Feature Story
Doing What You Love: Careers in Art
By Lynda C. Kerr, Ed.D.
Visual Arts Instructor
Dutchtown High School
Hampton, Georgia
A large red banner hangs on my art studio wall with a quote by an unknown author: "Do what you love and love what you do, and you'll never work another day in your life." Today more than 1.25 million Americans are employed in the visual arts. Jobs in design have increased 43% in the past 10 years. The creative industries are an important international export industry for the United States, estimated at $30 billion a year. Employment of artists and related workers is expected to grow between 9 and 17% through the year 2014.*
Identifying realistic career possibilities is not easy for adolescents. Lack of information is one obstacle. In a longitudinal study, Carol Schmurak found that, in general, teachers were not effective sources for career information because many were unaware of careers associated with their respective subjects (Schmurak, 1999). Teachers of art and theatre were the exceptions, providing some career information to students in the study. As art teachers, we can weave career information into our curriculum. Class discussions might touch upon ways designers use the elements of art in solving creative problems. Art and design schools offer a variety of opportunities for students to develop their creativity and to advance their technology skills. We can encourage students to explore ways to bring art and technology together in a satisfying career.
Technology has been the impetus for an explosion of new careers in design. Cutting-edge films such as Avatar have opened up a whole spectrum of new professions, like motion capture editor and visual effects artist. Motion capture is an animation technique in which the movements of an animated object are created on computers from the actions of a real-world actor or object. Visual effects are employed whenever filmmakers need images that are either impossible or impractical to shoot in the real world.
Human communication and computer skills come together in game design and animation. Interactive game design requires creative skill to develop a dynamic visual experience, and programming skills to make the game move. Animators convey storytelling through the illusion of animated character motion.
If it sounds as if everything is now being done on computers, don't throw out the drawing pencils yet. Drawing hones those critical abilities to see, think, and discern. Erin Bennett Banks of the Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD) in Savannah, Georgia, points out that drawing skills are basic: "We strongly encourage high school students to take as many art classes as possible, and take advantage of opportunities to learn how to improve drawing skills. When students apply to SCAD, they can submit a portfolio and be reviewed for artistic scholarship. So taking the time to develop these skills now may pay off!"
Art teachers are in a great position to help students learn about the new careers in design. Art college representatives and design professionals can present to your class. You might feature the "Career of the Week" on your school Web site or art room bulletin board. If your school has no Career Day, let your students do the research and present your own Career Day in class.
It's important to educate parents, too. Donna Schicho of Full Sail University in Winter Park, Florida, advises parents, "Look at your child's interests as possible careers. Video games are the second fastest-growing industry in the world. Don't think of art as a 'hobby.' Their elective could be their passion—and bloom into a wonderful career."
We had been talking in my classes about the advantages of doing creative work as a job. Josh, one of my ninth grade students, told me he had already decided how to use his art talent in a future career: Josh was going to be a tattoo artist. After my class saw a high tech video presentation by a design college representative, Josh was very excited. He had found a new vocational plan: animator for film and television, with game design on the side. I think he's going to find a career he loves.
*Statistics provided by Ringling College of Art and Design.
References
Shmurak, C. (1999). Career aspirations of young women in high school and college: a seven-year longitudinal study. Paper presented at the Annual Conference of the American Educational Research Association, Montreal, Canada, April 19-23, 1999.