Art as a Profession: Why Parents Shouldn't Dismiss a Career in the Arts for Their Children

I have a dream job. I make video games and get paid a decent amount to do so. I can't count the number of times that I have told people what I do and they are incredulous because they weren't aware that it was possible to do something artistic and get paid for it. My degree is in Animation and I've also had people say that they had no idea you could even get a degree in that. Despite all of the video games on the shelf at the store, and all the movies that are out, and all of the advertising that you see around you, they hadn't thought about the fact that someone had to make all of it.

Now, not all art fields are created equal. Some art fields are freelance and it can be hard, especially at first to get a steady job. Examples of freelance jobs are often those in the fields of Illustration, Painting, and Sequential Art. These fields can take years to break into and require hard work and dedication, but it's not impossible to find work in them. Commercial art on the other hand is in high demand and pays very well. Commercial art is where you work for a studio to create work to be published to the general public. Examples of such fields are Graphic Design, Advertising Design, Game Development, Animation, and Visual Effects.

There are many colleges that offer both Bachelor and Master's degrees in specific art fields. It doesn't matter much which college you choose to attend, although some things to consider are facilities, what sort of experience the faculty have and that it is an accredited program. Some colleges are private and therefore expensive, but they are often the best ones and will give you the best opportunity to get a job. There are student loans available, some with a 30 year term of repayment, to those who cannot afford to attend college. Cost should not stop you from pursuing your dreams.

So when your child comes to you and says that they want to be an animator when they grow up, don't dismiss them out of hand. Don't let the cost of college scare you either. The cost of college is far less than the cost of not having an education. After all, top animators at Disney during their heyday in the early 90s were making more than a million dollars a year. And even if they don't wind up making millions, it's worth it to have a job you absolutely love. It makes it easy to get up and go to work everyday when you like what you do.