Doing comics and art on the side instead of a career?

[erma]

Hey guys, I'm questioning some career choices wanted to know if anyone here has had a similar experience.

I'm currently a first year animation student, and it's been hectic. All colleges in my province are on strike right now and in the time away from school, I've been doing a lot of reflecting and wondering about whether animation is the right choice. Long story short, I don't want art to become something I don't enjoy doing and am not 100% sure that a full-time career in that industry is right for me.

• If you're currently working in the animation, game design or something similar, are you generally enjoying it? Pros and Cons of the industry in your opinion?

• For those of you who are pursuing a career in another field and doing comics on the side, what has it been like?

[VikiKuli]

Hey! So...I'm currently in college as a double major for molecular and cell biology/psychology. So art is really just a side thing I do. But...I would say it is a big passion for me.
As for the time commitment, it really does take a lot of time and it means being really consisted and efficient. I can be hard at times to just relax because any spare moment is meant to be dedicated to art. I'm still trying to find that balance.
What I would say is that it is important to have a buffer. If you feel inspired AND have the time to work on your comic, crank out as many pages as you can, whether they are fully rendered or just drafts. This gives you the downtime you need to deal with classes AND not make your work quality suffer because you can extend the time you work to edit and fix pages. At least, that is how I've been doing it. I've managed to get through over a year of updating my comic on a weekly basis (for a few months I tried two pages a week but that was too much) with only a two week break at one point.
But yeah! That is my little piece of advice and info. the comic life is hard in general, but just know you're not the only one going through the struggle!

[nikaalexandra]

been there, definitely felt that. i got my degree in illustration with a desire to pursue comics and character design on a professional level. my career so far has been working in non-profit gallery settings and moonlighting as a colorist for various graphic novel projects, along with creating my own stories and picking up jobs as a freelance illustrator. if you don't like drawing/tweaking/redrawing things for 10+ hours a day (and if you think you would lose your passion for it if it's your primary form of income) then maybe it's time to consider other paths. i don't have any experience working in animation/game design, but i think any creative will tell you that when its good its really really good, and when its bad its really really bad. you've got to want it, heart and soul. getting a job can be really hard, everyone is super competitive, the hours are long and grueling, but ultimately (i think) its worth it. you just gotta be ready to weather the storm to get to paradise.

all i can say about getting an arts degree is that it's really really worth your time if your desired field is a highly technical one. there are a lot of skills that are difficult (nigh impossible) to acquire through self-teaching that are absolutely required to work in certain fields. animation and game design definitely fall into that category, and those fields are hard as hell to break into without a degree. just like a hospital wouldn't hire a surgeon without extensive experience under the knife, a lot of companies won't hire a digital illustrator without an extensive experience working pre-press, or an animator without an extensive background in maya or autodesk.

if you're unsure about wanting to pursue art on a professional level, you should look into other degrees that you might be passionate about. maybe don't transfer your degree right away (everyone gets unsure sometimes!), but try taking some classes in other fields. maybe you have an unfound passion for computer science or film theory thats been yet unexplored. art is always there to pursue as a side hustle, and it's always something you can come back to later. no need to box yourself in if you don't feel sure about it.

good luck my friend <3

[Michelle]

What's important to realize about being a professional artist is that there's no one way to do it. Throughout art school I was given a very narrow, specific pipeline regarding how to become successful that never really suited me, and it made me question if I was cut out for any of this.

I've been working now for a couple years as a freelance storyboard artist, and honestly I'm not sure if I'd enjoy a full-time studio career. I like having jobs that only last a couple days at a time; the idea of boarding one scene for weeks or months would drive me nuts. I like the flexibility of being able to turn down work if I need to. And I like going to the grocery store on Monday afternoon when everyone's at work. :v

I've also lived the studio life. Benefits are really, really nice, as is not having to file all your own taxes. But the 50-60 hour work week, being glued to a chair all day, and commute sucked. By the time I'd get home, I had zero energy for my own art. It was a slog. I barely put out any new personal art while I was at that job.

The fact that I can do freelance jobs to pay the bills and have energy at the end of the day to make a comic is very important to me. If you can do a studio job and still have energy for your own stuff, that's great!

