How to Become an Artist?

(background: I was and adjunct at an art school (https://mica.edu) for a couple years, planning to pick it up again in the fall. I asked my students "what is art?" every semester, but they never knew.)

This is going to sound a lot like shooting down, but it's a note to myself as much as it's a note to you. You got this. :+1:

There is a difference--huge, massive gap--between, "I want to make art" and "I want to be an artist". The first is about creation and expression, the second is about going to parties and having people be excited to greet you.

Stephen King said it something like, "i meet a lot of people who tell me, 'oh! i want to be a novelist' but what they really want is to have written a novel."

Ronnie Coleman said it better, "everybody wants to be a body builder, but don't nobody want to lift no heavy-ass weights."

echoing another response:

> If you can make art and be happy, you're done.

Step 1: make art. Step 2: find other people who make art. Step 3: look at their art. Step 4: show them your art. You can do these in any order, but the most important is the making.

There is no magic formula. There is no formula that all successful artists follow. Art education is irrelevant to success, but it's great for technical skills and forcing you to practice.

Like with any other creative act the two best things you can do for yourself are figure out what you can tolerate engaging with in repetition for the rest of your life and then repeat it.

Good luck!

MBA Industrial Design here. I think that all art should start with the ability to draw. A foundational book like Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain is a good jump start if it is important for your ego to see quick feedback. Like mastering anything, drawing is about repetition. Exercises are key for building muscle memory. I personally like to start with pencil/prisma. Don't get in the habit of erasing. From there you can work up to other medium like pen, chalk, etc. Even if you eventually end up being a sculptor, mixed media artist, 3d animator, painter, being able to draw (sketch) well is the foundation you will always use! After learning to draw well, I would suggest learning design. Things like order, rhythm, emphasis, etc. is the underpinning of all art.

I've studied art for many years and work as an artist/artistic researcher right now. At the same time, every single one of the people I've been studying art with chose a different path, a different view on how to do art. Every single one of them.

You mention "launching", getting recognition, being invited to shows. This is the social/status part of things and is not specific to art. Basically, you have to start. Researchers who get grants get even more grants, artists who do shows get invited to shows. You don't have to do shows or get recognition, however, to be an artist. There is no institution that gives you a badge with "artist" on it.

What is helpful, however, is to find like-minded people. You get inspired by seeing other people work on similar topics. You get the best feedback from those engrossed in the same quest. This is what art schools are good for, and this will be the hard part if you are starting on your own.

If you just want a hobby, hit up an art supply store, buy some stuff, and make some art.

If you want to have the experience of being in a show, search for local "Call for Artists", and you'll find small shows taking in local artist's work. If it is a juried show, it means they'll choose which artwork makes it into the show. Non-juried shows means if you drop it off, it is in. Most shows let you set a price at which you'll sell the displayed works, and take a cut of that sale.

It is really that simple - The galleries and museums put out calls to artists, and artists respond. Different shows will have different preferences for skill level and styles. Over time, you'll figure out which shows are best for your own art. You'll also get to know the people running the shows, and get to know the local community.

If you want to be an artist, I recommend avoiding trying to get launched, seeking recognition, or even getting invited to shows. That's a huge distraction and only relates to the marketing of art.

It depends what you mean by "artist". There are different levels for different social classes, and each level is a different job/world which requires a different skillset.

There are light years of difference between getting a slot in a small-town gallery or show (not hard...), getting a slot in a Beverly Hills gallery (much harder, but not necessarily dependent on quality) to becoming a name on the mainstream NY/London circuit (needs insanely good contact management and party skills, and an ability to write/speak art bullshit with a straight face).

You can also be a successful niche artist who panders to a popular audience (Kinkade, Vettriano), a full-time Etsy pro, a full-time Deviant Art pro, someone known locally for pet portraits, and so on.

For the top gallery scene I'd suggest books like Art of the Deal by Horowitz and Dark Side of the Boom by Adams.

For art in general try Grayson Perry's Playing to the Gallery.

For an inside view of the top go to as many big art fairs as you can - Art Basel (Miama, Basel), Frieze (London), the Armory Show (NY), Scope (NY, London, Basel) - and ask gallery staff how the system works. Tell them you're doing a research project or something like that.

