6 Affordable Resources to Better Your Art — Without Going Back to School
Creatives, I have a hot take for you: You don’t always need a fancy masters degree to better your craft. Yes, I said it! I’m all about pursuing higher ed for getting a well-rounded education, gaining connections and learning something new, but continuing to go after multiple degrees, diplomas and certificates isn’t always necessary for certain professions.** For example, you may want to pursue business and marketing in undergrad so you can start an advertising agency, but you don’t need to go back to traditional school to keep up-to-date with new advertising trends or to better your graphic design skills once you’re already running your business.
A lot of creatives fall into the trap of dishing out thousands of dollars for education or they can easily burn themselves out because they don’t have enough time to commit to another university program. But thankfully, there are a lot of free and affordable ways to better your art — whichever medium it may be. Here are a few of my favorites:
6 Affordable Resources to Better Your Art
Find a mentor
Mentors can shape your career path and motivate your creative passion projects. (I’ve had a few mentors throughout my career as a creative and they’ve many doors for me that I wouldn’t have imagined existed.) You’ll want to choose a mentor that is trustworthy, motivating and in alignment with who you want to be.
Now there are two different types of mentors: primary and secondary. Primary mentors are those who you work with 1:1 and that you know in your personal life. You can find these mentors through work and connections. Secondary mentors, on the other hand, are those that you don’t have a personal relationship with, but you consume their content on social media, through books or video. Secondary mentors are easier to find and can still have an enriching impact on you. Something to keep in mind is that you can have multiple mentors and they can be a mix of primary and secondary. There is no limit to the power a mentor can have on you.
Read relevant books
I don’t know about you, but I find reading the most helpful when trying to educate myself on a new piece or bettering my current art. If you’re in the same camp, I highly recommend finding either an educational and/or motivational read to help you further your skills. Here are a few books for intuitive creatives that have greatly impacted me and my creative journey.
Life hack: Look up relevant class syllabuses to see what books they’re reading throughout a semester. You can then purchase these off of Amazon or other online retailers so you can independently study. This is a cost-effective way to cover some of the content you would in the classroom.
Check out LinkedIn Learning
Okay here me out: LinkedIn is good for one thing at least — its learning platform. I’m serious guys. LinkedIn Learning has hundreds of courses to help you better a wide of variety of skills, from how to start a business to content creation 101. They also offer course series so you can deepen your knowledge on niche topics. LinkedIn Learning is also extremely helpful to use when you’re looking to pivot creative careers as you can earn certificates and post them to your LinkedIn profile, which can help you land that dream job of yours.
Watch TikTok and Youtube videos
Believe it or not, but TikTok and Youtube can be used for more than brain-rotting videos (aka my favorite kind). TikTok and Youtube are the search engines of our generation and can be utilized as a helpful resources for learning quick hacks on your medium. Need to learn a new guitar chord or some moves for a dance routine? These social media platforms will provide all the inspiration and tips you could ever need.
Discover free community classes
Research for free or discounted offerings in your community. You’ll be surprised to how many classes, workshops and artist Q&As there can be — especially in larger cities. If your area doesn’t offer any, check out a nearby museum to learn more about the artists and makers. Some museums even offer free guided tours that can help you get the educational piece you’re craving, that can in turn get the creative juices going.
Learn more about how Peter Borowski, filmmaker and engineer, has leaned on his community to learn about film without traditional education. Listen here on Spotify or Apple Podcasts!
Practice, practice, practice
You know what they say: Practice makes perfect. Finetune and perfect your art by setting a habit of creating just to create. Even if you set aside only five minutes each day to practice, that’s 1,825 minutes of creating in just one year. Imagine what that time could do to your work!
**This may or may not apply to you! If there’s a position or field you’re interested in working in, research to determine whether your current education fits your aspired role. (And hey, if you want to go back to school just for the sake of it, and you have the money and time, go for it! You can never be overeducated). Furthering your education has plenty of benefits, like making connections and gaining experience from educated professors.