If you're not sure if you want to pursue comics and art as your source of income, that is also 100% valid. There's nothing wrong with working a non-art job while doing what you love on the side. If it keeps the lights on and frees you up to do what you love, it's all contributing to your passion.

[indagold]

I'm an animator and I'm having a hard time finding work already because unfortunately the job I was at was the only place I had real connections at, so it was just pure luck. Didn't network in school because I had a 2 hour commute, there was no campus so there was no way to actually find a place and chat and make friends and my school despite being super prestigious is disorganized and cliquey... like most art schools. And I didn't have an internet presence either so no one in the school knew me unlike other students. It's an extremely aggressive field so you have to push yourself. I mean you could drop out and go into another field but most fields seem to be doing poorly too, animation seems almost better. The studio I was at paid twice as much as the funding my friend receives as a neurology major haha.

As for comics make a massive buffer, like more than a few months. Maybe even 6 months - a year if you have a ton of work to do so you're not forcing yourself to keep up with update schedules and you're not taking long hiatuses. Its been easy for me because of the massive buffer i've made.

[jiany0u]

I worked as a designer for a couple of years -- I spent a year as a graphic designer for a tech company, and also did some freelance work as an illustrator/designer for indie games. Now I've been working as a software engineer for a few years and I am MUCH happier doing art as a hobby than I was working in the field.

This is just me but I really didn't enjoy working as a designer.
- Pay is low
- It's really hard to find a job
- If you work at a place where art isn't the primary product (say, a tech company vs. an animation studio), you may not get a lot of respect. A lot of people think of design as a "fluff" job. Often even people within your own company.
- Every asshole with eyeballs thinks they're qualified to offer unsolicited critiques of your work, even though you studied the craft for years and they can't even match their own clothing (No, Greg from sales, it does NOT need to "pop more")
- Working on other people's stuff is a lot more boring and shitty than working on your own

Being a software engineer is fucking awesome!
- You get paid well
- Finding a job is super easy
- You're well respected
- Nobody can tell what you're doing at your computer all day, so nobody gets on your ass about it
- It's intellectually and creatively stimulating, similar to the way art is for me

It's really nice to be able to make my comic without having to worry about it making money. I don't have to do commissions, Patreon, worry about low ad revenue, or try to sell anything. Because of my day job, I have enough money to hire an editor and make merch to give out for free without being concerned that I'm operating at a loss.

Anyway, I couldn't support myself as a comics artist even if I wanted to, because I live in an expensive city. Of course I do wish I had more time to spend on comics, but that'll probably always be true

[parkcathedralgrace]

Out of curiosity why did you make the jump to software development originally? I've been studying web development for a while and I've been wanting to make a jump from graphic design myself.

[jiany0u]

Because of the cons I mentioned above regarding graphic design (low pay, shitty job market), and because the company I did graphic design for was horrible and abusive. I hated my job but I couldn't find another job (I would apply to like, 10 jobs a day). I wanted to live in NYC, and the job market there is so competitive that I couldn't even get a job doing data entry lmao...

So I started teaching myself programming in the evenings (iOS development), and learned enough to bullshit my way through a freelance programming job. That made it easier for me to get into grad school for Computer Science, quit my job at the shitty company, and now I have my Master's in CS, been living in NYC for 4 years, and I'm really happy!

And feel free to PM me or message me on Discord (ladypcpx#5591) if you want more info

[parkcathedralgrace]

Right on.

I'll probably pester you thru Discord some time. Danke schön.

[LCT_m_a_d]

I went to art school, but now I work in software development. It's actually given me a major difference in perspective and allows me to create healthy boundaries between my work vs career. I don't feel my passion is compromised by work politics and I can develop my art career the way that works bedt for me

[hotsubsandwich]

Currently a cake decorator. It’s been my job for 5 years off and on; I took a break from it to be a PA for a television show, a substitute teacher, and a barista, but I always go back just because my boss is awesome and I love the work. I do wish it paid more, but my boss should be retiring soon and I may buy the place from her.
But I’m also in school for Graphic Information Technology. I have my associates and I’m about a year off from getting my bachelor’s. I have always wanted to do something artistic but profitable, and in this small town I don’t think I can really get consistent jobs doing comics or art. Finding a balance to work, go to school, and make comics has been hard and I have a way slower update schedule than most but I’m slowly working my way toward that balance.

