Yes they should, if only to have more control of their online branding as well as creation of a logo and other marketing materials. I constantly hear from fellow artists that the reason they cannot sell their art is because they can’t afford to hire a graphic designer or that they do not have the time to market their art or perhaps they are too shy to self promote. We all know selling art is a difficult endeavor but the very skills you have cultivated as an artist you were not born with and so cultivating more skills utilizing graphic design can be applied as well.
I was an artist much longer than I was a graphic designer, but many of the skills overlap such as color theory, composition, hierarchy and white space. You apply these on the canvas or paper or sculpture and you also apply them on the computer monitor. Here are the benefits of knowing some graphic design as an artist:
Save money by creating your own logo and branding instead of hiring someone.
Have control of you social media platforms and post accordingly.
You can create packaging and promotional materials that you can have printed.
You can get a full time or part time job as a graphic designer or illustrator to boost your income.
You can color correct photos you take of your art.
It will be easier for you to design your own website (don’t worry you will not need to know code)
The next question is where to learn? Well that all depends on what you want to do. Adobe Creative Suite now hosts all of its’ applications for a monthly fee which is not too pricy if you are going to use it a lot. They have great tutorials on their site for you to learn and their yearly conference Adobe MAX has been free on-line for the past two years and here you can learn from many talented designers for free. The next thing would be to take some classes or certifications at your local university extension. You would have to see what they offer but that is what I did for web design. There are also online learning platforms such as Skillshare, Coursera and Udemy that offer courses or certifications that are affordable. Lastly you can watch YouTube tutorials for free but sometimes you have to do some digging.
Just as you might take an art class to learn some new techniques that same desire to better yourself applies to learning some graphic design. I see both raw art and graphic design as parts of the skill set that one needs to learn. Indeed early graphic designers often painted and drew their designs by hand rather than by computer and so these professions are definitely cousins. So yes anything learned is not wasted time and graphic design skills will only help you in your art and artist profession.
Maya