Do not try to sell them art.

Don't be surprised if some laugh at you or cut you dead, but a few may take an interest.

Also, don't underestimate how good the best artists are. There's plenty of bullshit, but there's also plenty of solid talent - not so much basic drawing (although it can help), but a kind of abstract visual intelligence and feel for composition which not everyone has.

Look at a lot of art, and try to understand visual metaphors, shape and use of space, dynamics and movement, social references, and other abstract features.

Representational skill is the least interesting part of it.

> but I want to understand how an artist is launched, how he/she gets recognition, how he/she gets invited to shows, etc.

Not to sound harsh but you are not interested in becoming an artist, at all, if it is the kind of thing you are asking here, you are interested in becoming a socialite, which doesn't require any form of artistic skill other than the gift of gab.

This isn't about art here, but marketing.

Full time artist here having shown work in NYC galleries, museums, etc.

Make art. Dont worry about anything else. Once you have stacks of kick ass work, promoto online and if you want to be at the top of commercial circles, move to where the artist are and start attending openings, visiting local up and coming galleries.

If your work is good and you are in the community where "things are happening".. say Manhattan 10 years ago, Berlin, etc. Then you still will likely need another gig to eat and pay rent and only be recognized after your dead :) but that is your best chance.

I went to undergrad for graphic design and worked along side several artists in the art building, and I also know of a few working artists. I'd like to present you my brief anecdotal understanding of their art careers.

Recognition and shows usually come from connections, many of which are formed over a four year liberal arts education. Indeed, college and university art programs put on multiple shows a year, and a local community college art class can be a very cheap way to enter into a small but passionate art world. Many of the fine artists/illustrators from my school's art program ended up working for commissions in one form or another, promoting their work and socializing with other artists constantly on Instagram and social media.

There are tons of small coffee shops running small sales and shows of art all over: it doesn't take college connections to show art here per se, just a certain amount of charisma and a good portfolio.

If you are interested in becoming an artist, I'd encourage a HN reader to keep a few analytical and rational practices when approaching the art world, but to throw away the engineer's notions of done, perfect, and exact. One should gravitate towards art they love and imitate it until they are enjoying their artistic process.

Jerry Saltz wrote 33 rules on How to Become an Artist

https://www.vulture.com/2018/11/jerry-saltz-how-to-be-an-art...

Step 1. Post some of your art in this thread. It will get some exposure here. Some will enjoy it, many will ridicule it (see the recent shed posting). And because of that, will give you a taste of the art world.

I'd like to see it. Good luck!

For the high end, give the book Seven Days in the Art World, by Sarah Thornton a read. It covers the contemporary art world from the viewpoints of art critics, students, artists, auction houses, etc. An easy read that gives you the overview of that world.

For more ground level practicality, try What They Didn't Teach You In Art School, by Rosalind Davis or I'd Rather Be In The Studio by Alyson Stanfield.

This is from a fashion photography perspective. I've start taking photos for over 5 years. I slowly gained recognition in my area and a lot of agencies, models, industry people, etc. started to recognize my name. I've stopped because I had a bit of burnout, and Covid stopped me from taking photos of people with a team.

To start gaining recognition, you need to start producing a ton of work, a ton. You also have to think critically about your work and constantly look to improve. Look at a ton of art for inspiration. Basically look at a lot of art, and produce a lot of art.

Then you need to start showing off your best work everywhere, be active in all the social media, create a Website, etc.

If your stuff is good enough, you will start getting recognition. It won't be overnight. These days, especially with social media, there are tons of work of every kind. You need to have both quantity and quality (maybe even gimmicky) to stand out.

Also, start networking with other people in the industry. In my genre, I reached out to makeup artists, stylists, models, other photographers, etc.

If you just want a hobby, then do art as a hobby have fun. For the most part, ascension in the "art world" starts at a young age with going to art school and following what is a traditional and boring path.

Artists make art, gallerists make artists. My dad is a pretty great artist, he studied under Peter Prendergast, and Mike Knowles (professor emeritus at the Slade). Outside of the local art scene he is completely unknown.

