College stuff. I need some advice. xP I'm currently attending an the American Academy of Art, and as the name suggests, I'm majoring in Digital Illustration. I'm currently only in my first few weeks here, but I'm debating on whether this is really what I want. I really do like drawing. I suck at it, but I want to get better. I'm having a really hard time right now, though. It's not too late for me to switch majors (I was also considering Photography) and it's not too late to transfer to a music school. See, the thing is I can't decide what I want to do. I love music, and I actually have the patience to practice piano and singing and such... even taking the time to enjoy it. I also really love drawing and other visual arts, but I'm not good at those either; the only difference is that I can sit down with a blank piece of paper in front of me for hours before drawing a few lines then deciding to scrap it. Usually isn't too enjoyable since I can't draw well, and I listen to music during it, too. So I was hoping for advice, if possible. I really am trying to decide between three things: Drawing, music, or photography. This is a really big choice for me. :I
If you're good at music, and you find yourself spending more of your energy towards that vs photography or drawing, then i'd say go for it. What's your goal after college? that should help influence your decision as well. When I was in hs I spent all my time in art classes, and had interned for a freelance graphic designer before my senior year. I genuinely love graphic and mixed media arts but it's fucking hard to make a living unless you're a genius at marketing.
Hm not really advice...but I'll type it out anyways. Well i'd say what is your long term goals? What do you see yourself doing after college? Personally I suck at drawing, but I ended up doing fine (and still loving) doing mixed media stuff (I did interactive arts & design). So far I'm doing some independent app development...which also means I'm unemployed :S
I'd love to be a concept artist for a gaming company or something of the likes. I'd like doing commissions for people, too, as a freelance artist or something. Idk though. I really don't see myself doing anything other than failing at life. xP
I would go for whatever i enjoyed the most, regardless of how much i sucked at it. School is supposed to help you fine tune your skills as well as learn new ones.. so you never know you could just end up fucking fantastic after finding the correct program to work with
There is no such thing as inherent skill (or so some psychologists say). You get good by deep practicing for hours and hours. The thing you are best as will probably be the think you are most happy working on. If you don't enjoy working on your drawing, then your answer might be right there. If you enjoy practicing music, then there is probably potential there.
I wouldn't worry about which of the three you're good at right now - after all, that's part of the reason to actually study it and improve, right? Worry about which one you're going to enjoy the most. You don't seem to talk a bunch about photography so far here, but maybe that's just because it's not on your mind right now. It seems like you already have a handle on music and can practice and perform that, and even get some strength out of it (listening to music while trying to work on other things), so that might be something to consider. As for drawing and visual arts, it sounds like you want to be good at them, but don't have the background and practice yet. If you had that, though, would you be more excited about that than your background and talent with music? Or, if you externalized it - think about other people. Who are you more impressed by - someone producing drawings and sketches for art shows and concept art for web pages, or someone performing piano or vocal pieces in a concert hall? The ability will come the more you practice and the more you're taught - but which person would you ultimately rather be?
