I am based in the UK, and currently work the full 9-5 office job nothing special.
I have always wanted to have a career in art. I went to college and got A level in Art, and then made the stupid mistake of leaving home, not realising the responsibilities that came with it. So I ended leaving college, and working Art remained a dream for many years.
Now I am 30 and still wanting to peruse this. I have tried telling myself over the years, I’m no good, to its just a hobby now, and that I should just give it up and stay in a “real” job, I have too many responsibilities now. But I can’t ignore it any more. I work in my spare time as a digital colourist for comics, I also do some traditional paintings for people but it’s just not enough, I can’t seem to be happy with this being a hobby or a part time pursuit.
Is there any chance or hope at my age to chase a career in Concept art? I know I have a bit of a hang up on my age, but I see all the 18-19 year olds going to uni etc to study what I want to do, getting the scholarships etc, and I think to myself what chance do I have? What opportunity could I grab, knowing I still have a mortgage and bills to pay at the end of the month? Are there distance learning courses for places in the UK, that I could do that are just as good?
Is freelance my only realistic option of working in this field now?
I do study an online course at the online London art college at the moment, currently starting from scratch. Only other thing I can think to do is follow free workshops develop a strong portfolio and apply online for any work that comes around.
Any feedback or thoughts how to get further in my situation would be much appreciated.
Hi, would you mind just editing your post up so that it reads in proper English and not line by line? I don't mean to sound harsh but I honestly immediately assumed you were a spam bot since that's the way most of them write and they've begun sneaking on here quite a lot. In regards to your question, if you have an office job and you're getting paid a decent wage and being treated alright you're lucky. I'm not saying you should give up being an artist since from the little I've experienced and how much I've talked to people it's soul destroying doing something so repetitive that you're not interesting for however many years. The only way you can ever be an artist is simple, practice, practice in your free time, practice at work when you have nothing to do on a sketchpad.
I have no idea what kind of education you've had in regards to artwork, everyone here would have to have a look at your stuff before jumping to any conclusions. It's not to late no matter what age you are, I myself have gotten around the system by finding myself an art tutor that I work very well with, in just two hours a week I learn more than I ever have in the schools I went to or my A Level Games Design course. It all depends on your situation, but the main thing is going to be putting the time in and practicing, with the way the economy is right now, I have no chance of getting a job since all I have is a worthless Games Design diploma and they all demand experience, be sure to keep your job since not only are you getting paid, but you also have the freedom to live on your own and manage your time by yourself better.
Hi, would you mind just editing your post up so that it reads in proper English and not line by line? I don't mean to sound harsh but I honestly immediately assumed you were a spam bot since that's the way most of them write and they've begun sneaking on here quite a lot. In regards to your question, if you have an office job and you're getting paid a decent wage and being treated alright you're lucky. I'm not saying you should give up being an artist since from the little I've experienced and how much I've talked to people it's soul destroying doing something so repetitive that you're not interesting for however many years. The only way you can ever be an artist is simple, practice, practice in your free time, practice at work when you have nothing to do on a sketchpad.
I have no idea what kind of education you've had in regards to artwork, everyone here would have to have a look at your stuff before jumping to any conclusions. As for university this is just my opinion but I don't think it's worth it at all now and you'd have to get the most fantastic education in return for fighting against crowds of younger students and paying the now soon to be extortionate fees that will be put in thanks to the maximum limit being raised. That said, it's not to late no matter what age you are, I myself have gotten around the system by finding myself an art tutor that I work very well with, in just two hours a week I learn more than I ever have in the schools I went to or my A Level Games Design course.
It all depends on your situation, but the main thing is going to be putting the time in and practicing, with the way the economy is right now, I have no chance of getting a job since all I have is a worthless Games Design diploma and they all demand experience, be sure to keep your job since not only are you getting paid, but you also have the freedom to live on your own and manage your time by yourself better.
Hi thanks for your reply. I didnt realise it posted it in that format, apologies for the confusion caused. I can only assume since I was typing in word before I copied to post it, space formating was on. I hope it is a bit easier to read now! I have a website (honeslty I am not a bot or a spammer lol) www.lisalamb.co.uk I will edit this post and showcase some recent stuff if people are not comfortable following the link.
