Hey kids, just doing a quick informal survey. Renderosity's tag line is "Online Graphic Artist's Community", and I was curious as to how many folks hereabouts are art professionals...artists, illustrators, graphic designers, web designers, or related fields. This question is not regarding the content or quality of your work, but rather if art, this type or any other, is your primary means of income. Just a friendly question...

Graphics grinder by profession. Been in graphics for 20 years ;P UGHH

Nope, it's just plain 'ole fun to me :)

I have been a professional illustrator for 13 years Web design is becoming a hobby for me.

I, Artiste.

web designer by trade, webmaster is where I get most of my income.

Freelance digital artist here.

Artist , graphic artist,photographer and webmaster .

I'm a government artist, does that count?

I just graduated college for Graphic Design ;) Not in the field as of yet, but I Have my diploma now!

freelance graphic artist, artist, freelance graphic designer, freelance webdesigner, and yep it's my primary source of income right now

Commissioned pieces since 1969. Full-time illustrator since 1982. Game art and animation since 1987. Art for websites since the mid-90's. I wish it was a hobby... it has been a long time since I've been able to do a piece just to please myself.

FreeLance artist for 11 years.

just a plain old struggling hobbyist here :)

my question is why does it matter if you are a professional in the field or not? the tagline says "Online Graphic Artist's Community" not the "Professional Online Graphic Artist's Community" Anyone that makes art is an artist, in my opinion. Why does it matter if you are amateur or professional. By the same token, I haven't got a university degree in art, and I can paint just as well as someone that does. Is there some kind of difference here? No, there isn't. I'm just as much an artist as some bloke with a degree. I get the distinct feeling this is just more provokation of R'osity. Now I'm not always in love with all the decisions that the admins make here, but I feel that you shouldn't be called less than an artist just because you do it as a hobby or haven't got a degree in art.

Professional graphic artist for over 15 years. Trained as classical animator ...and there are things that do differentiate an artist from someone who "makes pictures". Art is an expression designed to carry with it more than the sum of its parts. While anybody can put a naked Vicky in a temple, it would take an artist who understands lighting, posing, POV, atmosphere, expression, etc to even hope to turn it into art. Now while people do not have to be professionally trained to be an artist, many have a natural feel for it (and even most who do train start off with a natural talent as well)...and people do not have to be employed in the field to be an artist either. An artist is just one who understands how all the elements in image work together to build something more than the sum of the parts. Rawnrr

"Struggling artist" for 15 years with no real professional work besides dungeree jackets and the odd airbrush work or painting with a long hiatus (about 15 years). CAD designer and draftsman for 7 years. This is my rekindled hobby, love, and joy which will hopefully lead to some sort of commitment beyond.

Basic starving artist here, got my BFA @ 20 years ago, worked selling wholesale art supplies for about 10 years too. Do I make a living from art? nope, not hardly. Is it my only source of income? yep, sadly so.

I do some web design, but I'm not a "professional artist;" that is, I wasn't trained in art and I couldn't draw something on my own to save my skin. My background is in communications and computer science. I like Poser because it lets me play God--you can create any kind of world you like and populate it with realistic people doing anything you want them to. It's more fun, challenging, and satisfying than any other form of computer recreation I can think of. And--it's bred communities like this one, where you can always find good advice and a helping hand if you need it.

Fine artist here, which means the likelyhood is that I won't make a real living with my artwork alone until I die. and then it'll be too late ;)

Hobbie artist, amateur photographer.

Was going to participate but, sitting here editing video in my dinner jacket & cummerbund, I didn't feel qualified.

Just a hobby for me, although the thought of doing this for a living someday in the far distant future is certainly an interesting one. Not sure how likely that would be though.

Freelance multimedia producer, video photographer, sound guy and graphics designer. Have used Poser professionally once (customer was HUGELY impressed, I mean like mouth-open-amazed, by what Poser can do) but 90% Poser hobbyist. :] Fish

Professional graphic artist (digital and traditional), desktop publishing, illustration, layout artist, bookbinder, illuminator (medeival style books), certified trainer in 10 different programs. I have an 8 hour a day office DTP job, and then another 6 hours in my studio, and 2 hrs or so to manage this forum. Life? what life? I make pictures :) Lyrra the Overworked

Illustrator and graphic designer

Totally amateur, unless you count my MP items. Never did commissions, never did any commercial work other than MP items, never did any of it. Heck, what college I have was as a Theatre major, then I spent 5 years as a jarhead listening to radios all the time (USMC Signals Intelligence), and I start work as a Data Transcriber for the IRS in about 3 weeks. Nope, not a pro, here.

I hop become Professional artist. Currently I am just registered artist at the SABAM. Cheers Guy

I'm going to throw in a differing opinion: I don't think are any "professional" artists here, only "hobbists" and "freelancers". I define "professional" as someone who has "made it big" in the computer graphics industry: TV or movie animator or such. Do you really think the people who made Star Wars or Spider-Man hang out here? Do you think the people who made Lord of the Rings are drooling over Vicky 3? Let's face it- the people here are mostly hobbyists. Now, I'm not saying that there is anything wrong with that. Not at all- we all learn from each other. I think a lot of us aspire to be "professionals" and that's great- we all have to start somewhere.

JohnRender, your definition of 'professional' is certainly one of the more interesting, albeit confusing, ones I've heard. A 'professional' at ANYTHING is usually defined as someone who makes money, ideally their sole source of income, from a specific activity.

I am a 'professional' graphic designer/illustrator, as are several of the others who chimed in here. My ONLY source of income is through designing items for print (paper systems, flyers, brochures, logos, promotional materials, etc.) and through illustration (childrens books, instructional manuals, CDs, tattoo flash, signed 'fine art' prints, whatever). In addition to traditional media, I have used several digital applications such as Poser, Bryce, Truespace, Illustrator, Photoshop and Quark Express as tools to generate the art and design which earns me my greenbacks. I love my career and have no ambition whatsoever to work in the film industry doing CGI. Fortunately, art is a big enough field to encompass many different disciplines.

I hate to sound like a jerk, but is it possible you misunderstood the question?

According to the dictionary, making it "big" is not a requirement of being a professional; you wouldn't even have to making your living to be a professional if you have the required skill or expertise: professional ( P ) Pronunciation Key (pr-fsh-nl) adj. Of, relating to, engaged in, or suitable for a profession: lawyers, doctors, and other professional people. Conforming to the standards of a profession: professional behavior. Engaging in a given activity as a source of livelihood or as a career: a professional writer. Performed by persons receiving pay: professional football. Having or showing great skill; expert: a professional repair job. n. A person following a profession, especially a learned profession. One who earns a living in a given or implied occupation: hired a professional to decorate the house. A skilled practitioner; an expert.

There are professional artists who do nothing but big eyed children for Hallmark cards. I have no interest in animation in the slightest. Not even Flash animation. Don't know why - just don't care about pictures that move. So I'm never going to be a professional Animator. However, as an illustrator, costume designer and texture artist, there's every chance of my work being up on that big screen too. (not that I care) However, I get a bigger kick knowing that someone took my art and had it tattooed on their ass. :) Remember there are literally thousands of subcategories of uses for digitally created art - don't pigeonhole like that! Lyrra

Graphic Designer, Webmaster, here.....but do Poser things more for the enjoyment of it than anything...and yes..I guess if having your work published in major publications, makes you in the "big" category I guess Im there...but Im like Lyrra...Id rather know that someone liked my work enough to have their butt tattooed with it than anything ! Now Im curious....why did you ask this question to begin with...and what did you RENDER from the replies?