An interesting study “Creativity and bipolar disorder: Touched by fire or burning with questions?” by the US National Library of Medicine  explores the apparent association between creativity and bipolar disorder. Sounds depressing, however just because your an artists doesn’t mean your crazy.

The sensitive nature of artists, the very thing that is a strength for the powers of observation and expression, can also be an Achilles heel. However, all personalities have their own challenges.

As in every profession there are extremes. Artists can find healthy ways to deal with sensitivities through health, the gift of expressing themselves through their art and keeping a balanced perspective.

Artists Are Starving
Some may believe to choose a career in the visual arts you might as well adopt a mindset of the starving artist. This just isn’t true. Granted you might not get rich off your art however there are many ways you can make a living incorporating art into your career choice.

Graphic Design – good graphic designers are in demand and effective graphic design is built on a foundation of art. Any graphic designer that wants an edge should work on non-digital skills such as drawing, painting and more.

Web Design – web design is much more than the technical. The technical can be learned, there are numerous online classes. However, the visual skills, the artistic ability and interpretation is what makes a website above and beyond the typical template website and this takes skill and creativity.

Illustrators, digital and non digital illustrators have opportunities for careers and career growth. Books, advertisements, online and offline advertising will always need  concepts illustrated that just can’t be communicated with photography. In addition, good commercial design illustrators can make passive income selling their work on stock illustration sites.

With all the opportunities for traditional and non-traditional artists to market online through their website and social media, artists can go even further in having their work noticed and PAID FOR. Additionally if they are willing to teach and conduct workshops, share their skills, they can do well in remaining visible and relevant.

Artist Are Flaky
Some artist are flaky just like anyone else. Artist tend to get the flake label when they don’t meet deadlines, can’t be counted on to finish what they start, or have to wait for the mood to strike. If your an artist for enjoyment you can be as flaky as you want. Create when the mood strikes! If your in it as a profession you have to create on demand and this takes skill, dedication, and self discipline.

For visual creators that want to make a career of it, it’s essential to stay professional!

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The only drawback about online color resources is that they are not a true match to print (unless you have the CMYK or Pantone number) since different screens have different resolutions and settings. The only way to insure perfect matches with print color is using a Pantone book.

Adobe Kuler has graduated from a simple web-based colour tool to a fully fledged theme generation and sharing resource. Plugins are available for all the main Adobe tools including Photoshop, Illustrator and InDesign, making it a great integrated tool for regular Creative Suite users.

COLOURlovers is a community designed around the sharing and appreciation of colors, palettes design and patterns. Similar to Pinterest, it provides a easy way to share your inspiration with other color lovers.

COLRD can be a source of inspiration as you discover color palettes, designs and patterns generated by its users. Similar to Pinterest and is a pool of visual stimulation.

ColorHunter is a fun way to explore new color palettes from images uploaded by users. It’s quick to use and its more about the ‘hunt’ of new things than a color generator tool.

There are a variety of other tools online for color. The above are just a few and my personal favorite when looking for inspiration is Color Lovers.

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