How did you choose a creative path?

Deciding to pursue an artistic or creative career path isn’t for the faint of heart. Challenges will abound, but so many of the artists we speak with couldn’t be happier with their choice. So, we asked them about how they made the decision in the first place.

Nicole Marien | Unscripted Casting Producer

I pursued a career in entertainment because my whole life, I believed in becoming an artist, and as I grew up, I realized my definition of an artist began to change. As a child, my grandfather was a very passionate but amateur painter in his free time, something I always admired. He wholeheartedly believed his hobbies were as crucial as any other aspect of his life and identity, such as career, husband, father, and grandfather. It seeped quickly into my upbringing. No matter what, we were encouraged to nurture our creativity. As a child, I thought being an artist was a black-and-white concept. Read more>>

Emily Sophia | Singer Songwriter

When I was a toddler, my grandma used to play movies like The Sound of Music and Mary Poppins and watching Julie Andrews at such a young age struck something in me that made me want to do the same as her. That was the first time I felt a calling to the arts and as I got older, it never left. Songwriting has been my outlet to express myself and I want to share my songs with the world so others can relate and not feel alone. Read more>>

Maximo Reyes | Rapper, Actor, Writer & Producer

I’ve always been a creative at heart—music and film were my first loves. As a kid, I’d spend hours creating epic storylines for my G.I. Joes and Transformers, imagining whole worlds and storylines.My older cousin Kenny fueled my creativity even further by sharing his comics, feeding my inner “nerd” and growing my imagination. But I didn’t realize how much I’d come to rely on this outlet until my father was incarcerated when I was barely 15. Read more>>

Jon Densk | Animator

I think there is a impactful reason why almost all artists truly persue a path in the arts. Something happens in your youth, that fuels you to chase an explenation or way to process what your child brain couldnt. Drawing and storytelling for me was just somehing I did right out of the gate. Making new stories about characters from games and books and creating my own wacky characters was an easy pass time. Maybe I was just bored being an only child! Ive always loved cartoons and comics. Disney, Pixar, Ghibli, comicbooks like Bone and videogames like the legend of zelda. Read more>> 

Lauren Bjel | Actor

I decided to pursue a creative career because I am just the type of person who’s always looking for what’s next. I’m stimulated by constant new experiences – and even unexpected experiences – so maybe I’m a little addicted to the way in acting career works where you never really know what’s gonna happen next. I also grew up surrounded by visual and performing arts, so it’s always been a part of me as well. Read more>>

Lilou | Dancer/Community Manager/Educator

I pursued an artistic and creative career because it has always been at the core of who I am. With 23 years as a dancer and extensive experience in theater, comedy, musicals, crafts, drawing, music, and even poetry, I’ve explored nearly every facet of artistic expression. These diverse experiences have taught me that creativity isn’t just about performance or creation; it’s about connection, growth, and sharing stories. Read more>>

Simone Ravenda | Mentalist, magician & mind reader

Well, in reality i was studying science of sport while i was starting in magic and in mentalism in Italy. But suddenly i’ve started to do the first little gigs in bars and restaurant and i realized i was pretty good at it. From there i just kept doing these gigs, which become thru the years more important, until after several years (about 20) and after some tv work, it simply become my first activity, realizing i was a pro mentalist. Read more>>

Sung Yoo | Creative Director and Designer

I was always an observant child, naturally drawn to reimagining and redesigning the world around me. Creativity felt like an innate way to shape how we feel and think within any environment so pursuing a creative career was simply an extension of who I was. I spent the majority of my childhood immersed in extracurricular art programs and competitions, constantly exploring new ways to build, create, and transform. Read more>>

Manuel Lomeli | Founder & CEO | 417LA

I’ve always loved to draw. Growing up, I wanted to design everything—cars, sneakers, buildings, even stadiums. I took graphic arts in high school, learned how to silk screen, and fell in love with creating something physical from just an idea. I went into college as an architecture major, but after losing my mom to cancer, I felt like I needed to rethink things. I switched to graphic design, where I felt like I had more control over what I could do—packaging, ads, clothing, products. Since then, I’ve done everything from designing T-shirts for a small company to ads for a big newspaper, packaging for a toy company, and now designing shirts, hats, and other products for my own business. Read more>>

Kaylyn Ryan

I pursued a career as a tattooer because I’ve always been passionate about art and self-expression. I think tattoos are a powerful form of storytelling and personal identity, allowing individuals to share their experiences and emotions through body art. I love the idea of creating lasting pieces that hold deep meaning for my clients. Being a tattooer combines my art with the opportunity to connect with people in a meaningful way, and bringing their visions to life is incredibly fulfilling. Read more>>