My observations lead me to conclude that the greatest artists and musicians of the world are, like my dad, totally anonymous. Becoming successful in the way you describe requires a dedication to business, PR, sales and marketing. You often need to be a shameless self publicist, or extremely lucky, Van Gough died poor and unknown. Practising the skills required to become popular and "successful" diminishes the time available to practice your art skills. Even though you said you don't care about making money, earning recognition in art means making money. You could refuse to sell your art, but then no galleries would take you on, and no auction houses will mobilise their PR machines to promote you.

To sum up, I would: 1) Go to night school drawing classes. 2) Practice, practice, practice. 3) Find a degree course with a good teacher. Who you learn from is way more important in art than where, or what you learn. 4) Make art

Then, if you want to become a commercial success and be invited to soirees: 1) Study business, sales, the art of persuasion, social skills, etc. 2) Use connections from your art school to promote yourself. 3) ??? 4) Profit.

You're not describing being an "artist".

I'm a musician. I play every day, I make music with other people, I play for money sometimes, I help people put out recordings.

None of that work is the same as the work we do to promote ourselves.

I also do a lot of pen and ink drawings. I don't sell them. It's fun.

Not what you're describing.

If you wanna do that as a hobby, just become an "Instagram influence" or something and try to figure out how to get stuff that get popular and shared. You don't even really need content.

This question reminds me of the cognate question for aspiring writers: "What do I do to become a quote-unquote real writer?"

It's impossible to give a blanket answer since everyone takes their own path!

But this might be helpful. One piece of conventional advice for writers is to submit your work to as many journals, publishers, etc. as you can, to build up some name recognition and a publication history. As the thinking goes, if you're persistent and lucky enough, eventually you'll become "known."

The problem there is that you're putting yourself at the mercy of other people's gatekeeping.

Maybe you could do what I did, only for visual art (assuming you're interested in visual art) - start an online art review magazine. Grab a domain name and a site template, pick a free or at least cheap hosting provider, get Submittable / Duosuma accounts, then start publishing stuff from other artists while you work on your own.

The benefit of this approach is that it turns the tables on some of the barriers to entry and also acts as a fantastic networking mechanism. People love, absolutely love, having their stuff published, even in new and untried magazines and journals. It's the quickest way I know of to meet dozens of like-minded people in a very short time.

Hope that helps.

(Perspective from somebody who's been in galleries, had commissions, has been a published comic artist, and currently a design manager. Site's in the bio if you're curious and want to poke my brains more.)

Honestly, my advice for you is spend at least a year or two playing with different mediums and subjects, and see what sparks joy for you personally. Art these days is supremely cool because there's such a staggering variety out there from physical mediums such as guache, oils, acrylic, colored pencils, mixed media, to digital art which is even more broad than anything.

Drawing still life work (drawing what you see around you) is recommended to slowly pick up fundamentals of lighting and color and shape (same with figure drawing and anatomy), but I wouldn't limit yourself to just that - play with characters, play with drawing mechs, fantasy, surreal work ... sky's the limit.

I'd also start collecting/saving pictures of art that resonate with you and save it in an inspiration folder so that way you can look back and see if there's a common thread to what vibes with you. Is it colors? A feeling that is evoked? A story in the images? etc.

One last thing: I'd sign up to an art-specific site like deviantART which has historically been very friendly to artists of all stripes (versus twitter), and isn't treated as a professional "portfolio" (versus artstation) as much as a cool landing page to see all of your works. At the end of the year if you want to get more serious, then I'd suggest building a personal site - but wouldn't jump in it immediately.

Good luck!

Just start making and see where it takes you. Making and sharing is a vehicle for your curiosity and sometimes it gets called art.

My parents ran a non-profit arts organization that ran festivals and created all kinds of opportunities for artists and musicians. Growing up in that environment, you see that there are definitely some people who are just totally wired for a deep compulsion to create stuff. It's like a habit, an itch that has to be scratched. If you make things, keep following that compulsion.

As for a career in art, that's just a gamble and seeking out opportunities like local arts organizations. There are a lot of dimensions and niches to explore. 1st and foremost, make things for yourself, because of everything that brought you to that moment. Others may not give a crap about what you made, and you have to accept that, but you know what you have brought into this world, and you'll be glad you did it. Scratch the itch.

