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Ok, first things first - it is almost impossible to make your living entirely through your art. The few who manage it are very lucky. If you want to know more about your options in this field, I would recommend talking to http://www.gaiaonline.com/profiles/?u=155 He's an illustrator and he's really nice. He should at least be able to tell you if your ideas could work.

But yes, if you find that you are making fairly OK money working as an artist, I would recommend having just a part time job. That way, you have some steady income AND you give yourself lots of time to work on your art.

For the rest, I kinda need to know what country you live it. I am going to guess that you live in Canada, just because you mentioned French. If that's the case, I would recommend checking out government programs for young artists. If you are just starting off on your own, there are probably tons of programs out there to help get you started. They also have a lot of programs for artists right inside the government. A good starting place would be here: http://www.pch.gc.ca/index_e.cfm But obviously, you will have to do some of your own research.

Now, with the animal thing - have you ever considered working in a Veterinary Clinic? My husband took a course at Algonquin (a tech school in Ottawa). It was about 6 months - 3 hours, 2 nights a week. The last two months or so were "practical experience" (it's a bit like co-op, you are working for free in a clinic). At the end, he was certified as a Veterinary Assistant. It can be difficult to find jobs at that level because there are just so much competition, but being charismatic and being able to speak French will probably help. It also helps a lot, if you have pets of your own, to take them to the Vet's from time to time and chat up the doctors. That way, when you finish the course, you can see about getting work.

My husband works four nights a week, that totals to about 30 hours. I can't work because of visa issues. He makes enough to support both of us and we pay all our bills without any financial problems. Money is tight, we certainly don't make enough to go out and eat lobster every night, but as long as you are careful - it's enough. If you supplement that with an art career, it would probably work out even better.

EDIT: If you have any other questions, please feel free smile

Its great that you're concerned about your future lifestyle but you're only fifteen years old. You still have to get through high school and than college. By than, you will probably have saved tens of thousands of dollars to live independently. Furniture living alone won't cost you over 5000 dollars.
So, you don't need to worry about furniture.

1500 to see a friend in England? If thats how you're going to spend money than I would advise you not to spend lavishly on furniture.

Why not, instead of spending 1500 (if you get it) just buy a webcam and microphone and talk to her online? Its easy, cheaper, and you get the same results. But thats how I would go to see a friend if I were fifteen.

To your 1500 mission, yes Ebay is a great source for auctioning and racking up big bucks. So that's a good idea

$1500 by next summer?

Hmm...well, there are a few jobs that have good hourly wages...though some of those are manual labor (ie: stockroom, supermarket (produce), CostCo, etc). If you're looking into a part-time job, look at a few of these places, like CostCo, Target, Wal-mart, etc.

eBay also is a good idea, though I think depending on how many drawings you're going to sell and for how much, you could end up having all the cash you need for your big england trip.

i was 15 when i started to get 10$ an hour which is better then min wage but thats a $100 dollars a day so if u work for 15 days u get the muny u need lol thats what i do and im going to japan in two year i could buy a house if i wanted to and i work in landscaping and well as computer technicain hehe im only 16 and im all set for muny for the next 10 years blaugh