Key Takeaways: Careers in Creative Arts
- Professional Path: Multi-award-winning cartoonist Steve Panozzo shares his journey of building a career drawing caricatures globally.
- Educational Versatility: Despite studying Librarianship, Panozzo utilized his skills in law, psychology, and networking to succeed in the arts.
- Chasing Passion: The article encourages Year 12 students and parents to view the arts as a legitimate and fulfilling career path.
- AI Disruption: While AI is changing the landscape, Steve maintains there is still a vital place for human creativity.
I’m about to embark on a two-week ocean cruise to Singapore aboard the Carnival Encounter, drawing caricature portraits of the guests aboard ship. Never in a million years did I think that this was how my life was going to turn out.
All I ever wanted to do was draw. I only discovered caricatures in Year 7, after seeing political cartoons in the newspaper – until then I drew my own version of superheroes, cars and characters from TV shows – and wound up drawing my teachers (who were, to be fair, walking caricatures themselves). Easy pickings. But it instilled in me a desire to follow cartooning as a career.
As was the case then, and I suspect a case now for many artistically-inclined kids, my parents attempted to dissuade me from a career as an artist.
There’s a perception out there – fuelled by a dollar-obsessed society – that the arts should remain a hobby and that everyone should somehow be content with pursuing a miserable, unfulfilling life in a “real” job. Even my school careers advisor, when told that I wanted to do Year 10 work experience as a cartoonist, was at a loss on where to send me.
To placate my parents, I contemplated journalism. I ended up choosing a Bachelor of Arts degree… in Librarianship. Yes, I know. I’ll wait for you to stop laughing.
Tellingly, even after three years full-time study, I still wanted to be a cartoonist. During my third year, I was offered two days of work a week at my local newspaper and my career was set. After a year, I was offered (and accepted) a full-time post in Perth, followed by a decade working on The Australian and The Daily Telegraph.
But at no point was my librarianship degree wasted – I assisted the State Library of NSW in helping establish their cartoon collection, working with many of my former university lecturers! I learned much about the Law of Contract and Copyright in my Law elective classes, and my
Psychology elective class armed me with a solid grounding in understanding people.
This has come in especially handy, in perhaps a more subconscious way, when drawing people in a live setting at corporate events, weddings and, of course, on cruise ships.
There are lessons for both parents and those currently in Year 12: one, no matter what you choose to study at a tertiary level, the skills you acquire and the networks you establish will never be wasted.
Two, chase what you’re passionate about and what fulfills you – life is too short to be miserable. Three, despite some people will tell you, a career in the arts is a legitimate career, whether you want to be a painter, sculptor, actor, entertainer or even a cartoonist – the rules are changing, and A.I. has been a big disruptor, but there is still a place for you if you are prepared to give it everything you’ve got. Who knows? With luck, you might find yourself entertaining crowds on cruise ships.