Uma Rani Iyli

While during my early childhood in India I was always drawing, making family portraits, and engaging in arts and crafts, my talent was encouraged by my family. It truly was after my graduation from California College of the Arts with a degree in sculpture that I found my way to the committed path of being a professional visual artist. It has taken cycles of digging deep and working hard to stay on this path. Read more>>

Cristina Magnaye

Baking has always been sort of a creative outlet for me. It wasn’t until I was actually working in the medical field when I realized that I felt like I constantly needed to be doing something in a more creative and artistic manner. For me that was always baking, decorating or challenging myself to create different cakes, desserts and cookies. Decorating has always brought me joy, Read more>>

Hadleigh Swarts

The arts have always been an integral part of all I do from how I see the world to how I operate and the work I do. The arts are intertwined in everything which is something that I have a particular vested interest in. I especially find inspiration in artists that use their work as a medium to deliver a message on pertinent issues whether that be socially, politically, or culturally. I knew I wanted to create a platform that was focused on social impact but that had a nuanced approach to the visual aspect and user experience. Read more>> 

Kelly Ryan

I chose to pursue art because I knew that if I pursued anything else, anything at all, that I would not feel as fulfilled as I would doing art. As a child, I wanted to be an artist (I even wrote it in my elementary school yearbook), and when things began to get “serious” my career path never changed. There was never any question of where I would go. Even with the looming risk of failure, it was an obvious choice from the start. I could go after something stable, with a clearcut career path and spend every day wondering what could have happened if I had just tried. Or I could put everything I had into it and make it work no matter what.  Read more>>

Bruna Mejias

That’s a very interesting question and often asked. For me personally the way I see it and feel is that I never had another choice really, it’s like this desire, calling, passion inside of me that I simply couldn’t ignore and also never wanted to. I’ve known what I was meant to be since I was 6 years old and I find myself very lucky for being able to realize it very young. So I’m a true believer that if you are really meant to do it, if you are born an artist, eventually you will recognize it and once you do, without second guessing yourself and your path or any sort of doubt about it, you will have no other choice but to pursue it because then it’s something stronger than you inside of yourself. It’s just a matter of discovering who you are, having trust and be willing to work for it. Read more>>

Brandon Leonardo

Once I discovered the function of art, there was really no other route I would want to take. What other choice was there? I have A LOT of feelings, and through art, I learned that feelings are everything. Art is everything. Engaging in creativity leads us closer to divinity and the truth. To gauge someone’s feelings is a step to creating empathy and making this world better. As a comedian, I learned early on that the world is just a sad ass joke, but it’s still funny. Read more>>

Joshua Aster

My grandfather was an artist and teacher in Brooklyn. Seeing his paintings on the wall of our family home and recognizing the place (studio) of discovery and construction fascinated me. I imagined a room where I could have my own creative autonomy. Read more>>

Kevin Alcantar

I’ve had the desire to make art in my bones since I can remember. I grew up a fairly bored, lonely kid in a mining ranch in Mexico where my dad used to work until I was about 4. I was the youngest and smallest of the kids in the ranch so I’d often get hurt when the other kids would rough house. Combine that with the surrounding terrain being a moonscape literally filled with scorpions and snakes and such, you get a restless kid spending a lot of time indoors. I was always curious, and frankly anxious, about what was happening outside the confines of the ranch. Our home was always filled with art supplies and endless reams of paper for me to draw out the tales I was making up about the world beyond. Looking back now, I realize they were likely intended to deter me from scribbling all over the walls. Read more>>

Zeming Sun

I had an idea when I was 20 years old: to create my own natural fantasy themed animation. Before this, like other artists, I had a passion for painting and music since childhood, immersing myself in this new world opened up by audio and video, and enjoying presenting everything in my mind through ink and brushes. I have studied a lot of painting, design, and 3D technology to fully enhance the decorative and visual effects of my works. However, as a newcomer to the film industry, I do not have any connections or production experience, nor have I systematically studied directorial thinking. Therefore, I have been “one person as the entire team” and combining all my abilities to forge ahead on the path of independent animation creation. Read more>>

Joseph Duerr

I pursued a creative career because I wanted to be heard and seen artistically. I feel like what I see, especially in the water, is different then most people’s perspectives, and overall see the ocean as a place of creative expression. My creative career has also allowed me to travel to some of the most exotic places in the world, it always feels a lot better in the bank account when you come home from a trip with more money than you left with. Read more>>