Art Takes Time and Energy
Nov. 17th, 2022 07:56 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
rynlingBecause I'm terrible at math, I'm just going to tell you how much I make per contracted projects, plus some relevant information in terms of Life Stuff.
https://trungles.tumblr.com/post/701032492328714240/hello-long-time-follower-just-on-other-platforms
I started making art in 2012-ish as well, but only semi-professionally, and barely on purpose. I was employed full-time in a non-art job between 2013 and 2018 at a local non-profit. Throughout this time, I was working 40 hours a week at my day job, commuting between 2-4 hours a day depending on the weather (my commute was an hour for each direction in good weather and up to three hours if it snowed), and then working on comics for 3-4 hours in the evening, every evening. This meant that I would frequently be working anywhere between 65-85 hours a week for five years, and I do not recommend this! I burned out pretty bad! I didn’t go to art school or learn about comics, either, so I felt like I had to spend time building my portfolio to make up for lost time.
This is a really good post. Trungles doesn't come out and say it, but he's talking about the infamous "seven-year line" to get into a creative industry. Basically, most people can't just roll up to the door and walk in. Instead, you have to spend years networking and building a portfolio before maybe -maybe!- you get a lucky break.
I think Trungles has three benefits that helped him succeed. First, he is extremely talented in multiple fields, and he has been from the very beginning. Second, he is blessed with the energy to sit down every day and devote multiple consecutive hours to creative projects. And third, is extremely friendly and sociable while still being emotionally mature. I've met him multiple times, and he is just as kind and friendly in real life as he is on Twitter. His personality is a gift to this world, and I mean that sincerely.
Not everyone can be Trungles. I most definitely can't be Trungles, especially with no fundamental talent, intense ADHD, and a garbage personality. But still, his story helps me think about two things that I need to do:
First, in terms of visual art, I need to build a portfolio, or at least figure out what "building a portfolio" means. What sort of art do I want to showcase and be known for? What sort of art could I conceivably create for other people?
Second, in terms of writing, there really is a hustle to it. You have to go out, and you have to network, and you have to do it in a way that doesn't make you feel like garbage at the end of the day. So how does that work, exactly? What sort of communities exist, and what resources are available?
https://trungles.tumblr.com/post/701032492328714240/hello-long-time-follower-just-on-other-platforms
I started making art in 2012-ish as well, but only semi-professionally, and barely on purpose. I was employed full-time in a non-art job between 2013 and 2018 at a local non-profit. Throughout this time, I was working 40 hours a week at my day job, commuting between 2-4 hours a day depending on the weather (my commute was an hour for each direction in good weather and up to three hours if it snowed), and then working on comics for 3-4 hours in the evening, every evening. This meant that I would frequently be working anywhere between 65-85 hours a week for five years, and I do not recommend this! I burned out pretty bad! I didn’t go to art school or learn about comics, either, so I felt like I had to spend time building my portfolio to make up for lost time.
This is a really good post. Trungles doesn't come out and say it, but he's talking about the infamous "seven-year line" to get into a creative industry. Basically, most people can't just roll up to the door and walk in. Instead, you have to spend years networking and building a portfolio before maybe -maybe!- you get a lucky break.
I think Trungles has three benefits that helped him succeed. First, he is extremely talented in multiple fields, and he has been from the very beginning. Second, he is blessed with the energy to sit down every day and devote multiple consecutive hours to creative projects. And third, is extremely friendly and sociable while still being emotionally mature. I've met him multiple times, and he is just as kind and friendly in real life as he is on Twitter. His personality is a gift to this world, and I mean that sincerely.
Not everyone can be Trungles. I most definitely can't be Trungles, especially with no fundamental talent, intense ADHD, and a garbage personality. But still, his story helps me think about two things that I need to do:
First, in terms of visual art, I need to build a portfolio, or at least figure out what "building a portfolio" means. What sort of art do I want to showcase and be known for? What sort of art could I conceivably create for other people?
Second, in terms of writing, there really is a hustle to it. You have to go out, and you have to network, and you have to do it in a way that doesn't make you feel like garbage at the end of the day. So how does that work, exactly? What sort of communities exist, and what resources are available?
no subject
Date: 2022-11-18 05:35 pm (UTC)...the fact that we have structured society such that one must take on a second, full time, unpaid job to make change in one's life is so horrifying I think I have to just look away for a while or else meltdown.
no subject
Date: 2022-11-19 01:05 pm (UTC)For me, the most real part of this essay is Trungles's honesty about how much money it takes to hustle. Having to work a full-time job in order to be able to print zines and go to comic conventions sounds about right. Even if you make back your table fee and printing costs from sales, the travel adds up quickly.
Before I left DC, I actually had to consolidate my credit card debt from academic conference travel. I had all sorts of travel grants and subventions, but they weren't enough, and I'm still paying off that loan. When I think about the prospect of having to do the same thing in order to boost my career as a writer, it makes me so tired.
no subject
Date: 2022-11-23 06:07 pm (UTC)