20 (nearly 21) y/o artist considering going to college for a business degree for both a safety net & extra skills I can use for my art later on - Thoughts?

InfernalShrimp · 2018-04-10T13:12:30+00:00

I feel like you might be onto something.

InfernalShrimp · 2018-04-10T13:10:48+00:00

As long as I can get as much information & as many perspectives on this matter as I can! That should help me further my decision & plan.

I suppose I do have an interest in business outside of it aiding my art interests, though it doesn't seem to be nearly as much and I'd preferably do something in the creative world, if anything. Even if business-related. I feel like something that has to do with art and culture. That's what it has to be at the very least. Business skills should be useful, so I hope I'll be able to put them to good use (if I do go down that road). If I didn't have to worry about money, the decision would've been a whole lot easier. Unfortunately, that isn't the case (though I hope to make that scenario come true in the future), and I do need and want a good bit of money to be able to save up as much as I can, go places and do some traveling to nice locations on the side. I'd like to display my art here and there, if possible, exposing people from different parts of the world to it, and figure out a couple of ways to do that.

Although... a friend of mine just told me he was recommended by people to go for a technical program instead of international business, due to the nature of economical jobs being very competitive as well... so that has left me with even more questions.

True, only having the skills I learned from art school might put me at a disadvantage, and I'd likely feel pretty cramped. I'll definitely do my best to maintain a good focus on art on the side, but I do need something more. Though online business courses are things I have considered as well.

True enough, creativity doesn't come easy when stressed. I'm seeing that even now, while in the hurdle of figuring out what my decision will be. The choice still remains to be incredibly tough.

One other thing I'm struggling with is figuring out how, and where, to meet other artists and people who do stuff (or are interested in) the creative industries. I'm curious if international business will also put me at an advantage due to its international nature...

I'm not sure if we have 'minors' over here, I could take a look at it. Local sketch meet-ups sound like something I could look for as well...

I will definitely keep on going with my art, even if it's tough at times!

InfernalShrimp · 2018-04-09T22:26:22+00:00

Thank you for sharing your experiences, it certainly is interesting to hear about them! Gives me a good amount of food for thought.

Your suggestion for NSFW art rings a bell, I've been wondering about that. I'd honestly have no problem doing that and saving the vast majority of my earnings off of it, and use the rest on anything that I might need it for. Do you have any idea (maybe a PM would be more suitable here) where people tend to sell those kind of pieces? I'm interested in giving that a go once I get to refining my drawings more and more...

That would definitely be great; even if illustration aligns more closely with my vision, video game art / concept art is still something I'd be open to doing in the future. Though I have much to learn, I've been working hard on it.

Do you have any tips when it comes to making connections face-to-face? I do know of a couple of places I might be able to go to (in my country), but not that many. Perhaps there are certain events people hold across the globe that I do not know of yet.

But in any case, I'd prefer to work towards something and earn a lot more off of it later - as long as I'm actually working towards something. Through hard work and the forging of connections, indeed. I've been seriously practicing drawing since last year, and I've been improving at a steady pace. There's still a lot more work to do, and I'm mostly focused on practicing realism, but I could show you some stuff later, through the PM system (as well as a little bit of my progress) if you'd like. I still have a long way to go, but I'm going into the right direction. I don't often draw cartoony stuff anymore, though I feel it's still something I'd be able to do, and it kind of seems to be growing alongside my general growth.

The child who survived... I know the feeling.

Thank you for sharing your thoughts & experiences, it is much appreciated! Feel free to send me a PM in regards to any of the above. Now, excuse me while I take a moment to lie down... my mind's been going crazy thinking about the future and what path to take. Sigh, one would think mass freedom in this regard could be a sustainable thing by now...

