the successful artists I know have a few things in common. The first thing is that they are always producing something - they’re creating every day, whether for a client or for their own personal projects. The second thing is that they work well with clients, editors, and others they have to interact with, and this means sometimes making changes where necessary, even if it might be a change the artist personally disagrees with. The third thing is that they reliably meet their deadlines, which is a concept a lot of artists don’t seem to grasp.
One friend went from comics to animation and now directs shows for major studios. Another directs features for major studios. A third supplements their income by teaching, but has one completed graphic novel on the shelves and another on the way.
The unsuccessful artists I know - and they vastly outweigh the successful ones - have a multitude of excuses for their lack of success, but 99% of the time it boils down to a simple “they don’t do the work.”
I’d say that my former roommate definitely qualifies as such. But, OTOH, he also has a bunch of psychological issues, so unfounded resentment towards society, in general, is just one of his personality “features.”
OTOH, my guitar instructor does, I think, have some resentment – though, it’s not towards society in general, but more towards the guidance he received (in high school and college) about pursuing a degree in music. It left him saddled with a boatload of student debt, which he’s spent 20 years struggling to pay back.
The few I’ve known who’ve had that attitude were usually bitter that worse or lazier artists/musicians/performers were successful and they were not, because they were good and worked hard and got nowhere, and these other people were not as good/not as hard working and were successful.
Or in many cases that the successful ones came from a background that allowed them sufficient time to fail until they could manage to be successful.
Basically sour grapes all around, but understandable.
Growing up, my family always told me that “Art is a good hobby, but you’ll never make any money at it.” Well, I proved them wrong- I’ve been working in the game industry now for 25 years, as a VFX artist. I honestly can’t imagine doing anything else- I love what I do, and I think it’s the best job in the world.
The industry itself can be… volatile. I’ve had to move all over the US, and I’m now in Canada. I’ve gone up to 3 months without a job, but I’m so specialized that my position is almost always in demand.
I make really good money at it. My wife has three degrees and has been a bookkeeper/accountant for about 20 years now, and she’s never even come close to my salary (which actually kind of bothers me- as I have no education at all).
I can think of 3 people off hand who are #5. I went to high school with someone who became a best selling author. Ms. P’s mom is also a successful author, but not a household name. Ms. P’s cousin is a producer who has worked on several successful tv shows. None of the 3 were overnight successes. My mother-in-law wasn’t the main breadwinner in the family, although I suspect she did well once her books started appearing on bookstore shelves a couple of times per year.
Our younger son is a screenwriting major, so he’ll probably have a long road ahead of him if he sticks with it. His cousin says that there are a lot more opportunities in the business than there used to be.
I’m a musician. I’ve known many musicians who work at something else to make a living, who work at something else because they got fed up with the music business (many possible reasons why,) some musicians who do make a living at it but are pretty burnt out and disillusioned, and some musicians who do have a music career and are happy about it.
I myself am a composer and music arranger, and I love it. I need to get more into this work (I was sick much of last year,) and I’m glad to be working on it more these days.
Depends on how loosely you define “know” but I’ve been acquainted with at least a handful of musical artists who’ve managed to make a living independently for quite some time. Some of them, especially in recent years, had to get other jobs like working in bars, club promoting, etc. However, some really know how to monetize that whole “1000 fans” thing and make a living through live performances, merch, and still selling recorded music (think specialty releases serving fans… I know guys you’ve never heard of who can sell out a 500 unit run of vinyl at $80). Also more of a “friend of friend” only met briefly thing, but know a couple guys making 7 figures without ever having a hit song or recording by doing the previous thing on a higher scale, relentless touring, giving away music for free, specialty merch and viral art type stuff. Then there are completely broke people who are famous and getting pennies here and there after several other corporate levels take their cut.
For years, I did my art work in my spare time, in evenings and weekends. I basically got nowhere. I was doing it while tired and emotionally spent. Then, in 2005, at the age of 60, I quit my day job and devoted myself to doing my art work full-time. It’s blossomed since then.
My problem is that, although I’m very good at my art, I’m really awful at marketing it. Whatever sales I’ve made have been word-of-mouth. I get about 3.5K-4K per piece, which is nice, but not frequently enough to be a viable income.
Now I have physical health problems which slow down my production. Each piece takes me about two months to finish. That really sucks. But all in all, I’d still rather be doing this than anything else.
I had a friend ( Dead now) He played in a well known band but still couldn’t make a living off of his 4 month European tours. One day I suggested he try playing country western instead of just blues and he exploded on me. I responded by reminding him that I wasn’t the one bumming cigarettes.
I have a friend who’s over 70 and has never had a boss. She made her living selling her art at shows, fairs, and the like. Her work includes photography and textile art. She lives in a very nice house in Berkeley, and is pretty much retired at this point, although she and her husband do make some money renting out their downstairs on Airbnb. I’m sure she saved for retirement, and she had/has health insurance, but I wouldn’t call these “benefits.” You get benefits from an employer.
Another friend, a neighbor, is an accomplished oil painter who also worked for years teaching art at Tufts University. She’s in her 70s and still paints. Also, about once a year, she goes on a trip to someplace like Italy or Mexico and teaches painting to tourists. I’m sure her university job had benefits.