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Feb 2021

Thought this would be a fun little conversation piece. We're all artists and writers, but what do you do outside of your craft?

I'll start, and I've got kind of a busy life :sweat_smile:. I'm an EMT that does patient transport for the major hospitals around me, so most of my job right now is transporting Covid patients to higher level facilities, and dealing with critical care patients that need a hospital that specializes in a particular procedure. My hope is that one day I can earn enough from writing that I can do that full time and live a much calmer life.

In addition to the above, I am also a scoutmaster for a local Scouts BSA troop, and a cubmaster for a cub scout pack. I teach kids how to camp and hike safely, and encourage them to learn skills that will help them later in life.

What about you? I'd love to hear when our community does outside of writing and comics! Feel free to drop your link as well if you'd like. I'll also do kind of an Ask Me Anything for those curious about what my job entails. I also left my link below in case you're curious about my work.

When I'm not writing any of my books (currently working on The Adventures of Jean-Luc & Joey), I go to school.

I'm in university and have been going for a while now. I never thought being a bio-major student (or being a pre-med student, because apparently I'm not eligible to declare that major for some stupid reason). While I'm not close to graduating, it has been an opportunity for me to finally put my creative skills to work and start posting my writings on a website that's readily available.

It takes a lot out of me to balance both, and to be honest... neither have been as exciting as once imagined. But hey, it takes a lot off my mind. Plus, I'd hate to just abandon all the tales I sat around creating. Who else is gonna take it and finish it for me? TAPAS? :laughing:

But seriously though, despite not being exciting, I still love writing and drawing all these kooky characters I've created because of my weird imagination. And anything that fuels my imagination will instantly bleed into my work, both creative and school-wise.

I'm a District Leasing Manager for a credit company. I manage 130 stores :relaxed:
it's hard work but it pays the bill. I do art during my spare time. Since I Met You2

Sounds hectic and scary considering you're basically on the front lines of the pandemic. I commend you for your work!
I'm currently unemployed because of Covid but I used to code for an automation software company. Since I have so much time, now I focus on art and video game making, also hoping that one day some of it can support me!

That's awesome how you're EMT, scoutmaster, and cubmaster yet still find time for your writing.:grin: It's cool seeing what other creators do outside of Tapas. Teaching kids how to camp and hike safely sounds like a lot of fun too. Currently, I work in retail for one of the big box stores.:sweat_smile: Been there almost two years now. I'm not quite sure I'll ever be able to earn enough from my stories to just focus solely on them, and I don't know if I want to. I kinda enjoy working (when they're not being shitty :joy:) I've met some really good friends at my workplace. I always considered seeking a job in dispatch or becoming a private investigator. Dunno if I'll ever do it though.

Here's the links to both my stories too.

First just let me say thank you for your services and hardwork during this pandemic, as someone who survived Covid, I can attest, that the emt workers who transported me were a great source of comfort and very professional.
My day job is not so glamorous I work in the Shipping/receiving area of a department store. It's monotonous at best and infuriating at worst, but I like that it's often slow and I get time to actually work on my comics when I'm at work.

I really appreciate all the support you all are giving. It's definitely a tough job, but some days aren't too bad at least. the big thing is the long hours. I lose entire days pretty much

I currently own and manage a cafe at the same time I do paintings ^^

Before I went full time my last job was as a night janitor for a cleaning company that cleaned up a bunch of random local businesses. Among them were some sort of call center (where we would I would steal one piece of candy per desk since so many people kept bags of candies at their cubicle drawers), a yoga studio, an auto shop (where they hid porn under baseball magazines in the bathroom), and a buncha other places.

That was also the time I started venturing into art for money just doing really straight forward portrait commissions sometimes in oil paints if I got really lucky.

Right now and for the past few years I’ve just been doing art and comics full time but I was recently given an opportunity to start offering workshops on a regular basis. Waitin for covid to be over though so who knows how long that’ll happen.

That’s awesome, man! Being an EMT sounds like a lot of hard work. So does Boy Scouts. I remember being a Boy Scout when I was younger.