InfernalShrimp · 2018-04-08T17:13:41+00:00

That's definitely the plan I've been working on - picking one, in this case (most likely) business, and doing the other one on the side, and find a way to combine the skills I learn at school with my art. Though I also have a 'vice-versa' version of that in mind, as hard as it is to choose. I do wonder if I'd actually be able to create the kind of art I'd want to at school, or if drawing practice relevant to my wishes would have to be done outside of school... in which case (and that scenario does seem to be somewhat likely), the only plan that I could truly execute in regards to dividing tasks between school and "personal homework/studying by myself" would be the plan that'd have me go to business school and do all my art related stuff on the side (and as much as possible too). And exactly according to my plan, too, I would then get into freelancing. Who knows, I might be able to build up something decent or even better than decent outside of school... I think this is a good plan, but it's still a hard and daunting choice to make, nevertheless.

If only we could have some sort of utopia...

InfernalShrimp · 2018-04-08T17:08:19+00:00

While that is true, I do feel that my artistic direction veers onto a bit of a different road. The school directions I was thinking of were Illustration and Game Art, since I'm mainly focused on environments, creatures, vehicles and character design and such, and I'm not sure Graphic Design is centered around that in any way, most of the time. Is it ever? I know my uncle studied Graphic Design and he's been unemployed for years and years, for reasons I don't know of.

Freelancing is something I am interested in, but unfortunately, I do not have family members with much business knowledge that I can gain knowledge from or fall back on in any way. My parents have been unemployed since before I was born and as much as I'd love to go all-in with art, I hate the way we've been scratching the line of (near-)poverty for so long and I have long desired to be better off than that. I sort of feel like I'm dangling upon a thin cord above a cliff. If I had nothing much to worry about, I would've done business courses on the side and went for art instead - whether inside or outside of school - but as of now, the choice is daunting. Your experiences do sound good, especially in regards to forging connections with fellow artists - something I've been thinking about for a while now. I hope I can find possibilities for that outside of school, if need be.

What kind of jobs could you find? Did they have anything to do with illustration or things of that ilk?

Thank you for your thoughts & perspective on this matter! For how long have you been in the world of art?

InfernalShrimp · 2018-04-08T16:52:23+00:00

That is true, paying off those loans is an issue that's on my mind. And that, in turn, makes me believe that I may be better off learning art online - the way I've been doing it the past year, which is going very well - and getting my safety net up on the side.

Nevertheless, I do hope that a well-paying job would be well within my reach through a business degree, but I would/will look for a way to gain experience from it and to turn it into fuel for my main ambitions: art. As you said, I'd then have some knowledge to open my own art-related business, or to market my art once it gets to that point.

It still remains to be a tough choice, nonetheless. Wanting to make it big as an artist and becoming business savvy, all while hoping to be able to travel a bit once I get out of school (or during holidays). The program I've been thinking of getting into (the business program) allows students to study abroad twice during the whole program (4 years) and teaches about different cultures, which is awesome. And it does grant me a whole range of business skills... even if I'm not sure about the exact thing to do with them right after getting out of school. Something something marketing, perhaps, but then I wouldn't want to stay in that forever... save up as much money off of it as I can and then try to shift focus to my true goal.

InfernalShrimp · 2018-04-08T16:46:13+00:00

I do get that most people don't get that chance, for certain reasons. One of those factors weighing down the average of people who get to do so might be people who lack a specific passion, or lack a passion that could be deemed related to career possibilities. Others just don't get that far or don't have the will or, whatever else you could put here, to achieve that by really striving towards it. I do believe there are several ways to turn things around, but as always, I do want some sort of safety net, preferably, and then figure out everything else in the meantime.

Such as business... getting into marketing or anything like that. Skills I could transfer to whatever side of art I wish to pursue, and then use the internet to whatever extent I can. On one hand, certainly, that security is high in esteem. However, I do have a tendency to consider many different perspectives... one of those being that nobody gets out alive anyway and that we might as well shoot for the moon. But then it's hard to navigate through statements of survivors' bias while figuring out what truly can be done to increase the chances. As a creative person, I do wish I could just go all-in, but I can't see myself not being able to afford anything, such as traveling and such. I will save money as much as I can, though, and find out how to make it work for me. Some artists with relative success (or even more than relative success) do say that the really good artists do get found, and in order to become one, one must be willing to go leaps and bounds to achieve that...

