March 29, 2024
Updated April 14, 2025
18 minute read
A Career Guide to Becoming a Visual Artist
A Visual Artist is a professional who creates art primarily for visual perception. This broad field encompasses individuals working across diverse mediums, from traditional forms like painting, drawing, and sculpture to contemporary practices involving digital media, photography, installation, and performance art. Visual artists express ideas, emotions, or aesthetics through their chosen medium, contributing to culture, commentary, and commerce.
Embarking on a career as a visual artist can be deeply rewarding. It offers a unique avenue for self-expression and the potential to engage audiences intellectually and emotionally. Many find excitement in the creative process itself—translating concepts into tangible forms. Others are drawn to the possibility of shaping cultural conversations or contributing beauty and insight to the world through their unique vision.
Introduction to Visual Artistry
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Find a path to becoming a Visual Artist. Learn more at:
OpenCourser.com/career/ywcq95/visual
Reading list
We've selected some books
that we think will supplement your
learning. Use these to
develop background knowledge, enrich your coursework, and gain a
deeper understanding of the topics covered in
Visual Artist.
Renowned mixed media artist Kelly Rae Roberts offers an in-depth exploration of her creative process, focusing on intuition, self-discovery, and the joy of experimentation.
Aimed at beginners, this book provides straightforward techniques for improving iPhone photos across various genres like landscapes, portraits, and action shots. It covers adjusting settings, editing, and organizing images. is particularly useful for high school and early undergraduate students seeking a foundational understanding.
A comprehensive guide to collage techniques, this book covers the basics as well as advanced methods for creating stunning mixed media artworks.
This comprehensive guide to mixed media sculpture covers the fundamentals of sculpting techniques and provides inspiration for creating unique and innovative artworks.
Delves into the creative process of 45 renowned iPhone photographers, showcasing diverse styles and techniques. It provides detailed explanations of their vision and workflow, including app usage. While accessible to all levels, it offers significant value for those looking to deepen their understanding and explore artistic possibilities.
Focusing specifically on post-processing with the Snapseed app, this book provides a step-by-step workflow for editing photos on mobile devices. It covers essential editing techniques from basic adjustments to more advanced manipulations. is crucial for deepening understanding of the digital darkroom aspect of iPhone photography.
This guide covers fundamental photographic techniques applicable to both iPhone and Android devices, including composition, color balance, and exposure. It's well-illustrated with step-by-step lessons. is valuable for gaining a broad understanding of core photography principles in the context of mobile devices.
A practical guide to mixed media painting techniques, this book covers a wide range of materials and provides step-by-step instructions for creating beautiful and expressive paintings.
Explores the iPhone as a serious photographic tool, covering techniques for capturing high-quality images and utilizing creative apps. It's a good resource for those looking to push the boundaries of iPhone photography and is suitable for undergraduate and graduate students interested in the artistic side.
While not exclusively about iPhone photography, this book offers a jargon-free introduction to fundamental photographic concepts like composition, exposure, and lighting. Its accessible approach makes it an excellent prerequisite read for anyone looking to improve their photography, regardless of the camera used. It's highly recommended for beginners at the high school and undergraduate levels.
A comprehensive overview of mixed media techniques, this book includes step-by-step projects, inspiring examples, and advice on finding your own artistic voice.
A classic in photography education, this book demystifies the technical aspects of exposure (aperture, shutter speed, ISO). While not specific to iPhones, the principles are directly applicable and essential for taking control of your mobile photography in various lighting conditions. It's valuable for deepening understanding at the undergraduate and graduate levels.
Another popular book by Scott Kelby, this series provides practical tips and techniques for digital photography in a step-by-step format. Many of the concepts, particularly those on composition, lighting, and workflow, are highly relevant to iPhone photography and can help solidify understanding for students and professionals.
Offers a collection of practical exercises and ideas to help smartphone photographers enhance their skills and creativity. It's designed to inspire and provide actionable steps for improving images taken with a mobile device. Relevant for all levels looking for creative prompts and skill development.
Showcases a collection of mobile photography from various artists, offering a broad view of the creative possibilities and current trends in the field. It's a good source of inspiration and demonstrates the high quality achievable with smartphone cameras. Suitable for all levels interested in contemporary mobile photography.
Reflects on the impact of mobile photography on the field, discussing its potential, limitations, and influence on visual language and the market. It includes perspectives from curators, theorists, and photographers. This valuable resource for understanding the contemporary landscape of photography and is most relevant for graduate students and professionals.
Encourages photographers to find compelling subjects and create stunning images in their everyday surroundings, a philosophy that aligns perfectly with the accessibility of iPhone photography. It offers practical tips and inspiration for developing a photographic eye. Suitable for all levels looking to enhance their creative vision.
This beginner-friendly guide introduces the essentials of mixed media and provides step-by-step instructions for creating unique and expressive artworks.
Street photography popular genre for iPhoneographers due to the camera's discreet nature. This manual provides insights into the techniques, ethics, and history of street photography. It's valuable for those looking to explore this specific genre with their iPhone and is suitable for undergraduate, graduate, and professional levels.
While focused on landscape photography with traditional cameras, the principles of composition, light, and technique discussed in this book are directly transferable to iPhone landscape photography. It's an excellent resource for those looking to deepen their understanding of the genre and is suitable for undergraduate, graduate, and professional levels.
Featuring a collection of photographs taken with an iPhone by Robert Herman, this book demonstrates the potential of the mobile phone for capturing compelling images, particularly in a street photography context. It highlights the immediacy and accessibility of the iPhone as a photographic tool and serves as a source of inspiration.
Focusing on the art of portraiture, this handbook covers essential techniques for taking compelling photos of people. While not specific to iPhones, the principles of lighting, posing, and composition are directly applicable to iPhone portrait photography. Useful for those wanting to specialize in portraits with their mobile device.
For more information about how these books relate to this course, visit:
OpenCourser.com/career/ywcq95/visual
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