Are you the type of person that feels more at home behind an easel than behind a desk? Do you prefer the weight and control of a paintbrush to pen and paper? Do you enjoy playing around with creations on Photoshop more than working in Excel or Microsoft Word?
If so, then you might be the type of person who is perfect for careers in art. Of course, this isn’t an easy career to just jump into; it demands training, patience, determination and creativity.
The good news?
There are plenty of online resources out there for you to use to further your development!
We’ve collected a list of the best resources to help get your art career on track in this column. Good luck!
Table of Contents
You have to start somewhere before you can create your masterpiece of a career! Here are some great places where you can get things kicked off.
The Princeton Review has a superb “A Day in the Life…” resource that tackles various jobs in the art field. Here’s one for an art dealer.
For those who are interested in a graphic design career, here’s another good “Day in the Life…” look from the Princeton Review.
Same as the two above … except this time, you can experience what a day in the life of a digital artist might feel like!
If you are producing work worthy of support from the government, you can apply for grant funds here. Obviously, these funds are tricky to get (and may be influenced by the current political climate) but it is always worth a shot.
A wonderful every-morning resource for any aspiring artist. The website contains plenty of first-hand stories and testimonials about the life of an artist, and also serves as a “safety net” for those artists in times of trouble.
From the Huffington Post, this article from Svetlana Dostenko gives an excellent inside look at the right and wrong way to develop a career in the arts. It covers all the bases; check in with this website before you start anything.
The Art Career Project is a fine site with plenty of different resources, including job listings, step-by-step instructions on building a career, a blog, and a listing of online schools. This should be one of your bookmarks.
This artist gives an warts-and-all look at what it really takes to have a career as an artist. Recommended - but tough - reading. Very worthy of your time.
This helpful article - from the aptly named “Payscale” website - gives a good look into the financial aspects of trying to build a career as an artist.
From a website called “The Muse,” this article contains plenty of information from “The Undercover Artist” on developing a creative career. Very helpful.
Here’s another great warts-and-all, unfiltered look at what it takes to have an art career. This one goes over different career options, the financial options, and different qualifications.
This fine, comprehensive list collects some fantastic quotes from renowned artist about making a career in the field. Worthy of inspiration - print some out and tack them up to the wall.
Want to pick through a very long list of potential art careers? Go ahead and start here! This Student Art Guide to Art Careers has over 150 different career options for those who want to go into the industry.
From Work it Daily, here are five excellent tips for carving out an excellent art career - it covers social media, multitasking, a calendar of events, building a portfolio and others.
Looking to give your art career a real kick in the paintbrushes? This site - from Fine Art Tips - is a very valuable resource for those who need a little bit of a boost.
Those that are looking to jump into the art field as a mid-career job change would do well to check out this helpful website.
Art therapy is a fast-growing (and very noble) career. This helpful website contains information on the basics of the profession, as well as a look into what it would take to make a career of it.
Here’s another career that’s growing rapidly, and another good summary of what it will take to make it in the field.
Here’s a very detailed, in-depth look at some of the fine points about having a career as a fine artist, with information on salary and career outlook.
You don’t want an art career to be fleeting - you want it to last and help provide for your financial and emotional needs. This site (from “New York City art experts”) has a good look at what’s necessary to build a sustainable art career.
Internships are a fantastic way to get a foot in the door, and if you’re looking to work at an art gallery, here’s the first place you should go to for that first step.
According to their website, the Visual Resources Association is “dedicated to furthering research and education in the field of image and media management within the educational, cultural heritage, and commercial environments.” Their employment digest is linked here.
Looking for a job within Chicago, or the American Midwest? This Chicago Artists Resource is a great compendium of all of the jobs that may be available in the area.
Of course, it’s easier to start a career in arts if you have the proper education. Here’s a good collection of some of the best art education links that are out there on the web.
This is a comprehensive, detailed listing of all of the art schools that are out there, broken down by intended profession.
The Niche rankings collect and grade art schools throughout the United States; according to the website, their “ranking is based on key statistics and student reviews using data from the U.S. Department of Education.”
The Top Universities website has a great ranking of the best Art and Design schools not only in the United States, but across the globe. The Royal College of Art, in the United Kingdom, comes out on top in their rankings.
If you’re seeking out a job in the arts in higher education, take a gander through the listings on the College Art Association’s website. You can search by keyword and location, and also set up new job alerts.
Interested in a career in the arts, or as a career as an art teacher? This handy, helpful career resources guide from ArtEducators.org is a fabulous place to start.
If you’re looking to try to get into a career working in the arts for museums, the American Alliance of Museums is one of the best possible places to start. Their website has an excellent listing of jobs.
This SchoolsintheUSA brief gives a good overview of what an art instructor does and how you can start with this type of career.
There are hundreds of art career jobs out there every day.
Finding the right one can certainly be a hassle! However, here we’ve put together a fine list of the creative job sites that are out there on the web for you to look through.
The “Art Career Cafe” doesn’t really serve any croissants or muffins - just a load of new art-industry jobs on a regular basis, calling itself “a creative worksource for the arts job seeker.” They also have a helpful job for anyone who may be interested in learning more about the industry.
The advocacy group at Americans for the Arts is doing fantastic work around the country, and they have a robust job board on their website where you may be able to find a job or two.
Interested in something in the graphic arts field? The American Institute for Graphic arts has a fine website with a nice directory of all the jobs available, ready to pick through.
For those that might want to work with ceramic and glass, the Ceramic and Glass Industry Foundation will help you break in (no pun intended). The listings are paid for, so there shouldn’t be too much waste there.