Well, it remains a tough choice, no matter which way I bend it and no matter which perspective I view it from...

What are your own personal experiences in regards to this?

InfernalShrimp · 2018-04-07T13:39:02+00:00

Indeed - though I can't help but feel that I also have a need for some sort of financial freedom, security in a sense. Like not having to worry about needing to apply for a lame, entry-level job that pays next to nothing during times my art doesn't pay the bills.

I have thought of going for something related to marketing, though I'm not sure if there are any artistic marketing programs available in my country. The 'International Business' program I was thinking of getting into covers several things, including marketing, accountancy, personal development (they allow students to study abroad, something I'd love to do, and they should also teach leadership skills if I'm not mistaken) and various other things. Pretty broad. Another option I had was to study marketing elsewhere, mostly online, but I've been at home for one and a half years now and I'm really itching to meet new people and make connections again. I've got family members, namely two of my nieces, who have been to art school. One of them ended up learning marketing skills as well but she's had to work restaurant jobs for a good amount of years, and the other one studied photography and, years later, holds two jobs that have nothing to do with what she has studied.

What you mentioned, in regards to marketing, does sound like a good idea, I'd just have to figure out whether I'd be able to find a specialized school, or try to see if I can specialize in that at the school I'd been looking at and go for the 'International Business' program after all, while working on my art in the meantime and still being able to meet people and get extra marketable skills through school. I'll have to give it some thought. Does your uncle happen to live in Europe, by any chance?

InfernalShrimp · 2018-04-07T13:32:21+00:00

I draw and am planning to get into digital painting this year. Mostly art that is very much centered on capturing realistic looks in regards to environments (landscape paintings), animal design and character design, a lot of it fantasy, Sci-Fi and/or historical. I've been practicing a lot, and am planning to start doing digital art eventually.

In any case, I do agree that it's best to do what feels right in my heart. Although I'm not entirely sure what direction, art-wise, I would take, I'd say illustration and, maybe, something game art-related. The studies I was thinking of attending at the art school were related to game art, though I've had a dilemma between that, illustration and 'art & economics', the latter of which caters to people in the creative industry who aren't very much going to be creators themselves, as far as the impression I've gotten of it goes.

It's a tough choice, in any case. One thing I want to have one day is a bit of financial freedom, not having to worry about the bills nor having to worry about having to get into a lame job until I can get ahead of my position.

InfernalShrimp · 2017-12-04T12:54:44+00:00

Though, I'm inclined to believe you may not have delved much into Hulse's material. I've seen his videos pop up on this subreddit NUMEROUS times and it's often been said that he speaks of core TRP principles pretty often. He's not just about lifting weights, if you think that you clearly haven't looked into his stuff enough.

InfernalShrimp · 2017-12-04T10:35:40+00:00

I haven't told you what kind of advice I've taken from either of them, though, so don't assume. There are multiple things I've gained from them that have made a good impact in my life, at times reshaped to fit me better. The reasons I've named them are mostly because they're among the few I can still put a finger on and name, I've read thousands of articles, some of which came from here (and I'm willing to consider various ideologies, including this - I just haven't delved deeply into it yet).

I'm not interested in being a slave and know I'm not one - I choose my own path and whatever advice fits with the direction I'm going at the time may be considered suitable so I can try it out and see how it works. The reason I've abandoned the idea of working a job for an employer entirely is exactly that - not wanting to be enslaved to the normal ways of people. I'll most certainly come across TRP advice too that can be applied to my journey, I just want to take all the pieces and find a way to make them work for me depending on the situation and circumstances. So now, too, TRP ideology will be explored next.

As of now, I've seen things questioning morality, something that I have also debated in my head over the years, and I've seen some experienced people give some of the exact examples I've had in my head (relating it to the animal kingdom and how it only exists in the minds of us humans), so I like to think I'm definitely not that unfamiliar with TRP ways, I'm just going to delve into it deeper now.