I dont plan on leaving my job, unless I get really lucky and get a full time role working in concept work. I have been self taught so far, is that just a valid route to go down as well? Is university a bit overated now, considering its what you can do rather then have a diploma?
hi lisa and welcome to the forums. As you guessed it's probably better to post your work here as we are total lazy gits who hate to leave the site :D Also get a gallery here if you haven't already.
Having said that i did stray to the outer limits and visited your website, what sort of style will you be looking to work mainly in? from the colouring and some of your originals i see a mainly manga style. Also do you work with the airbrush mainly?
i think joining here will do you a world of good and build your style massively, we tend to like offering lots of advice, which usually means you end up repainting parts, but ending up with a way better image than you initially had. So as i said get posting some of your works and we can all give some pointers.
Hi, would you mind just editing your post up so that it reads in proper English and not line by line? I don't mean to sound harsh but I honestly immediately assumed you were a spam bot since that's the way most of them write and they've begun sneaking on here quite a lot. In regards to your question, if you have an office job and you're getting paid a decent wage and being treated alright you're lucky. I'm not saying you should give up being an artist since from the little I've experienced and how much I've talked to people it's soul destroying doing something so repetitive that you're not interesting for however many years. The only way you can ever be an artist is simple, practice, practice in your free time, practice at work when you have nothing to do on a sketchpad.
I have no idea what kind of education you've had in regards to artwork, everyone here would have to have a look at your stuff before jumping to any conclusions. As for university this is just my opinion but I don't think it's worth it at all now and you'd have to get the most fantastic education in return for fighting against crowds of younger students and paying the now soon to be extortionate fees that will be put in thanks to the maximum limit being raised. That said, it's not to late no matter what age you are, I myself have gotten around the system by finding myself an art tutor that I work very well with, in just two hours a week I learn more than I ever have in the schools I went to or my A Level Games Design course.
It all depends on your situation, but the main thing is going to be putting the time in and practicing, with the way the economy is right now, I have no chance of getting a job since all I have is a worthless Games Design diploma and they all demand experience, be sure to keep your job since not only are you getting paid, but you also have the freedom to live on your own and manage your time by yourself better.
Hi thanks for your reply. I didnt realise it posted it in that format, apologies for the confusion caused. I can only assume since I was typing in word before I copied to post it, space formating was on. I hope it is a bit easier to read now! I have a website (honeslty I am not a bot or a spammer lol) www.lisalamb.co.uk I will edit this post and showcase some recent stuff if people are not comfortable following the link.
I dont plan on leaving my job, unless I get really lucky and get a full time role working in concept work. I have been self taught so far, is that just a valid route to go down as well? Is university a bit overated now, considering its what you can do rather then have a diploma?
I've had a closer look at your artwork and it looks pretty good considering though I've noticed the anatomy looks a bit off in some of the paintings, what would be nice though if you got some lineart sketches as well so we can all have a proper look at everything going on and how much you understand. Also, by colorist do you mean painter? Not sure where I've heard that phrase before with artists.
I deleted my rant but considering uni from what I've seen it CAN be worth it but a lot of the times most of the courses seem very overrated, the problem is that while they offer up qualifications and the like they don't necessarily always offer up actual skills. One thing I believe is that they may well just end up wanting to take credit for the work you put in on your own learning and then that way they can say their student did all this because of us but that's just me, I pretty much hate our education system in the UK. Oh and of course they make you sign ridiculous Intellectual Property agreements so anything you make on their course is 'theirs' which is something that makes me rage as well.
hi lisa and welcome to the forums. As you guessed it's probably better to post your work here as we are total lazy gits who hate to leave the site :D Also get a gallery here if you haven't already.
Having said that i did stray to the outer limits and visited your website, what sort of style will you be looking to work mainly in? from the colouring and some of your originals i see a mainly manga style. Also do you work with the airbrush mainly?
i think joining here will do you a world of good and build your style massively, we tend to like offering lots of advice, which usually means you end up repainting parts, but ending up with a way better image than you initially had. So as i said get posting some of your works and we can all give some pointers.
Hi there and thank you for the welcome. I have created a gallery here at Imagine for anyone to browse if they wish. I do tend to stay with a Air Brush yes, I guess its my sercuity blanket in a way. I would like to try out new styles though.
