Artistic and creative careers are among the most rewarding, but they also come with unique challenges. We asked some of the city’s best creatives to tell us why they choose to pursue a creative career.

Alejandro Cortes | Cinematographer

I’m not the typical filmmaker who discovered a super 8 camera as a kid and was influenced by classical cinema. It wasn’t until the end of high school that I discovered iMovie and started writing little scripts to shoot on my webcam for fun. At the time I thought I would study to become an industrial engineer because it felt like a “safe bet” for a career in Mexico. However, I knew deep down that I was going to college for something that sounded logical, but ultimately felt wrong. The idea of making movies seemed like a lot of fun, but unrealistic and potentially detrimental to my financial stability. At least that’s the way I saw at the time. Fortunately, I summoned the courage to pivot at the very last minute and I applied to a 4-week program at the New York Film Academy. Read more>>

Jess Aviles | Multi-passionate Latina Lifestyle Creator

I’ve always been a creative person. At a young age, I struggled in school specifically in the areas of math and science. I found myself excelling in anything that let me be creative. I loved to draw, write, and journal. I always had an idea-driven thought process that led me to try new things. Creativity has allowed me to step into versions of myself I didn’t know existed. Staying consistent with it has opened doors for me to work and collaborate with brands, creators, and given me paid opportunities. A cool thing about being creative is the fact that you can pivot your ideas at any time. You can do and be anything you want to be. It’s all based on you, what you’re passionate about, and your God-given talents/gifts. Read more>>

Stavroula Zigouris | Visual Development Artist

Deep down I am a storyteller more than I am an artist, and the greatest way for me to express my ideas, feelings, thoughts and concerns has always been through the visual medium. I realized this ever since childhood, always finding ways to entertain and delight myself as well as others through drawings of all things mythical. I didn’t think much of this at the time, but when I entered middle school and started taking art classes to better my skills, something clicked. I realized that I couldn’t imagine myself doing anything else other than bringing my stories and characters to life; it was the purest form of expression. Fast forward to high school, when I started taking classes at the ArtCenter Teens program and exposed myself to more artists in the entertainment industry, I figured out the specific career I wished to pursue; visual development, where artists are tasked to envision how a story might look. Read more>>

Parish Walker | Artist

For me, art has always been a source of healing. I’ve learned so much about the world, especially myself through art & I’m sure I’m not the only one who’s experienced thought provoking & life changing wisdom from a film, music, poetry etc. I really wanted to be that positive source for someone else & shed light on those living in darkness. You never really know what someone is going through & I truly believe Art is the outlet to release those things we’ve been silently battling. Let’s heal together! Read more>>

Vivi He | Tattoo Artist & Art teacher

I aim to blend my art with the human form, crafting pieces that are uniquely creative. Each work departs with the client, not meant to last forever. If my tattoo art can bring a sense of beauty to people during their lifetime, that’s what matters. Read more>>

Tommy Davy | Guitarist, Ethnomusicologist, Luthier

I grew up with a father who was a violin maker and an art restorer. My mother is a theatre director and costume designer. I was always around people who were improvising, solving problems and creating magic from simple raw materials. It was never a conscious decision. I was about 14 years old and I had my first encounter with serious Gypsy/Romani musicians. It stuck a chord with me internally and I wanted to learn how to communicate the same way with others through music. To me, these artists represented the pinnacle of musicianship, creativity, technical ability, and the intuitive sense of how to channel emotions in their music. Being an outsider to that community I wanted to learn how to crack that code or at least understand as much about it as possible. Read more>>

Jed Rowen | Actor and Writer

Being creative and artistic is what makes human beings truly magical and divine. Without this, we aren’t too much removed from machines or apes. I knew this from a very early age and so I knew I had to have a career in the arts. It takes a warrior to be an artist. It ain’t easy. There are a million things going against you. But I can’t imagine living any other kind of life. Read more>>

mQx | Digital Artist

I decided to embark on an artistic career because, ever since I was a child, I’ve always been surrounded by a family with a strong artistic bent. I was trained in all forms of art, painting, cinema, music… it built me up in a way. I was never good at science or business at school, but the only field in which I had any skills was art. After my studies, I had the chance to work as a photographer and then continued in the art world to end up at mQx. Read more>>

