courtneylayla asked: I've always wanted to do something like what you do. Computer graphics, computer animation, ANYTHING with art mixed with computers really. I paint too. However, I just talked to someone and showed him my painting and instead of getting a "OMG THATS AMAZING", I got a "thats good, not good enough to make a living but good". My question is, should I take his advice and pursue something else? Or do you get taught how to be a great artist/graphic designer in class? I don't know whether to pursue it
I’m always an advocate of do what you love, and eventually your passion will show in your work. My works started terrible, and I’m still improving on everything. Graphic designers seem to be needed everywhere as the world grows online so I would give you a thumbs up towards that area!
I never took a graphic design class in college or high school because graphic design made me think of people making a boring banner on a boring website. But no! There’s so much more! Apparently I’ve been designing simple graphics for years and saying “look at these cute wittle kitties!’
I didn’t really have any graphic design experience when I got my job, my boss just saw my Disney doodles and said ‘cool beans, give her a shot’. It was incredibly lucky! After a year of learning from another graphic designer and learning from clients, I’m so much more confident in my design work today and I’ve learned to have a lot more patience.
The best tool in seeing if you want to pursue a career like graphic design is to start collecting folders and folders of inspirational pieces, color palettes and anything else that jumps out, then…create something! Make sure it’s something you find fun, that way you don’t get discouraged if you work on it for a while. For example…I would have a blast designing a Neopets layout for my own pets. Or a Neopets t-shirt design that I would find attractive. Or a Pokemon battle poster.
