#i'm assuming you're thinking abt majoring in stem so my answer follows from that

[sovonight]

hi! ive been looking thru ur blog recently because im trying to get into digital painting and im using ur blog as reference for how to do clothing folds, etc. i noticed u had a bunch of posts ab grad school and college and stuff & i was wondering what ur major is? im a hs junior rn and im stressing big time ab majors, i was wondering if you’ve found any art/stem balance or if u have any tips?? u don’t have to answer is u don’t want, i was just thinking haha

yeah sure! in undergrad i was a mechanical engineering major. i was a full time student who didn’t work, so any time outside of classes & hw was time i could use to draw. the first year’s always pretty hard no matter what– adjusting to college and all– but i got used to managing my classes and could keep my gpa up while still doing art on the side. i did most of my gravity falls fanart while in college, so you can probably see how much art i was able to keep up, but big projects like the dating sim and my ford zine were so time consuming that they were really only possible after i left.

but time’s not the only factor– keeping myself physically able to draw was really important too, and was one thing i kind of failed at. i regularly want to draw so i’d draw allll the time, but combine that with taking notes every day, writing up 4 homework assignments every week, and taking 4-6 midterms and 4 finals every quarter, and do that for 4 years, and my wrist was weak. after i graduated i still had to do research over the summer bc i got into grad school, and at that point my wrist just couldn’t take it anymore, it was useless for weeks. i really shouldn’t have used it again and just let it heal, but i had classes again so i had to put it back through the wringer, and then after i left grad school (i quit within a year after i started), my wrist was close to useless again, for months that time. i have a strong feeling that it’s because i never paced myself or did stretches in all the time i was in school. i know every artist says to do those hand/wrist stretches… but do those stretches! stretch, exercise, and/or give your drawing hand frequent long breaks. running a marathon’s better than doing a sprint.

oh but if you’re aiming for a job in stem, try not to neglect college stuff in favor of art, like i unfortunately did! my goal was to have engineering as a day job to fund art on the side, so i really should’ve put more time into engineering and gotten all the engineering experience i could’ve while i was still a student, but bc i liked keeping my time free for art i never did any internships or anything. i should’ve taken my chance to do internships, work with professors, join engineering clubs/groups, and all that good stuff, bc once you leave college and start looking for a job, you’re at a disadvantage if you don’t have any previous experience.

overall though don’t overwhelm yourself if you can’t make the balance work! of the two halves, art’s the one that doesn’t require formal schooling, so i feel like if it happens to fall to the side while you’re in college, that’s fine, y’know? college is just 4+ short years– art’s still gonna be there for you when you’re done.