Am I too late for art college?

[alfredbaudisch]

A high school sophomore thinking that it is too late?

If that helps you, I'm 25, married, and a programmer for 12 years already without any art background (I started programming professionally very early). That means my thinking/way of seeing things is all logical, and in if's and then's (the programming way).

I can barely hold a pencil, since in all those years 99% of the time I was involved with a keyboard and I barely needed to handwrite anything.

And I decided to really get involved with art now – started this month. It's being REALLY hard, my hand HURTS when I take a pencil, and I can't even draw a damn wave/connecting lines/anything (see my SB, it is the worst SB around here), but I'm loving it and I know it may take 5 or more years. More than an average person and WAY more if I had pursued that earlier.

But still, I'm not in a hurry and I don't even think it is late.

Do you know when is it late? When you are dead.

[pegasi]

a programmer for 12 years already

Professionally?

[Dimension]

I thought you were going to say you were in your late 20's or 30's. Not that that would matter anyway. It really matters where your priorities are. Older people start thinking about having a family and can have more financial pressures and time constraints. That's really why it's more difficult to learn things as you get older, not because of some sort of change in the way you learn, or because you start getting stupid.

[Jason Ross]

Well I was too "early" for college.

[alfredbaudisch]

Professionally?

Started programming when I was ~6 and got my 1st freelance work when I was 13 and then they didn't stop coming.

[pegasi]

Started programming when I was ~6 and got my 1st freelance work when I was 13 and then they didn't stop coming.

And now you want to change professions completely? Or just make art as an hobby?
If completely, that's interesting

[alfredbaudisch]

And now you want to change professions completely? Or just make art as an hobby?
If completely, that's interesting

I want to add art as part of my profession. I'm somewhat jealous by most of the top indie game developers: they are amazing artists, musicians, designers and programmers (all skills in one person. Notably Alec Holowka, Jonathan Blow, etc). But as I noticed they all started very early on the art side (drawing + music) and then started to program just late (20-30 yrs).

I'm on the opposite route, and I think it is harder (Programmer -> Artist). Wish I sketched more when I was a teenager, instead of getting so involved with programming.

[[email protected]]

Do you know when is it late? When you are dead.

How can you know? Ever been dead before?

[Vay]

Wow, you're 15...

[JFierce]

Your only ready for a career in art if you first practiced basic stick figures by age 5. Worked on to basic 3D forms such as cubes and pyramids by age 7, learned about the basics of perspective by age 8, by age 10 know the basics of form, then further build on that with basic human anatomy by age 12. If your any later than this in learning these topics you'll never make it in the art field.

[Velocity Kendall]

Never too late. NOW GET TO WORK.

[otherscape]

Are we going to get a 10 year old stressing out next?

There needs to be sticky thread saying it's never to late to start learning.

[Steamhat]

My class of 3rd year animation filled with early 20 year olds has a singular 37 year old who is making AWESOME work...

it's NEVER too late... really

[Lhune]

Yeah you're way too late. I started in my mother's womb with cave drawings, there's no catching up on that.

Nah in all seriousness, as everyone else has said, it's -never- too late. Spend less time worrying and thinking and more time doing, and you'll end up where you want to be.

[Aaron_]

Fucking hell, if only I can draw like you when I was 15. I didn't even start till I was 18, never even showed any interest in it before. Just wow, seriously, your art is better than most of the art friends I have when they're 15. Most of 'em really had real improvements after 20 actually.

[kysg]

I wish I could have made this post at 15, I was too busy playing basketball and football and video games for this kinda stuff.

ah the fickleness of youth.

[shiroboi]

16? Crap, I just turned 35, I'd better retire.

Seriously though. You don't officially apply for school until your senior year so there's no reason you can't work hard and get into an art school. May not get your first choice but you'll definitely get in somewhere if you apply yourself.

[Trixtar]

In my opinion, you may be too early regarding the "final" decision.

Do you know if you can actually survive in a school with "artistic child-athletes with olympic gold-goals" you may forever feel are better than you because they started that young?
You seem to already feel inferior to those who are already there. Build up your self esteem, work your butt off until you know you deserve it just as much as the rest, and then go for it!
Otherwise it may lead to a lot of "but it's not fairs" and a huge negativity about your own achievements, and in the end art may not at all feel enjoyable anymore.

So my advice is to also work on your self-confidence, because you as a person needs to be ready too, not just you as the artist, you know?
In the meantime, you may find something that suits you even better

[cro-magnon]

he is too old. too old to begin the training.