For me: a looooong time I was out of work. I used to be a call center agent, who helped elderly people get to and from their doctors appointments by scheduling pick up times with transportation companies. I did that for three years, and then the company was sold, and everyone started getting laid off. I left before I got axed. Now I’ve been able to find work at Little Giant Ladders’ factory, where I assemble the ladder pieces. It’s not bad work! But the fiberglass can get ya, and that doesn’t feel the best.

Other than work, I’m married and have a kid. He’s a good little dude. The other day I was trying to work on my comic, and he stole my seat to my drawing desk. I wasn’t able to do much that day. But that’s all good! While I wish I had more time to work on my creative endeavors, I’m glad to have my kid and wife in my life, and I wouldn’t change them for anything.

Other than that, I tend to get sucked into the world of YouTube and playing video games. I really like playing games like Animal Crossing, Smash Bros, The Legend of Zelda, Minecraft, Red Dead 2 Online, and FinalFantasy XIV.

Currently, I'm a full time college student studying Sequential Art at the Savannah College of Art and Design, working part-time at a library, doing tutoring on the side, and picking up comic and illustration commissions where I can, on top of drawing my comic that updates twice a week and working on a pitch packet to submit to an editor at Scholastic I've been working with.

I also run the Sequential Art Club and volunteer to help out with basically every school event I can. I like to stay busy!

Finance management for an IT consulting company...

I love figures, logic, developing and supporting projects, and finance has many amazing levers and tools for that (from financing to analytical... even taxation can be very useful)...
The team collects, processes and analyzes all information in numerical form, it’s very powerful. Sadly enough, most of the time, finance potential is used poorly, for very trivial and selfish purposes... and trust me, COVID created many opportunities for higher management to reallocate budgets (in their pocket that is)... last year was really really shocking on this, more than usual, and as always, auditors are useless...

I’m generally up very early (stress), so I draw comics about efficiency’s paradox called Effy... to expel some of the daily nonsense from my system... it’s cathartic!

That is awesome, sounds like you are busy busy. Thank you for your service in the health care field. How has BSA been effected by COVID?

@mrtoontastic that is awesome, how many more years you got? Also not being excited is a mark of being truly dedicated to your craft. To do something when it isn't fun/thrilling anymore happens to everyone and just keep going. you got this. :smiley:

@GesuGesu What is the most exciting part of it? @LCT_m_a_d beat me to the punchline on subject. lol

@Tanako Is there any super cool aspects of the job?

@Eiranyx Awesome!!! Love cafes, they helped me through some of my worst times in writing. especially since I discovered hazelnut shots.

@orbitkatart WHAT? That is while to think they let you go. I figured they would just have you telework. What game engine you using? I just started working with unity and am trying to learn it now. :smiley:

@MARNSOA What is a soft scientist? Like soft skills (EI) studies?

As for me, I was a training manager for several different organizations, also was responsible for managing several commercial level training programs (Getting people degrees, certifications, etc). I just got picked up and moved across the US for a Computer Based Training Development job for aircraft mechanics. So I will be learning Unity, Adobe Premiere, aftereffects, 3DsMax, AR/VR, and a host of other creative based programs. So I'm super excited for this job. But write now i'm doing self learning cause I have little knowledge in these software's. lol

Writing and Artwork is my day and night job.(1990s onward).

In my free time I hit the Gym and/or beat up my drum-kit. :smiley:

I used to be a classroom music teacher, and the music coordinator for a specialist music program in a big public high school. I actually started at that school the year it opened, and built up that program from nothing to over 200 students, with four major ensemble groups. All that within three years!

It was a great job, but it was exhausting - I'm not great at behaviour management with large classes, and I'm terrible at paperwork. As it turns out, coordinating a whole music program by yourself involves a stupid amount of paperwork.

I handed that program off to another fantastic music teacher who's doing an amazing job building it to greater and greater heights. I work two days a week now for a government-run organisation called the Instrumental Music School Services; we're basically an army of instrumental teachers, each of whom visits a number of different public high schools each week, teaching the instrument they specialise in.

I teach voice for IMSS at three different high schools between two days, one of which is the high school I was the music coordinator at! It's a much better job for me. Small groups, (aside from the choirs,) much less paperwork, and just a more fun job in general. I mean, I get paid to sing with little groups of students all day! At the same rate as a classroom teacher! It's a dang good deal.