Personally, I'm 50 years old and just getting started with my own art. Having grown up in an arts world, served many years on the board of directors of a local arts organization, and I still feel lost all the time. It don't matter. Just make.

Art is about self expression. Buy a canvas and some paint (or any other medium of choice). Create something that you can put a name and description on. Sell its story to others. Congrats, you are an artist.

If you want to be a famous, recognized artist whose works are displayed in galleries and sell for millions etc. then start with step 1, get really good at it, hang out in the right circles, and get very lucky.

You can also try selling pictures of apes online.

I’ve been making a living with drawing for a couple decades and I still have no idea how the world of gallery art works, sorry. I just know how to draw well.

There's a lot of people talking about galleries here, and that's great. But it strikes me that all the professional artists I know make their money through Patreon, and market themselves on social media. That's another venue for professional networking that you may want to look into, especially since the barrier to entry is low (post art on Twitter, try to connect with other Twitter artists).

Haven't read it, and it may be more abstract than what you're looking for, but I've heard good things about Jerry Saltz's book "How to Be an Artist" (https://www.amazon.com/dp/B084CSQRWZ). He's a pretty well-respected and candid Pulitzer-winning art critic.

This seems to be an instance of an XY Problem:

>The XY problem is a communication problem encountered in help desk and similar situations in which the person asking for help obscures the real issue, X, because instead of asking directly about issue X, they ask how to solve a secondary issue, Y, which they believe will allow them to resolve issue X on their own. However, resolving issue Y often does not resolve issue X, or is a poor way to resolve it, and the obscuring of the real issue and the introduction of the potentially strange secondary issue can lead to the person trying to help having unnecessary difficulties in communication and/or offering poor solutions.

Do you want to:

- Make art (express yourself, indulge in activities to create things that capture, or free, a part of yourself, etc.)

- Understand the system: production, promotion, prizes, dynamics, trends, notoriety, the business of art, communication, graph of influences, taxonomies and ontologies, history, etc.

- Have what you consider to be the life of people you consider "artists" (going to parties, being liked, being admired)

- (all of the above)

Which?

If you want to make art as a hobby, find something you enjoy doing. Focus on the process and not the result. Consider expressing your own feelings and personality.

To become museum art, your stuff needs an interpretation that places it within art history and more precisely at the front of art history. E.g. it can’t be something that’s already done.

Interesting q. I have a bunch of family and friends who regularly put on or participate in art shows. (In fact my wife just came home with a check from a recent show and I'm super proud of her)

I really recommend that you talk to or informally interview some local artists. They can give you solid advice and probably tell you what you need to do next. They may even offer to review your progress.

If you're doing this as a hobby, I think I would really ask yourself what kind of publicity you need for this to be worth it to you.

If you can make art and be happy, you're done. Publicity adds all kinds of drama, expense, politics, especially the more you focus on it. I have some artist friends who paid to play and got lots of publicity, and then lost it as soon as they stopped paying.

Personally I have some ribbons but I don't find publicity that helpful in being the kind of artist I want to be. Everybody's different. Good luck to you.

Traction can be difficult if you mean social media, depends on how much you want to pander honestly. Social media fame can be attained by drawing the latest flavor-of-the-month meme, and good old fashioned ass kissing. Drawing fanart of popular characters, drawing fanart of other (more popular) artists characters, etc

It's frankly a depressing grind more often than not. I've been a hobby artist for about 5 years now, and I have ~6k followers on two platforms. About 60% of that came in the last 2 years. It kind of snowballs the longer you keep at it. Consistency is incredibly important!

I'm at best an amateur artist, but from what I can tell using social media tools to get your art in front of people is the best way to start. Share your art accounts with friends and family and make it easy for them to share it with their friends and family. Generally people only share things that are relevant to them, so maybe you can personalize your art somehow? Easier said than done, there is a lot of competition online.

There are also local groups for most art forms, hooking into those communities can be helpful for getting feedback and growing your network.

What medium? What process?

Sculpture? What kind of sculpture? Metal? What kind of metal sculpture? Painting? What medium? Acrylic? Oil? Water colour? What format? Portrait? Landscape? What scale? Larger than life? Tiny? What subject matter? Pop culture? Anatomical? Foudn objects? Action? Portraits? Humans? Pets? Farm animals? What level of realism? Abstract? Hyper real?

