A tip for those that want to be in college

Unlike traditional degrees or pathways like studying to become a doctor or scientist. You don't really need a degree to have a creative career in certain fields. Creative fields like graphic design you might need a bachelor's degree if you want to work for a firm. Otherwise, you can pursue your passion all you need is heart and a truly amazing portfolio. Going to college is great for making connections and if you really want to go I suggest major in something else that also interests you. Why? It's due to the fact that most creative degrees are useless to the workplace. There are so many jobless graduates with degrees in film, fine art, photography, and etc.

I would suggest finding something else you are interested in to major in. The number one major I would say is some form of business because as a creative person you will need to understand business in order to survive as a freelancer. You can still minor in the field you want to go into if it's creative. Unless you are trying to be an architect, then I suggest you major in Architecture with a minor in business. An architecture teacher once told me that all the architects who end up losing their business is because they don't know a single damn thing about business.

How to find your creative career

The one tip I can offer you in this realm is to experiment. You can just read about a subject but you won't truly know if you like or dislike the activity until you do it. So make a list of activities that interest you and then go try them. If you don't like them or you don't feel like it's the activity for you then put it on the shelf and try another one. I recently did this and I've learned a lot about my interests.

I painted, did some ink work, fashion illustration, and many other things. I narrowed down my list of what I would like to do every day. I can honestly tell you that list is very small but I have a few other interests to try. I will continue to try new things after I submit this post. The only way to find your career is to do as much as you can and pursue the one you find is the most fulfilling for you. Photography has been something I've always done and I truly believe it is my passion. But I don't stop there, I keep trying new interests because I always liked design as well. So I'm exploring and experimenting with different design fields. Don't stop experimenting and always follow your heart. 

Tip of the Day: Don't compare yourself to others

One of the most annoying elements of being a creative is comparing yourself to others. But this could kill your motivation to learn the field you are studying. If you can barely draw a person and you compare yourself to a classmate who can draw the statue of David in an hour you will lose all faith and give in to frustration. What you need to do, is just accept you are not in the place to be shoulders to shoulders to those people. You need to work harder and harder to gain a position in which you no longer compare yourself to others. It's a psychological problem that you will need to address or you will never reach your full potential.

I compared myself to others a lot but when I did that I got so frustrated that I wanted to quit. After looking at sketchbooks I completed in my first year of college I realized that I was improving slowly. Now, I am much better but it takes some time to fully understand this.

To my anime loving animators: Sorry

The tip of the day is don't let your art be fully inspired by anime. Most American schools do not like it if your artwork is inspired by anime. I've heard of some wonderful artists getting lower grades because their animation has anime influence even when they are stellar animators. A teacher told us that this because that is not the style of American animation. There are only a few animation companies that hire people that have a portfolio with an anime influence. Sure, you can always try to go to Japan but that is harder than it sounds. Even if you do get accepted by a studio there, you will start at the bottom of the hierarchy.

This was hard for me, as I was influenced by Studio Ghibli work. Generally, speaking anime is not good in western standards because they don't really follow all of the principles of animation. There are a few exceptions like Hayao Miyazaki movies, Cowboy Bebop, etc. You have to be careful where you draw influence from. I know the school I went every single young person was influenced by at least one anime.