. Not that I'm saying that's a bad area of study. I'm just at a point where I've doubted myself for so long that I'm considering giving up. My dad keeps telling me I need to focus on making money and that nobody is really happy in what they do, they do what they do because they have to survive. Needless to say, I'm not in a good living situation right now and I'm caught in this place of doubt.


I love everything to do with art and there's so much in it, I've done so much research -- design alone has fashion design, automobile design, lighting design, interior design, even architects could be artists, photography, set design, sculpture, art therapy, art professors, art administration, there is really so much more. And remembering that so much of that exists, it really inspires me to keep painting.
I don't know if I'll pursue something else but I know that I will never stop making art.


If I'm honest with myself, I want to write and illustrate comics and I think you're right -- it's never too early to start. Sorry for writing so much but you're video really inspired me to get that hustle.

[misha]

Once you started listing off all the things you could do as an artist, it really got me thinking "wow, that really is a lot of stuff, and some of these I didn't even think about!" I'm not really sure what path I want to take and, honestly, there have been many times where I just wanted to quit art altogether because I was starting to feel like a starving artist.

Also, being a concept artist is also an option (like for a video game or a cartoon maybe). I really love the drawing too, it turned out beautiful!

[kcorn._.]

I'm 12 and I'm already thinking about pursing art though I don't know how it will make me succeed my parents are like "You need to be a doctor something more, with art you won't win money or get a house and just be penniless " but Idc I kinda wanna do illustrate children's books

[StoneCatCreations]

I am an artist, but I tend to do the art form of writing.
That being said...I am looking for illustrators and cover artists, so if any fellow artists see this comment and want to reach out, feel free to let me know, because I would so much rather support an artist who is just getting started and doesn't have much of a fan base/customer base than someone who everyone knows about.

[cyntorres]

Thank you Mira 💕✨ I used to want to become a vet since I was little because I thought I couldn't make a living from art and love animals of course. (i always said I'll be a vet then on the weekend have art garage sales) I realized last year at the end of my first semester in college, hey I just want a dog, I don't want to deal with medicine and such. I would cry if I couldn't save someone's best friend so not the job for me. I want to be an art teacher and freelance artist. This makes me so happy and hope it lets others know hey, you love art then make it for a living, it's possible!

[VisualMind]

I'm a full time graphic designer and it's quite the opposite of doing art for me. It's just sitting in front of a computer and moving things around until they are not so ugly anymore. I get that there is a possibility to be a creative graphic designer, but most of us aren't. It's just a "normal" 9 to 5 Job and in my opinion it has very little to do with art...

[booksart]

Great artwork. Love the text book-ish style.
You mentioning designing fabric patterns reminded me about a video I watched recently. A lady talked about how she got into doing greeting cards, yard flags, banners, decorations for paper plates and cups and napkins, etc. Art is all around us. Sometimes we forget that it doesn't just appear out of nowhere. Someone somewhere had to come up with it.

[HollyJonesMusic]

I know this video is a few years old now, but I so needed to hear this today; revisiting art later in life and trying to make something out of it. You encouraged me to stick to it and keep practicing. Thanks, Mira!

[ethersphere]

Wow!!! Extremely valuable video! Lots of important topics discussed. Super informative AND encouraging. Awesome f*ckinfg job!!! After 15 years, I'm finally going to put my artwork out into the world and try to make a living next year in 2021!

[heyitshawke]

Trading card illustration is something I eventually want to go into (I have a lot of technical skill to improve on yet) and board game illustration. There's also stull like greeting card illustration, character design, environment design, concept art, all sorts of careers exist in art, and I always think its really silly how people ignore that it's a perfectly valid career path. Like, there are literally examples of art as a career staring you in the face in every day life. I mean, album covers, book covers, advertising, newspaper comics. There's police sketches too. There's so much choice

[kierneycooper]

This piece is so beautiful and inspiring to me. I've never even thought of working doing the things you suggested. I went to school for physics so I feel dumb that I've never even paid attention to the diagrams!
Thank you so much for your constant encouragement. I know you made a video a while back about the struggles of being a youtuber. Regardless of how many followers you gain or lose, you make a great impact to people and that's all God asks of us. <3

[marielacristina]

What a original tipe of picture!!!! I love your videos. Greatings from Argentina

[enchantixstar]

I'm just at the end of my first year of college studying fine art and I've been sat really depressed because I honestly feel like I'm going to end up leaving college and no matter what path I take, uni or apprenticeships, I'm going to be working a job I hate since it's so hard to make a living as an artist. I love art so much but I feel like I'm an idiot for thinking I can turn it into a career, no one is going to want to buy my work so I can't work freelance, and I feel like I would be better just leaving art as a hobby and working some other job full time. I really have no idea what to do I'm terrified I'm going to be left with a degree in art and nowhere to go

[abigailguerra]

This video was encouraging, all my life I have been passionate about art but then got discouraged about how people used to say how art is a dead end career. But this really got me thinking how I can be successful. And I love the flower nice work!

[paranoiarpincess]

You are ten billion percent correct! I have two problems when it comes to my art/writing careers. The first is that I want to make all my hobbies into something lucrative, but I'm only one person, and I can't seem to stick to one hobby or another to get that far because of...

Reason the second: I was born with a rare and severe form of Juvenile Rheumatoid Arthritis. So if I do something for too long, or the more likely: for absolutely no reason, my arthritis will act up. I went years in remission, but after having my now 8 year old son, I've been on a slow decline to pretty much useless since. I mean I still have good days and bad days, but I can go months or even years where my arms or legs or any joints really, hurt too much for me to do something. These days, I've been unable to do much in the way of writing, so although I was getting published quite often, I was never able to keep that up. I can't even sit at a computer anymore. While writing, I was also selling designs on DeviantArt, and the same thing, I couldn't do digital art anymore, so I had to leave that too.

I mean, I can't complain too too much because I do get disability support from the government, but honestly, I'm a workaholic and not being able to do the things that was actually bringing in a bit of money is killing me.

So I started up watercolour panting and drawing and colouring with alcohol markers. But I still face the problem that sometimes my arms just hurt too much (which is also how my knitting "business" ended up abandoned.)

I know this is a problem most people don't face, and for most of my life, I've pushed myself through the pain (although it's currently worse than its ever been, so that's not really an option.)

I know there's not much anyone can do, but if anyone has suggestions of art jobs where you don't have to be 100% reliable, or where deadlines aren't a thing, I'd love to hear it.

[allyssa]

Thank you for this. This helped give me more inspiration in delving into my art career. I've definitely been the one to say "art isn't practical" to myself. But it's time that I stop lying to myself and stop being scared. Loved your video! And your flower painting ❤️

[deepakshikalyan]

Much love to you darling❤️ thanks for such motivating words.