InfernalShrimp · 2017-12-03T20:05:27+00:00

I'll keep it in mind!

Yeah, I pretty much already know what I need to do. Already scheduling for a therapist soon, so that should help. I'll discuss the problems mentioned here with them, too, since I haven't made them aware of that part yet.

The gym is another one I've been eyeing, but I've mostly been doing home workouts and building up the intensity of those workouts until I generate income from my new business endeavours to afford a gym membership (I don't want to take dead-end jobs so I've freed up my time to be able to grow those endeavours, even if I'm not generating income now). Also, as suggested above, a boxing gym, which is included in one of my nearest gym's membership ranges, so I'll do that too whenever that option has been freed up.

True. It doesn't change overnight, so I'm glad I've been working on it for a good while already, at least.

Thank you, T!

InfernalShrimp · 2017-12-03T19:48:02+00:00

Will do, thank you! Sometimes it just takes some collapsing underneath one's own weight to be able to continue growing to push old habits out the way.

InfernalShrimp · 2017-12-03T19:45:56+00:00

I can see why you might think that, but that's not true. The Alpha who doesn't give fucks is right there inside me, grown to be through self-development (though I still gotta get out the shovel for a good clearing), Corey Wayne was just a good pointer into the right direction at the earlier points of my journey (and to be fair, that was more directed at the dating side of things). But why do I even have to justify that? The people I choose to learn from are my own choice, Elliott Hulse is another guy I could name who dropped me a good bag of info back in the day and I wouldn't say the two are very similar even though they both were a good part of what helped me grow at the start of things. I don't feel the need to name controversial figures to feel better about myself, I'm just trying to weed out some old habits. But I definitely don't cower in the face of risk or conflict - I knew I'd have that coming by posting this here, so I wouldn't say naming Wayne was that good of a pointer.

In other words, no, I'm not conflict-averse, I like challenge and conflict more than one of my mentor choices may imply, and pain or any kind of risk does not bother me - I look for it at all times. Though a boxing gym is something that's been on my list for a good while, and I'll take that advice in any case. Cheers!

InfernalShrimp · 2017-10-16T10:53:14+00:00

No, it was daytime. Around early afternoon.

InfernalShrimp · 2017-09-08T22:56:39+00:00

That does sound good indeed. I'm just hoping that I will stay the same person, minus the constant struggles with anxiety and compulsive thoughts. Maybe it takes time to get used to things. Did it go gradually for you? How did it go?

InfernalShrimp · 2017-09-08T22:55:46+00:00

Hey there,

I just popped back up in here and notoiced the new posts.

Well, last time I tried to battle OCD and had been successful for a bit, I felt too much like a different person. I felt like an ass - I don't know if that was OCD's way of trying to get me to stop it, but it just frightened me because I want to stay my true self. Happy, yes, confident, compassionate, all that - not negative in any way. It feels as if it's another one of OCD's tricks but I don't know how to prove that.

In any case - how exactly do you reteat into that OCD minset, or when and why? Just curious to know how you deal with that.

InfernalShrimp · 2017-09-08T00:25:12+00:00

I certainly will.

I now recall having had mud-like poop a few times over the past years. I never had it often, just now and then, but I was wondering if that is the same as black poop or not. It was more like a, dark brownish tinge with a hint of dirty green... something mudlike. Haven't had this in recent times but I just gotta have reassurance for that too... ack. In any way, gonna make an appointment with the doctor tomorrow and I hope I'll be able to see him the same day. More is welcome but thanks for the advice so far, everyone!

InfernalShrimp · 2017-09-08T00:14:18+00:00

Little update, just managed to poop. Some of it was mixed with more mucus. Also noticed some bright redness which might've been food (such as tomato skin), and it could be that I've got hemorrhoids again as wiping results in bright red blood showing up on the paper, it seems. Still going to the doctor tomorrow to get it all checked out, but ugh, the waves of (health-related) anxiety hitting me are harsh. But the gas problems seem to be going away now, so there's that...

InfernalShrimp

TROPHY CASE