Sam Fairless | Guitarist

I started playing guitar seriously at a fairly young age and I never really did anything else. I didn’t make a conscious decision, it just happened to be the thing I’m obsessed with and was driven to do the best that I possibly could. Read more>>

Daniel Salas | Filmmaker

I chose an artistic and creative career because I am able to have the ability to express myself. As I was growing up, I never thought I would pursue a life in the arts. Back home in Oxnard CA, I didn’t know of anyone who made films. In high school, the people I grew up with were on their way to study engineering, politics, computer science, etc. So, having the ability to create with others was pretty scarce. At some point, I decided to study to become a lawyer, even though I was not enthusiastic about it. Then, one day during my junior year, a class fell into my lap: Intro to Video Production, and I began to find a lot of interest in learning how to create videos. Over time, I found a lot of fulfillment in taking that class because, for the first time, I felt like I was able to express myself. Read more>>

BJ Panda Bear | Writer, Fashion Editor, Creative Consultant, & DJ

I bounce back between the worlds of creativity and corporate. I enjoy the corporate structure but can not deal with having boundaries with innovation. likewise I thrive off of the most chaotic and transgressive artistic synergy but often get derailed from the lack of execution. I will always choose to get back to the artistic and creative careers because it will always serve to embrace a chance to place a greater idea into the world. Read more>>

Maryn Masumiya | Shop Owner & Artist

I have always gravitated toward the arts – starting off with writing and majoring in English Literature in college. What drew me to the creative fields were the sense of freedom and possibility. My Mom told me that in the process of learning, “there was always more than one answer and there was always more than one way to get there.” I like to think that I got my creative gifts from my Mom and that I honor her legacy by continuing to do creative work that she would have loved. Read more>>

Samir ADHD” Akhter | Billboard charting

Music wasn’t a logical choice for me, especially since I’ve always been pretty good at math and finance—a more predictable and rule-based realm. Yet, there was something about the unpredictability and sheer lack of logic in music that drew me in. I found myself captivated by the guitar solos in old rock songs. It was like a puzzle—trying to guess where the guitarists would take the notes. The beauty of it was that it always felt so unexpected, yet it just clicked. This unpredictability sparked a fascination in me, even though I didn’t consider myself particularly talented in music. Read more>>

Yueran Zhao | New technology focused Product Designer & A Whimsical Explorer

I was born and raised in the beautiful city of Luoyang, China, known for its stunning peony flowers. My grandpa is an accomplished traditional Chinese watercolor painter specializing in peony paintings. He showed me all about the magic of art and how to capture the beauty of the world around us. During peony season, he would take me to the botanical garden to observe the flowers from various angles and distances, meticulously capturing their beauty on canvas. His infectious passion for aesthetics inspired me to explore different mediums and express my own creativity through drawing, collaging, and calligraphy. These early experiences sparked a lifelong appreciation for the arts. Read more>>

Camille Tsalik | Screenwriter

Growing up at the intersection of different cultures and religions, I went on to spend my college years at McGill University exploring how media is disseminated and consumed, particularly within feminist and Marxist frameworks, hoping to make sense of my bizarre upbringing. I studied the works of Adorno and Horkheimer, Walter Benjamin, and Judith Butler, which armed me with a purpose. My art was to be political and inspire the masses to challenge the way they perceive the world. I romanticized the act of writing, possessed by the naive thought: If I write something, anything, they will read it. But anyone can tell you being lectured is not exactly riveting entertainment. Read more>>

Knarik Arzumanyan | Makeup Artist

To me being an artist means fulfilling my inner desires and expressing my emotions creatively and seeing the joy it brings to others. I find my job therapeutic in many aspects and helps me be a better version of myself because of my pursuit to always do better. Read more>>

Lawrence Dotson | Storyteller & Photographer

I pursued a creative career because at the age of six, I knew that I wanted to be in show business. I’d entertain my two sisters by acting out the preachers’ sermons on the radio. Then I did school plays, where I always had a leading role. I won trophies at theater festivals in high school. I was recruited by UCLA and graduated from the School of Theater, Film and Television. After a year of auditioning for roles in the real world, I was approached to review hip hop music for a local magazine. That led to writing for another local, and soon national magazines. For the next decade, I was a writer for the culture at the peak of the Golden Era of Hip Hop, interviewing many of the top artists of the times. Read more>>

