Norsehound

Here's a bit of serious thinking for my watchers of DA.

So... putting it succinctly I'm trying to figure out what I want to do for a career . I look at the kinds of things I do when I have the time and I know I like drawing/creating. I'd like very much to have a career where I do this all the time.

When I was in high school I knew I wanted to be a concept artist, specifically a mechanical designer similar to the likes of Kunio Okawara and Hajime Katoki. That's what I grew up wanting to do and how I developed artistically. I know that I'm an illustrator, not a digital artist, so while I can't paint as well as Ukitakumuki or some of my other sources of inspiration, I know I can at least do line artwork like Katoki or Genocidalpenguin and then color in my artwork.

But... Is there a place where I can do this vehicle lineart and coloring for a career? I'm talking beyond commissions artwork, because I don't really put myself out there as much as I should for that kind of thing and would like to find a steady job doing this.

In Japan it feels like Mechanical Designers of anime are a recognized career in the industry there, and if I were there it would be the thing I would be doing. But what's the equivalent in the west?