How did you end up with your job/career?

1. What you are doing for a living?

A momentarily unsuccessful aesthetes.

2. How long have you been doing it?

For awhile.

3. What got you into the field?

Zodiacal destiny... I mean, uh, gradually attained interest?

4. Why do you enjoy it?

I'm not sure if I enjoy the actual process itself or the positive feedback of doing something well. Then again, if that were the case, I don't think I'd like being a professional turd organizer even if I was told that I did it well. So I think it's heavily influenced by my existance at this point in time. Liking artsy things, If I had an interest during the renaissance, I'd probably be a painter. If I was a neanderthal, I'd scratch portraits on a cave wall. In this day in age, computers are the medium of choice. It doesn't hurt that they're fun to play with too.

Also, for you graphic gurus, how did you get a solid grasp on Photoshop? (Is this the bonus question?)

Using photoshop is both very simple and very difficult. I think the fact that it has such a high learning curve attracts some people and deters others. I personally have dedicated/wasted (however you want to look at it) a lot of time trying different things and embedding little tidbits or effect processes in my mind. I haven't had the luxury of taking a class for it, however. Over the past, jeeze, has it really been six years? (whenever photoshop 7 came out) Sorting out the do's and don'ts, admiring others' work and learning from their mistakes while of course, making my own. It's a very gradual process, similar to learning how to play an instrument. You learn one note at a time until you're eventually covering multiple octaves. After that comes all the technical things (such as time/key signatures for example) that affect each situation (or creative outcome) differently.

However, I think tricky said it best when he stated, "There are too many graphic designers nowadays, and not enough graphic artists." I don't know why but that quote always flashes in my mind whenever I feel the urge to make a generic blue aqua icon. You can only beat that dead horse so many times.

To simply answer your question though,

Play with it, you'll catch on at your own pace.

#450634

Thanks for the responses. This opened my eyes a little. I see that a lot of people never had any formal training with graphic design.

#450678

I'm a student, whod oes some graphic design(not paid, but still, that's my "job"). I hope to be a graphic designed (for computers) or a programmer. I work a tinsy bit on OLPC. More hide in the corner a peek than anything else.

I learned photoshop, acutally by using the GIMP...I just initively get most GUIs, so when I use it at school I take off and fly.

#450715

1. What you are doing for a living?

I take lecture notes that older adults dictate to people of my age group, help around the community, write 3,000-word literature/history papers, and calculate...things.

2. How long have you been doing it?

Since I was about 3 years old.

3. What got you into the field?

The capitalistic society in which I work in requires that I complete at least a 14-year term under this entity called "school" in order to succeed in life and this sentence will continue as a run-on to piss grammar Nazis off and oh look no punctuation

4. Why do you enjoy it?

Who said anything about enjoying it?

Also, for you graphic gurus, how did you get a solid grasp on Photoshop? (Is this the bonus question?)

n/a. Not quite the graphic guru yet.

#450723

Viva la resistance colophon! Down with the Grammar Nazis who show us tests that you as a 3 year would have passed. me sees that most of us aren't the graphic gurus we thought we were

#450724

Thanks for the responses. This opened my eyes a little. I see that a lot of people never had any formal training with graphic design.

To be honest, I think that the vast majority of people who call themselves "graphic designers" (me included) have had no formal training. By the same token, this means that they probably have less experience in terms of adequate training to do the job. I'd wager that people who have a degree in graphic design are probably the more successful amongst graphic designers.

#450760

this sentence will continue as a run-on to piss grammar Nazis off and oh look no punctuation

My math teacher took marks off my test because i didnt spell a word properly. everything here is in french and i understand it as well as computer code...

#450762