[jonahbenton]

Your experience about the availability of paying work in tech may mislead you about the availability of paying work in the arts, of which, relatively speaking, there is very (very!) little.

That said, there are many ways a tech background is useful in the arts, and some of the most interesting work I have done in tech has been with arts-oriented organizations. Of course quite a number of arts folk subsidize their passion through day jobs in tech.

I would recommend viewing it not as a transition, per se, but an adding on. Good luck.