“But how do they make a living,” asks the naturally concerned and well-meaning parent about their graduating senior who’s interested in a career in the arts. It’s hard. You have to both look for opportunities and prepare for opportunities. You have to comfortably sit beside ambiguity all the time.
Most of my income these days is made from a day job–for the past two years I’ve worked full-time (5 days per week, 40+ hours) as an artist-in-residence at schools around central Ohio. I’m grateful that my day job is knit so closely to my creative work, and it doesn’t hurt that I genuinely like working with young people. But even if I can’t find as much work in that arena, there’s no dishonor in finding something less connected to comics to stay afloat.
There’s also grants for artists. I was recently awarded a Funding for Artists grant from the Greater Columbus Arts Council, which enabled me to upgrade my drawing setup with a 24″ Huion Kamvas tablet. That’s a big chunk of money I didn’t have to pull from my regular operating expenses to be more efficient in the studio.
Right now in the United States we’re experiencing some extra ambiguity in terms of grant funding, but if you haven’t looked into what your state–or city– has on offer, it might be worth a check. Just looking at a few states where friends live, I was able to find a few places where an artist might get some financial support. Another angle on the whole “looking for opportunities” bit of the business.
My thanks to the Greater Columbus Arts council for their support of Columbus-based artists!