The other three working days a week, I make my comic. My intention there is hopefully to transition to paid graphic novel illustration work for book publishers. (Or traditional comic publishers, but I prefer the idea of working with book publishers.)

Well, we were already teleworking before the pandemic. Quite a lot of people got let go and it's because the company was severely effected financially by the pandemic.
I've been using Unreal, I think their blueprint system is pretty nice so you don't have to do everything in visual studio. I also use Blender to make my own 3D assets!
Your job sound really cool! I have a physics bachelors and have yet to manage to get into anything even remotely related to physics lol. Luckily there are so many resources online for you to learn all these programs!

It hasn't been easy, that's for sure. Not being able to camp has done a lot to hurt our momentum, and advance
meant has been slow, but I'm doing what I can to keep the kids safe, despite the arguments it's gotten me into with parents. A lot of the troop doesn't have the medical perspective, so there's been a lot of bickering especially with the politics of the virus at play. On the plus side I'm hoping with vaccines there'll be a light at the end of the tunnel, but we'll have to see how things play out.

Currently, I am a kindergarten teacher, and a graduate student (on what is, hopefully, my last semester :grimacing: ). I love teaching the little ones. They say the wildest things! :joy: It has definitely not been easy to teach 5 year-olds remotely, but we all do what we have to do, right? I was also a CPR instructor, but recently stopped doing that.

Yes. i'm pretty much my own boss. I train and teach people ( Store Managers, Assistant managers and cashiers) how to sell my company's product. i set my own schedule as well. lol some days i work from home.

I'm a postdoc, currently studying the brain and lung vasculature.

I am in my last year of Law school and I strive to work in Prosecution.

I am a produce clerk at my local grocery store. I'm part time because its less stressful when I have my comic on the side. I try to have time for work, art and gaming all in the same day. I'm planning on finding an apartment to share with some friends sometime this year so i can move out of my parent's house. The store clerk thing of course is temporary until i find work in my major.

I work as an Administrative Specialist (sounds fancy, I just do admin work) for my state government

Graphic designer/illustrator. I'd like to be a pirate, but I get travel sick.

@HippieGhost - Wow! Front line worker. Lots of respect coming my way for doing that type of job in a very stressful time. I'm glad you have writing during your personal time.

I'm the web designer for a retail chain. I wish I didn't have to use "the". The website is too big for one person.
During my personal time, I work on my comic series and my greeting card illustration, as I sell them in a few businesses. I also have an art exhibition coming up downtown, so I'm also preparing for that.

I've unfortunately been unemployed for 3 months now since COVID shutdowns claimed my job of 14 years. But after taking a break from most of the internet so I could be depressed in peace, I finally found a new job that if all goes well I'll start next week. I can't actually remember what my future boss said I'd be doing because I was just to psyched about getting the job it basically went in one ear and out the other :joy: but I'm an administrative assistant so it'll likely be similar to my previous job, just minus the graphic design and printing since it's a different field.

I'm hoping that this means I'll actually get back to writing again because it's been a while since my head space just hasn't been in the right frame of mind to be writing.

Thank you! I've got plenty of respect for you too though. Web design is a lot more work than people realize for sure.

Haha, not a dumb question at all!

I work in tech, so for my job in particular, it was more important that I had a computer science-related major, actually. Most entry-level jobs have some type of writing test you get given when you apply, and I'm fairly sure you could apply with an amateur creative writing portfolio and still get hired.

In my experience, it's more about how well you can write rather than how you started writing.

Hi :slight_smile:
I'm a solution engineer for ecommerce shops and work there currently as technical lead for a big project.
To say it easier: I programm online shops :wink: or.. i do magic :wink:

my series:


I'm a social welfare administration expert at our city office, and ever since Covid-19 struck, the new regulations around that have been a big part of my job....

Which is probably why I set my last book in 2020. I deal better with the entire situation when I can progress it in my fiction too.

I'm in school full time getting a degree in Opera performance! My two "jobs" though are being a busker, and working in film and television! (I've never had a normal job haha)

My comic is called In the Woods Somewhere!
IN THE WOODS SOMEWHERE

I work as the Library and English as a Second Language department assistant for a college. Running the workings of a Library is like a running a business sometimes. I love both of these departments, but my god it’s nice to get home and unwind with writing, reading, or drawing.