Does the term starving artist exist because art is a field that is so competitive that you might not make much money?

[Silver7]

Like if you want to draw comics that's fine and all but since only a few artists will ever be lucky enough to have their work taken seriously it's like that is where the term starving artist might make sense?

Answer this: Do you consider yourself to be a starving artist? (You're still awesome if the answer is yes)

[kyupol]

Im an artist but not starving because my main income source is working at a metal shop

Art cant be my main income source. Id make more money begging in the streets.

[NickRowler]

It comes from 2 stereotypes about artists.

1. It's hard to make a lot of money in the art field. It takes a lot of hustling if you are independent. If you do land a job as a business/company, you are probably not being paid a lot. It is very common for artists to have a day job while art is more of a side job or just a hobby.

2. During the modern era of art, there has been a shift in attitude around professional arts (like those in museums) that you can not "sell out". You have to be super humble and make art for art sake. The problem is, this mindset has led to a lot of gatekeeping and snobbery. It leads to this mindset that an artist has to suffer and starve until they "make it". It romanticizes artists from the past who did struggle in poverty (like Van Gogh), while also ignoring that some artists in the past did work commissions.

[moontokkym]

It's more that most people who try to do art professionally won't make enough money, not that you "might not". I'm lucky enough to live off my art but in a litteral sense (because NickRowler explained the origins of the term well), most artists nowadays aren't starving, they're just doing 2-3 "usual" jobs with art being extra income. People are starving because most jobs don't pay enough to live comfortably anymore, not because they're chasing an art job

[jwabeasley]

I never starved, but when I tried to make a living through art directly, I did not make enough money to support myself and the people dependent on me. I ended up having to go into another field to be my day job while art is my hobby or side-hustle.

Except for remaining a SFW-only artist, I didn't have much in the way of pride - but I also didn't have that much talent or good connections, or even any decent entrepreneurial skills.

I wouldn't advise anyone young to be an artist as their main source of income unless their skills are already pro-level before they finish high school and they have a realistic plan and career expectations. In a globalized world, there are just lots of people with skills at least as good as yours who live somewhere cheaper and are able to massively undercut you on price.

All the other artists who I knew in college (most of whom were much better than me) have not been anywhere near as financially successful as me post career-change. Most of them aren't doing art anymore, either.

[NOOR_ASAKZ05]

Honestly, I never think about making money from my art. I don't see it as profitable at all, especially with the competition and the presence of AI. But turning art into a product for sale, that is indeed profitable.