Hi Y’all I’m back

[Jeremy Ross]

Welcome back @ArtofAleksey! We’ve missed you and glad you’re back!

[Nyrryl Cadiz]

@ArtofAleksey hiya!!! Welcome back!!!

[ArtofAleksey]

@Jeremy-Ross @Nyrryl-Cadiz haha thanks

I am excited to be back and also take a break from classes and work to do my comic. How've you guys been?

[ambria]

@ArtofAleksey Hello! I'm still pretty new here, so I look forward to getting to know you and seeing your art!

[carlianne]

Yay GOOD LUCK!!!!!!!

[K.Flagg]

Welcome Back!

[K.Flagg]

I did see your post on IG about taking some time off to work on your comic. That is so exciting. I just started working on mine again too.

[ArtofAleksey]

@ambria hey! Nice to meet you!

@carlianne @K-Flagg thanks! Looking forward to seeing yours too

[burvantill]

Welcome back to the forum! Congratulations and best of luck on being an independent artist

[Neha Rawat]

Suuuper! Welcome back! And Congratulations! And Best of luck!

[chrisaakins]

@ArtofAleksey welcome back friend! I’ve missed you!

[Tristan Lapetz]

What an inspiration! Thank you for sharing, I hope to follow in similar footsteps one day and quit my grocery work for art. Can I ask how you managed to balance your work and life and relationships with practice, study, and improvement in art?

[ArtofAleksey]

@Tristan-Lapetz said in Hi Y’all I’m back:

What an inspiration! Thank you for sharing, I hope to follow in similar footsteps one day and quit my grocery work for art. Can I ask how you managed to balance your work and life and relationships with practice, study, and improvement in art?

Balance? Haha. It was never balanced. When you gotta worry about paying bills your mind and priorities shift. But thats normal. I eventually managed to move up the ladder enough where being part time allowed me to stay afloat. With my spare time i took classes and watched tutorials etc until i got good enough to have the confidence to quit my retail gig. Granted though ive been developing a story idea for quite some time now so i have something to focus on while looking for paid work. (Oh and the savings you need that, most people dont wanna pay you for your art)

Most important thing tho is you need to enjoy whatever you’re doing

[Tristan Lapetz]

@ArtofAleksey Thank you for such a succinct and solid description! I definitely understand that the key is to do what you enjoy and that it's nearly impossible to make a life out of art if you don't love it. I live a relatively low expense lifestyle and can maintain it with 4 days of retail so hopefully things will fall in place as my efforts ramp. Steadily I'm tinkering away at this art spaceship while my peers keep wondering where I've been. One day I'll sputter off into the cosmos never to return!

Thank you again for the inspiration and guidance.

[ArtofAleksey]

@Tristan-Lapetz yeah. But also depending on where you live, many artists have both an art career and another job. Especially in metropolitan areas. It doesn’t make you any less of a professional

[Laurasketches]

Hey Hey! Welcome back... and... same.

[Tristan Lapetz]

@ArtofAleksey Thanks for the reminder, that makes perfect sense of course. Definitely alleviates some pressure too.

[ArtofAleksey]

@Tristan-Lapetz what most likely will end up happening with me is ill spend 6months-a year improving my art and will reassess my finances every few months to see if i need to go back to work

[LisaF]

Welcome back @ArtofAleksey!!

[Tristan Lapetz]

@ArtofAleksey This seems like a safe and smart approach. I look forward to seeing your trajectory and I absolutely wish you the best!