Salvatore Sutera | Director / Writer / Producer

Initially, I didn’t. I always tell people that when it comes to me, the business found me more than I found it. Growing up first generation born and raised in the US, the arts wasn’t considered a viable path. It was the thing of dreams that one shouldn’t pursue. I loved films, loved TV. In a lot of ways, HBO raised me as I spent many hours alone watching it until everyone in my family got home. That said, the idea of working in the film business wasn’t even a thought that was meant to enter our minds, so the path to getting to where I am was a lot by chance, fate, whatever you believe. It was simple. I was rejected by my first college choice and as a result, went with my second with Fordham University in the Bronx. Read more>>

Haiyang Sun | Character Concept Designer

Art has always been a significant part of my life. As a child, I enjoyed reading manga and comics. Later, I discovered the world of video games and was amazed by the potential of this interactive medium. Portal, Dead Space, and Starcraft are some of my all-time favorite games. In 2012, I left China for the United States. Four years later, I attended ArtCenter College of Design to chase my dream of becoming a concept artist. After graduating from Artcenter, I was fortunate enough to work on several AAA titles, including Apex Legends, The Perfect Dark, and Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War. Now, I am working as a character concept artist at Tencent America, collaborating with my art hero Ben Zhang. Read more>>

Josh Eiserike | writer, cartoonist, 90s rock enthusiast

Ever since I was a kid, I’ve always pursued artistic endeavors. I’ve always had a love of comics and comic books, and began publishing some when I was in high school, making liberal use of the school’s Xerox Machine. Obviously, these early comics weren’t very good, but working with a faculty advisor and creating this kind of serialized storytelling, I knew that this is what I wanted to do in my career. In college, I had a daily comic script in the school newspaper, and then as a young professional, I started self publishing my own comic books (which were hopefully better than the ones I did in high school!). These books actually got me my first job writing for television on the animated series G.I. JOE: RENEGADES. From there, I went on to write for other TV shows (WARIGAMI, LEGACIES, both on the CW), sell movies and television pilots… and then wind up right back in comics, where I am now. Read more>>

Grant Luecke | Escape Room Designer and Creative Engineer

This is one of those questions that I always get asked, but never quite know the answer to. I kind of like the mystery of taking a moment to realize where I am in my life and career, and not really knowing why or how I ended up here. If I were to take a guess, I’d say most creatives spend a lot of their life and journey working on answering that question for themselves. What I can say right now, is that there is something about trying to create something new, that’s born from my heart and soul and hands that is addicting. There is an alchemy to that pursuit of discovery and creation that makes me feel very human and present. Also, it’s fun! I genuinely really love my work, and I know I’m very lucky to get to say that. Read more>>

Christine Camille Cece” Jones | Storyteller

Growing up, I was inseparable from my sketchbook. School outings to the theater, family dinner party, Disneyland, you name it, it didn’t matter where I was going, my sketchbook was coming with me! Any sliver of free time I had I spent drawing. Drawing helps me process the world around me and connect me with others. It’s helped shape the person I am today. God has done and continues to do so much for me through the arts and I want to be able to do the same for others through my work as an artist. I have a lot of different passions and skills, but I can’t imagine myself working in a non artistic or creative field. Read more>>

Albert Ramon Jr | DJ, Event Curator, & Entrepreneur

From a young age, I’ve been captivated by the world of music. The ability of melodies and rhythms to convey emotions and tell stories has always fascinated me. As I delved deeper into this passion I discovered the art of DJing, which allowed me to not only appreciate music but also become an active participant in shaping the experiences of others. Choosing a career in music, DJing, and events was a natural progression for me because it combines my love for music with the thrill of creating immersive and memorable experiences. The energy on the dance floor, the synergy between different tracks, and the power to set the mood for an entire event are aspects that continue to fuel my passion. Read more>>

Ben Golomb | Musician & Filmmaker

Ever since I was a little kid, I’ve always had the inclination to want to create art in in one form or another. It’s been this way as long as I remember. As a youngster, my artistic passions included drawing/designing my own line of futuristic cars, and making homespun Garbage Pail Kids illustrations; as a young adult, I found a deep passion for writing and recording original music, which years later led to music video directing and documentary filmmaking. When making art is intrinsically part of what makes you tick, you’re going to want to do it all the time, so my career pursuits have almost always been connected to my artistic interests in some capacity. Read more>>