Lethn:
LisamLamb:
Lethn:
Hi, would you mind just editing your post up so that it reads in proper English and not line by line? I don't mean to sound harsh but I honestly immediately assumed you were a spam bot since that's the way most of them write and they've begun sneaking on here quite a lot. In regards to your question, if you have an office job and you're getting paid a decent wage and being treated alright you're lucky. I'm not saying you should give up being an artist since from the little I've experienced and how much I've talked to people it's soul destroying doing something so repetitive that you're not interesting for however many years. The only way you can ever be an artist is simple, practice, practice in your free time, practice at work when you have nothing to do on a sketchpad.
I have no idea what kind of education you've had in regards to artwork, everyone here would have to have a look at your stuff before jumping to any conclusions. As for university this is just my opinion but I don't think it's worth it at all now and you'd have to get the most fantastic education in return for fighting against crowds of younger students and paying the now soon to be extortionate fees that will be put in thanks to the maximum limit being raised. That said, it's not to late no matter what age you are, I myself have gotten around the system by finding myself an art tutor that I work very well with, in just two hours a week I learn more than I ever have in the schools I went to or my A Level Games Design course.
It all depends on your situation, but the main thing is going to be putting the time in and practicing, with the way the economy is right now, I have no chance of getting a job since all I have is a worthless Games Design diploma and they all demand experience, be sure to keep your job since not only are you getting paid, but you also have the freedom to live on your own and manage your time by yourself better.
Hi thanks for your reply. I didnt realise it posted it in that format, apologies for the confusion caused. I can only assume since I was typing in word before I copied to post it, space formating was on. I hope it is a bit easier to read now! I have a website (honeslty I am not a bot or a spammer lol) www.lisalamb.co.uk I will edit this post and showcase some recent stuff if people are not comfortable following the link.
I dont plan on leaving my job, unless I get really lucky and get a full time role working in concept work. I have been self taught so far, is that just a valid route to go down as well? Is university a bit overated now, considering its what you can do rather then have a diploma?
I've had a closer look at your artwork and it looks pretty good considering though I've noticed the anatomy looks a bit off in some of the paintings, what would be nice though if you got some lineart sketches as well so we can all have a proper look at everything going on and how much you understand. Also, by colorist do you mean painter? Not sure where I've heard that phrase before with artists.
I deleted my rant but considering uni from what I've seen it CAN be worth it but a lot of the times most of the courses seem very overrated, the problem is that while they offer up qualifications and the like they don't necessarily always offer up actual skills. One thing I believe is that they may well just end up wanting to take credit for the work you put in on your own learning and then that way they can say their student did all this because of us but that's just me, I pretty much hate our education system in the UK. Oh and of course they make you sign ridiculous Intellectual Property agreements so anything you make on their course is 'theirs' which is something that makes me rage as well.
I plan to do some more recent sketches in photoshop to practice anatomy etc. After my current coloring jobs end, I mean to focus on this entirely now and not spread myself so thin. all the work in the gallery are originally done by me apart from one.
What I meant with colourist, is that usually in Photoshop I add colour to other peoples line art. 99% of the time, I colour comic books for pitches or be shown online. As a result my personal drawing ability has fallen back a bit.
I understand your frustration with the education system here in the UK. I think that’s why I have such a hard time trying to decide what to do and what direction to take.
Ah okay, yeah, if all you've done is colouring then I doubt that will be good enough for professional works if you can only colour mostly then I doubt you'll get very far I'm afraid, like I said though we need to check out your lineart. It's much better if everyone knows you're actually capable of making your own original work because I've seen people on here claiming stuff as their own when they've clearly traced over it or simply used other peoples work as collages etc. That goes for your portfolio site, it's far better to show original paintings and lineart since colouring really is just a small component of the overall skill an artist has.
Ah okay, yeah, if all you've done is colouring then I doubt that will be good enough for professional works if you can only colour mostly then I doubt you'll get very far I'm afraid, like I said though we need to check out your lineart. It's much better if everyone knows you're actually capable of making your own original work because I've seen people on here claiming stuff as their own when they've clearly traced over it or simply used other peoples work as collages etc. That goes for your portfolio site, it's far better to show original paintings and lineart since colouring really is just a small component of the overall skill an artist has.
