Graphic Artists

There's an unfortunate ideology among many artists: that a true artist is always starving. This need not be true. Though commercial art is sometimes looked upon as less of a true art than other forms, the skills and techniques used by graphic artists are of no less sophistication and merit than those used by other artists. Graphic designers are able to enjoy profitable careers, sometimes create great works of art in the course of their day and are afforded an opportunity to constantly refine their skills.

A useful axiom among artists of all types is that practice makes perfect. Writers must write, musicians must perform and artists must keep working. Any opportunity to use one's skills offers refinement and a better understanding of one's strengths and weaknesses. This is the practice of art, the quest to always improve and to create better works. Graphic artists are among the most fortunate in this regard. Rather than having to self-discipline to ensure that they spend enough time working, they are given compensation for their time spent refining their skills and build a portfolio of projects they can use to advertise themselves. This opportunity to constantly learn and improve-and to feed one's self in the process-is something about which most artists dream without realizing their dream is actually a rather common occupation.

Commercial artists are among the most steadily-employed of graphic artists. They generally enjoy full-time jobs, sometimes with benefits, and the ability to introduce some stability into their lives by having a steady stream of income. This income, of course, can be put toward the production of other projects which has the effect of making the artist more independent. Rather than relying on grants and other forms of philanthropy, the artist can fund their own work. While a working fine artist may have to adjust their product to fit current consumer tastes, graphic artists can rely on their work income to support themselves and produce any type of art they want for their personal satisfaction; tremendously empowering.

In reality, graphic artists oftentimes serve to satisfy society's need for art. Their works may be commercial, but they're also created with aesthetics and form in mind and designed to offer the viewer something stimulating during the course of their day. The power of integrating art into everyone's life, not just the academy world, should not be discounted as an instance of compromise.