-: I didn't take a single graphic design class
for what I do now full-time.
I actually, again, it was word of mouth.
My third year of college, I was on a road trip
out west doing a photography and landscape painting project
using a grant from UVA, and at the end of it,
I was sitting in the airport and a friend texted me
and said, hey, I know these two guys
who really could use some design help this summer.
Before that, all of my work was
in free software I could find on the internet.
I remember, as a middle schooler, I learned
how to do basic coding because I was just really interested
in this particular thing and wanted
to build a website for it.
And I've always just played around
with whatever I could create out of.
So I think having classes is definitely helpful.
It helps you to have the tools to be able to use
to create things, but you can also,
without having a former class, reach out
and really look for those opportunities
to learn those skill sets.
I'd say your best strategy would be
to just make connections, whether that be
to reach out to people who are doing something,
either exactly what you wanna do or something similar
to it, to just get wisdom from them
and from their past wins and failures.
And to also just be vocal and share your work with others.