Agreed that Colouring is a small component to industry as a whole. That's why I found myself here to learn and discover how to learn to better myself as a artist overall. That being said I don't just colour, I do my own original work which is at my website as well as the gallery here. I always credit where credit due, and always asked the artist permission to colour if it is a colouring job I am doing. Its just my own skills not as strong as I like it to be, which is why I am here to learn. I think I will follow a couple of workshops to give a better indication of my skill set.
woah, do not dismiss colourists, there are people employed at disney/pixar etc who are purely colourists, it's a bloody good skill to have! Yes of course you need knowledge of everything but i think alot of us here would like to have had that hat to wear at some point.
woah, do not dismiss colourists, there are people employed at disney/pixar etc who are purely colourists, it's a bloody good skill to have! Yes of course you need knowledge of everything but i think alot of us here would like to have had that hat to wear at some point.
lol! I'm just trying to be realistic with her/him (?) :P I've been on the receiving end on a lot of criticism about my artwork and the way I do things myself but I haven't let that bother me :D
Thing is, while there may well be people at those companies who just do nothing but colouring, they've probably had to go through all the processes of learning lineart, proportions, anatomy etc. just to be even considered for that kind of job and she'll still need to learn it so she/he can have a better chance of getting a job elsewhere in the industry if that idea fails.
In any case, I recommend starting your own sketchbook thread and then posting scribbles or lineart for people to look at it, then we can see where you're at.
Lisa, why do you specifically say that you want to be a concept artist? I had a look at your site, and I didn't see anything that was very "concept art" like. Unless there's some other stuff you've done in that genre? It seems a bit odd to me that you'd focus on wanting to persue that particular profession, when it doesn't appear to be the kind of work you do personally.
Lisa, why do you specifically say that you want to be a concept artist? I had a look at your site, and I didn't see anything that was very "concept art" like. Unless there's some other stuff you've done in that genre? It seems a bit odd to me that you'd focus on wanting to persue that particular profession, when it doesn't appear to be the kind of work you do personally.
I appreciate that my website of course gives that impression. My website over the last few years has been purely for the colorist work I did, and the odd logo and poster designs. So there isn’t a lot of personal stuff for me, mainly work I have done for others.
I did colorist work it as it was a way in to the art industry (small as it may) for me part time. Plus I enjoyed it. But I have always wanted to do concept work, mainly character design. I either didn’t have the time or for the most part confidence to do it before. This is why I have created a portfolio here to show more of my original works. Few as they are at this time.
Recently I made the decision to take a step back from colorist work and self develop and do what I wanted to do for a long time, or at least try it. I wanted to get out of the rut I got myself in. Which led me to wonder with my original question, had I left it too late to try?
Since posting here I think I should have done some new pieces before going in like a bull in a china shop, and posting hoping to find out the answers. I have since considered making a personal section on my site and post more personal work.
Which led me to wonder with my original question, had I left it too late to try?
I'd like to think the answer to that is "no". That the ability to do the work, on time and budget, are what is important. Age and qualifications don't matter.
However, while I think that's probably true of freelance work, it might not be so true in terms of seeking an actual 9-5, go-to-a-workplace type of employment, like an in-house concept artist. Despite what they might say about not discriminating when it comes to age, most companies (in any line of work) looking to take on an "apprentice" to learn on the job will employ somebody young. When they employ somebody more mature, they are frequently looking for experience (or at least experience in another profession with a similar, and transferable, skill set).
Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying you shouldn't give it a shot if it's what you really want, and it could work out great. But, truthfully, it will likely be more difficult than if you had done it at a younger age.
Also, on a different subject, don't sell youself cheap. I noticed on your site that you charge as little as $10 for colouring a comic book page - that works out at (with current exchange rates) a little over £6 for a few hours work. If you want to do stuff cheap or free as a favour for friends, that's okay; but if a total stranger commissions you for work, you should be charging at the very least an amount comparable to what you'd get working the same period of time in your current job. If you want to make art your living, you'll need to make enough money from it to live on.
Couldn't agree more on pricing. Also if you start out charging way too low you will struggle to increase your pricing.
Have a look at this link to the Scottish Artists Union rates of pay document. I actually consider these rates to be on the low side but it is a decent starting point.
Lethn:
