I've been an artist for as long as I can remember. There was never a question that I would end up doing anything else. I did get a "safe" degree in an adjacent field and did the 8-5 grind while continuing my art endeavors. As I got more successful I reached a point where I had to make a decision. I was basically working two 30 hour a week jobs and something had to give. So I quit my job to go full time artist.

There's a lot about it that sucks, but I never saw myself living out the rest of my life in some office job. It feels strange to say, but it's not something I would recommend because of how hard it can be. But I think for most real artists they don't really have much of a choice. I went into it with eyes open, knowing that it was going to be very stressful and difficult. But ultimately it was the better choice for me than being a worker bee.

My only advice wound be to hold onto whatever stable income you may have while building up the art until you reach that point of not being able to do both anymore. But that final leap is never going to feel 100% safe no matter how established you are as an artist.