Sunday, October 12, 2014

Building A Career As A Visual Artist

By Ashis Jain


Many visual artists are self-employed according to the available statistics as compared with those who are on payroll. A visual artist has different types of specialization to choose from. These specializations include multimedia, animations, crafts, art direction and animations. A college degree or a post secondary course in visual arts is necessary for one to qualify in most visual art jobs. Many people out there have these qualifications and therefore there is a big competition for jobs in this field.

To begin a job in visual arts, it is good to shape it up when still in high school by taking art related classes. Art history classes can be really useful too. You may opt to go for an art history class in a community college if not in high school.

You will also need business classes to help you to progress your career in future. Remember to sharpen your English skills to improve your writing skills too. For instance if you become an art director, you will need to write a grant application to help you in your business in future.

Working experience is in every bit essential in this situation. Take part in extra-curricular and leisure activities to increase your visual arts understanding. Visit photo art galleries, photo trade festivals and museums frequently to enhance your understanding of arts. If you are in senior high school, consider joining the school theater groups or work with the school yearbook.

Art and design schools emphasize on practical skills more than the theory part as in the case of colleges and universities. You can succeed as a visual artist without a certificate or college degree but it is still recommended to have this qualification in order to improve your chances of working. In the recent years, many of the studio art classes have included to their curriculum computer graphics and software. If you want to specialize in a medical illustrating specialty, it will be necessary to take premedical classes. Someone who wants to become an art director will need to take classes on art direction or art administration.

The most crucial part if you want to develop a career in visual arts is building your portfolio. Your portfolio will be your resume. This is mostly an important element in visual arts programs. Put your photos, painting, prints, drawings or any other own media to promote your portfolio. Your portfolio will showcase your skill either as a freelance illustrator, fine artist, animator or any other of your specialty.

The best way to begin your professional career is by finding an entry level job or look for freelance clients in case you are a freelance illustrator. Ask most of the artists and most of them will tell you they began freelancing as students and increased their client base as time went by until they became professionals.

It is advisable that you begin with less challenging tasks to help you improve your skills as time goes by. The bureau of labor statistics indicate that jobs for multimedia artists will get more opportunities by the year 2018. The percentage projection of this is around 14 percent job increase.




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