Need advice for helping a talented artist

lloydizle

Hey all! :)

It's actually being a while since I made a post on here and I'm hoping you awesome peeps can help! :)

So my girlfriends sister is an absolutely amazing artist! And I wanna help her in building a portfolio.

She is currently 17, and her talent is just out of this world and it would be great if others could see this talent as well!

So I actually have a few questions:

In terms of her portfolio, what websites would be best? I Dont know web design (but I could learn), and if someone would like to help me build one that would be great! I can't afford to spend much unfortunately, but if there is any way I can offer some sort of thanks, I would gladly do so. :)

In terms of studying: once she finishes high school, where would be the best places for her to study and build more upon this passion?

For the artists that are here. What advice could you give? Would it also be possible to arrange a meeting of any kind? I am based in Johannesburg and I would love if anyone could arrange a meeting with myself and her to offer some advice. I can also arrange a Skype conversation if that is also convenient.

She does have an interest in games as well, so in terms of artwork in games, what could help her in trying to get a job in this industry as an artist?

She is an absolutely amazing artist and really does have a gift and I wanna help her in any way I possibly can to turn her ambitions into a career.

All help would be greatly appreciated. Thank you! :)

dawidstrauss

Hey.
I think the perfect person to ask is @Elyaradine. He is probably the best person to ask about that. Good luck!

dammit

Where is your gfs sister based? It may be worth approaching studios nearby for job shadowing* or simply for feedback on her art.

*Personally, I feel most job shadows basically benefit more from having the person they're shadowing answer these questions than actually watching them do their work.

Elyaradine

As far as hosting a portfolio goes, ArtStation is currently pretty popular. Some artists also use a blog (like Tumblr) for posting more regular updates that might be works-in-progress and less suitable for an actual portfolio. There's also a surprisingly active Facebook art community in various groups (like "Level Up!"), despite Facebook generally having crap image compression.

As for whether/what/where to study, that largely depends on what she wants to do with her career. "Art" is pretty damn broad.

lloydizle

Apologies for late reply! Been extremely ill and off from work (with no internet at home) :(

dawidstrauss said:

Hey.
I think the perfect person to ask is @Elyaradine. He is probably the best person to ask about that. Good luck!

Thanks for the reply! :)

He just did! :P

dammit said:

Where is your gfs sister based? It may be worth approaching studios nearby for job shadowing* or simply for feedback on her art.

*Personally, I feel most job shadows basically benefit more from having the person they're shadowing answer these questions than actually watching them do their work.

Thanks for the reply!

She is based in Johannesburg as well :)

What would be the best way to approach Studios for Job shadowing? Would it be best to email a specific studio and go from there? Or would it be best to go there personally?

Elyaradine said:

As far as hosting a portfolio goes, ArtStation is currently pretty popular. Some artists also use a blog (like Tumblr) for posting more regular updates that might be works-in-progress and less suitable for an actual portfolio. There's also a surprisingly active Facebook art community in various groups (like "Level Up!"), despite Facebook generally having crap image compression.

As for whether/what/where to study, that largely depends on what she wants to do with her career. "Art" is pretty damn broad.

Thanks for the reply! I asked her to have a look at ArtStation and we will be working on something this weekend and I also asked her to look at Facebook groups or even just join some Art Club she could go to after school/weekends.

In terms of what she would like to do in art, that's where things get quite tricky.

Right now, she loves drawing by hand. She want's to take it further, but she is unsure what direction to go with it. Would it be possible if you could help?

Elyaradine

What would be the best way to approach Studios for Job shadowing? Would it be best to email a specific studio and go from there? Or would it be best to go there personally?

I imagine mailing is the best way. I don't think it's a good idea to show up to peoples' work unannounced; you have no idea if they're on some tight deadline where they wouldn't have time to meet with you.

Replying to your PM in a moment.

kidult

If she is 17 my advice would be just t practice and train really hard on her art, especially now while still in school with extra time. I'm sure Elyaradine will point her in the direction of some good online tuition.