10 Pieces of Advice for Young Artists

In this post, I’m going to share 10 pieces of advice I’d give to young artists. And when I say young, I don’t necessarily only mean by age. I mean anyone who is new to their artistic journey and starting down the path of becoming an artist. This advice is specifically geared towards artists who want to make a career out of being an artist, so if you’ve ever dreamed of selling your art or becoming a professional illustrator, this is for you!

Make a lot of work

Take on a challenge to make art daily or as frequently as you can. Try to do a monthly challenge where you create art for 30 days in a row.  Commit to a studio practice where you sit down every day for a set amount of time. It’s important to make a lot of work because when you’re first starting out, your skill level will not be at the level you need it to be to work professionally yet. Which can be frustrating! But the only way to work through that is to keep making a lot of work and improving along the way.

Build a community for yourself

Start social media accounts to share your progress and this will be a great way to find a community. Look for artists who are around your same level as they’ll be the ones who are going to be your greatest cheerleaders as you grow together! 

Let your taste guide your work

To summarize a quote from Ira Glass, when you’re first starting out your taste level will be higher than your skill level. So it can be easy to get discouraged with what you’re creating. The only thing you can do is keep practicing and pay attention to the things you like and why you like them. Eventually after you create lots of work you’ll start to bridge the gap between your taste and skill levels!

Do great work and be great to work with

The bar for professional artists isn’t actually that high. What I mean is that you don’t have to go above and beyond in order to stand out to art directors and collaborators. I used to hire a lot of freelancers when I worked in house at Matel. And over half of them wouldn’t turn things in on time and I’d have to chase them down. Don’t be that artist! When you do good work and are good to work with, you’ll wow the people you’re working for and get hired back again and again.

Invest in yourself

Take the time and money to put towards better materials and take classes that will help you get to where you need to. You’d be surprised at just how much progress you can make when you level up your materials and education!

Be your own patron

There is no shame in working a day job until you get where you want to be. Even after I finished art school I spent some time working in-house as a graphic designer at a few different companies before I became a full-time freelancer. I learned so much on the job in those creative roles, and it was a great jumping-off point for my freelancing career. Plus, when you work a day job it gives you so much freedom and time to explore your art practice outside of work. It takes the pressure off of your art and allows it to be a fun practice instead of a stressful money-making endeavor.

Write down your goals every night

When I was in art school I had a teacher advise us to write down our goals every night. Like actually, physically write them down. And while you’re sleeping, your subconscious mind will work on ways to make those dreams come true! 

Surround yourself with people who support your dreams

On the journey to becoming an artist, you might end up losing friends along the way. But that’s ok. You need to make room for the people who will support your journey and build you up. 

Learn to love the questions themselves

It’s important to follow your passion and curiosities. This is what will shape your unique voice as an artist. Pull your inspiration from multiple sources so that you can create art that is uniquely you!

Do your research

The beautiful thing these days is that there is a wealth of infinite knowledge literally at our fingertips. You can learn anything that you want to learn. Whether that’s how to improve your social media or how to start an Etsy shop, you can find it on the internet! 

I hope these ten tips were helpful! Good luck on your journey!

Want more art tips and inspiration? Check out my YouTube channel where I share weekly videos of cozy paint-with-me’s, art tips, and Q&As for artists!