Creative Fields

Hi tanstett,
I'm in a similar boat, although I haven't been pounding the pavement with my portfolio.

I'm a graphic artist with 25 years experience, and have been a "one man art dept." for a screen printing company for the past 11+ years. I'm a bit burned out, but its stable work, and some of it I enjoy quite a bit.

The owner of the company may sell it at some point however, and it may be time for me to move on at that point (if not sooner). I'm not sure what direction I want to go in, I'm OK with photoshop but not a whiz by a long shot, and I know nothing about web design.

I'm not sure if its worth even furthering my education with evening or online courses, and perhaps getting a certificate in web design, due to my age and the perceptions that go with it. Even when I was in my 30s, there seemed to be a preference by business owners for artists in their 20s.

I've always loved drawing comics, but its hard work and while its relatively easy for me to get work in the field, its hard to to find work that pays a decent wage. Ditto for animation...and the local art schools here are pumping out a lot of cartoonists who are pretty good, and willing to work cheap, at the end of every semester.

Sometimes I think I'll just become a landscape painter...but with the economy the way it is, and another 20 years before I reach retirement age, the path I should take seems very unclear.