Art isn't one thing, it's a nest hierarchy of rabbit holes.

The best, well recognized artists are hyper specific.

Those other things you're talking about require marketing, nothing else. The thing being marketed is immaterial.

IMHO you're asking this question tells me you're likely lower on the obsessiveness and openness-to-experience scale. It's not a personal failing, it's more of a personality / constitution thing.

https://psychology.fandom.com/wiki/Openness_to_experience

My question though is, "Why?"

Personally I've seen more than a few friends in similar position (not already artists) exclaim their desire to take up a specific craft because they recently enjoyed a certain piece of art themselves. That's fine, that's great actually. But it's fading.

Art for art's sake is usually a compulsive and life long pursuit. Barring brain damage.

https://people.com/health/mary-steenburgen-brain-became-musi...

p.s. That 'brain damage' comment was supposed to be funny. Life as a creative isn't always easy. Especially if you have confounding personality aspects like high neuroticism or low conscientiousness. Here's a little less than an hour about it. If you're thinking about it it'll be more than worth your time to investigate yourself about it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KxGPe1jD-qY

Pick up "Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain" and follow the lessons and exercises within. The left/right brain stuff is a little pseudo-sciency, but the basic thesis of the book is sound: contrary to common attitudes, art is a skill than can be developed with practice like any other. It just takes discipline, effort, and patience.

Figure out what medium you'd like to work in (3D, painting, generative art, film, photography, etc.) and then take some classes on that subject. That will put you in touch with an instructor who is an artist and students pursuing art in addition to teaching you about working in that particular medium.

An artist is someone who makes art every day. Art is that which imparts feelings.

So, make artifacts or performances that impart feelings, every day.

Your output will be trash at first, but that’s expected. What matters is that you do your reps, every day.

When the going gets tough, read The War of Art.

Isn't becoming an artist supposed to stem from a genuine need to express one's self, and everything else (recognition, being invited, making money) something to consider at much later time along the way, if at all?

a few years back I was complaining to a friend about how much crappy art there is on the internet, and instead of sympathizing he answered with "that means I can make crappy art too" and felt empowered by the permission to not have to be good at it at first. As for gaining talent at art this is my best advice to allow yourself to be bad at it for a long time until you are good at it. This takes years, usually like 10 years or more, but you will see significant progress in a month, a half a year and a year.

But let's try to answer your other questions.

Making money - look up the 1000 true fans article, that's the core of it. With this there are many routes like having a storefront online, money from ads on YouTube, creating products (like a coffee table book or a card deck with art on it, or a coloring book, or others), but as for getting into galleries that requires being somewhat known in that local community, for that you have to do competitions, go to shows, and participate at the local level, basically focused networking.

Getting Known - Besides that you'll be doing what most marketing people do for yourself an your art, lots of social media posting(probably daily multiple times a day even - see successful Instagram campaigns), joining and building communities interacting with them and tailoring/catering to them. Ideas for content include 1.showing the art, 2.my process commentary, 3.speed painting, 4.tricks & techniques, 5.reverse engineering another artist's work, 6.inspiration and references - these matter as artists are a big part of the audience themselves.

Shows - once one has talent, network/community and awards then they get invited to shows and galleries. It would probably be best if you asked someone that works at a local gallery how they do it and what they look for, and what they know.

But all of that said the first steps is to get good, for that I recommend "Draw a Box" or college courses - professors are a good source of networking too, after that the local community is where it's at, go to art meetups, figure out where they hang out, some communities even have studio space to rent or live in things like that. It pretty quickly becomes a small world, so careful who's toes get stepped on along the way.

90% is practice, the other 90% of it is luck, most artists are never recognized for anything…

Create art that satisfies your own desires. Share it. Rinse and repeat.

Maybe check out How to Be an Artist by Jerry Saltz.

I don't get your question, do you want to craete art, or do you want to be recognized in the art world? Those 2 goals aren't equivalent... Do you want to be an artist? Just start making art!

If I were a cynic, I'd be wondering if this question, in this forum, is from someone who wants to jump on the NFT bandwagon. Oh wait, I am a cynic!