Late Bloomers

Thoughts for Those Starting Out on the Creative Path Later in Life

There seems to be an emerging trend of people quitting their jobs and trying for an illustration career. It could just be what things appear to be from my perspective. As an illustration teacher, of course I’m going to hear from all kinds of people hoping to learn the craft and become illustrators themselves. And of course, this will include career-transitioners.

I don’t have the statistical numbers, but I do hear from quite a few people I would call late bloomers—people who decide well into their established careers to make the shift to a more creative role. Late bloomers are typically in their late twenties to mid-forties. Thy are educated and often have decent existing careers. They come from careers such as teachers, counsellors, architects, and biochemists. While I’ve heard from late bloomers quite a bit since I started teaching in 2015, I’ve observed an uptick since the pandemic started last year. That today, amid an employment crisis, it makes sense that many would take the opportunity to try something new—but the tendency for me to come across late bloomers amongst my audiences is not new.

In general, it takes me a little longer than others to figure things out … it turns out that it’s okay to take a little longer.

Over the past few years, I’ve gained a sense of who my audience is—at least who is most active and engaged. My students and followers skew female, in their 20s and 30s, and often already on a creative career path. Perhaps they’re designers hoping to add a few illustration skills to their quiver, or photographers looking for a creative outlet that’s a bit different from their day job. And there are a great deal of aspiring artists who haven’t settled in a career, who are looking to illustration as their first choice. But I also have a sense that a significant portion of my audience are late bloomers.

It could just be that late bloomers are by nature more engaged, because they are more mature and have less hang-ups about reaching out. Being of similar age or place in life as me, they see me as a peer. Having spent more time in the work world, they know their way around so-called corporate…