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Raleigh Funk, senior, will be majoring in art animation this fall. Funk has wanted to be an animator since 8th grade when she learned about Walt Disney Animation Studios.

Laura McNair, 2015 grad

An art and creative writing  double major at Augustana College, McNair chose to add art to her major the summer before her freshman year in college to further her passion for being creative.

“Figuring out career wise what I want to do with it [is the most stressful part]. Especially for art. It’s really hard to survive as an artist alone, and I really don’t know what else I can do besides an art teacher, and obviously that’s not the kind of field I want to go into,” McNair said.

Many art students face a variety of naysayers while trying to achieve their goals, according to McNair.

“Sometimes when I tell people that I’m a double major in creative writing and art, they’re like ‘oh, that’s kind of cool’ and they sound really unimpressed, but I don’t really let it bother me,” McNair said.

However, McNair does not let those who do not believe in her dreams bring her down. She advocates for following your passion and not basing your major solely on what will make the most money.

“Just go with [your passion]. It doesn’t matter about making money in it. Just do something you enjoy. Do what you want to do.”

Raleigh Funk, senior

Aspiring animator Raleigh Funk dreams of one day working for Walt Disney animation Studios, to combine her love for art and storytelling.

“I’d like to start as a storyboard artist, I’d like to work for Walt Disney studios first. I’d like to develop my own projects in the future as well, and storyboard artist is a really great way to get started in that,” Funk said. “You’re basically a writer when you’re a storyboard artist because you take what’s written and translate that into drawings which gets translated into the animation itself.”

In order to pursue this profession, Funk says she needs to keep her financial stability in mind.
“In 8th grade, when I first discovered it, I knew this is what I wanted to do with the rest of my life. It took me a while to figure out how that would be economically feasible.I was really hung up for many years on going to this art school in California, but it’s not economically feasible because it’s roughly $50,000 a year and I don’t want to go into massive debt,” Funk said. “Last year I talked to people in the industry and realized you don’t need to go to the number one school to still be successful in the industry. That was really freeing. Now I’m able to get my degree and do it without going into massive debt.”

Even with her plan for college in mind, Funk still experiences those who are skeptical of her career plans.

“A lot of people are very interested in it and often have a lot of questions. When I say ‘I want to go into art or film’ people often look at me skeptically because they don’t think you can get a job in there.[However,] I’ve  been really grateful that my parents have been really supportive and helping me further my abilities as an artist,” Funk said.

Rachel Sobol, senior

The problems that art students face are similar to those that musicians face, according to Sobol, who will be majoring in Musical Theater next fall at Texas Christian University.

“I’m hoping to be performing, not sure where exactly. I’m sure I’ll figure it out by the time I graduate [college],” Sobol said. “Everyone’s dream is to go to New York, and I feel like right now I don’t have all the knowledge that I need to become a better performer and to know where I should be performing.”

While studying musical theater, Sobol will also be minoring in business as a backup plan, she said.

“Honestly, the biggest [naysayer] like that for me is kind of myself. I know that [not getting a job] is a very large possibility. Finding jobs is going to be difficult, but after these past few years in the high school, auditioning for shows, sometimes you don’t get a role,” Sobol said. “So you do something else. It’s actually really great, I’ve had a lot of great opportunities that way. I’m also planning on having a minor in business just so that I can keep myself going when I am in between auditions.”