[lunaartemisasama]

Just ask yourself? Will I regret the rest of my life if I don't do this?
Just don't overthink it, I mean there are people that have one, two or three careers, or started in a field and ended in another one.

I studied a career that I never really cared because I was really inmature in those years, but at least I finished. And that degree says to me that I can be able to achieve something if I try hard enough.

Long story short as long as you feel that you can do it go for it, and if you can pay for a career finish it.

PD: Also try to do internships it can help you to figure out things.

[SynCypher]

I'm an editor who cut my teeth in IT after college because I had to pay bills and I do my comics and tattoo work on the side. I can say that I've seen pay and benefits from both sides of the isle (The artist side and career side) and I can say that I've made more money as an editor and in IT than I have as an artist. That being said, I can make a lot of money in a short period with art (when people commission me for tattoo designs or portraiture) and I do make some money from my online shops connected to my comic.

However I've found that the long term sustainability of my career is what keeps my bills paid and the lights on without me having to scramble. If you're not certain it's something you want to do, maybe spend some time figuring out what you would otherwise do? @lunaartemisasama had a really good suggestion: Internships. Maybe working in that environment in some capacity can give you a feel for it that can help you decide. Personally, my comics are almost a reward for myself for a long day at work. I get off shift and I get to create. Yeah it's a lot of work but it's also my joy as well and it's nice that I can spend some time in the fantasy realm I've made up after long hours.

[Luminosophy]

I'm studying to be an electrician currently. I totally would love to do comics full time, but I my situation is unique in that I need to not only support that hobby but also my partner who is going blind and can't work (he's also my writer.) He spends his days learning programming so he can eventually work freelance. In the mean time, I need to work towards making serious money for both of us.

I choose to do a trade because being an office slave doesn't sound enticing. You can actually make quite a lot of money as a journeyman and the work is dynamic (plus the ability to go into a lot of weird and wonderful specializations.) No paper work, no sitting around all day. You're on your feet and you're thinking, it's not just manual labour. Plus it keeps you fit, too. I guess it's just a matter of finding out what will work for you. I value this job because it's challenging and it probably will kick the crap out of me both mentally and physically, but at the end of the day I think the logical skills I will gain from working with math all the time and the physical intensity of the job will be a huge boon for my art. Even if it does slow down my comic production rate. My personal path is about taking comics slow and steady.

[ratique]

I have met a ton of people who studied animation and then realized it is not what they want to do. Seems to be a thing, you are not alone.

I also studied something I didn't truly enjoy: Communication design, which was very focused on advertisement work. When I then joined the workforce, I ended up being an illustrator, a graphic designer and a product designer.

The downsides have been mentioned. Low pay, depending on your job it can become repetitive and there are only few ways for a designer to move up in a company. Many of my colleagues have basically been doing the same work for many, many years. The good side is that it is definitely more fun than staring at excel sheets day in and day out.

I am now doing project management in a company where I started out as product designer. That is a rare thing to happen I'm sure, but my boss recognized my strengths and willingness to do this work instead of designing. It made it possible for me to have a team and use my brain on a daily basis.

You don't have to decide right now. Things may change overtime. But you have to be open to try anything, and be patient.

[ashersz]

I'm currently pursuing a career in marketing with goals of being a CMO (so also doing my masters). I do design, coding, strategy and database so everything I like. You can still do art in some form in other careers.

I do comics on the side for fun, as a hobby and as therapy. I love doing art this way and people at work also know I do this as well. Some are subscribers.

[Shanny8]

I went to school for graphics/design but I wasnt 100% sure if it was something that I wanted to do; however I did want to learn programs like Photoshop & Illustrator more. I ended up taking a regular 9-5 office gig and didnt get back to tinkering around with these programs until a couple of years before I started doing my comics.

I like doing my comic on the side for right now, coz after a long day of dealing with crap I dont really care to deal with I get enthusiastic to sit down and ink lines, throw down colors, or putter letters on my art. I feel like I have a bit of a balance, and I dont get tired of working on my comic.

[ashersz]

Agree! It's better when it doesnt feel like a chore