freelancing Tag
13 Mar Being A Dream Client
As a freelance character designer I've worked with a lot of clients over the years: big ones, small ones, established companies and young startups. Most have been terrific and I've been fortunate to work with a lot of really great people. Still, despite the best of intentions not every project runs as smoothly as it could. Even after eleven years of freelancing I still occasionally work on projects that get bogged down by miscommunication, misunderstanding, and avoidable delays. If you hire freelance artists, or are thinking of hiring one soon, here's a list of friendly tips on how to help things go smoothly. Of course project delays and difficulties aren't always the client's fault. Tomorrow I'll turn the tables and give some thoughts aimed at all you freelancers out there. For now, here's some tips on being a "dream client": 1. Give the freelancer as much information about the project as possible. The more info the better. Who is the target audience? What is the project trying to accomplish? Is there a certain style or tone you are after? How will the art be used? Will it need to be enlarged or reduced? How will it fit into the context of the larger project? A lot of these are questions the freelancer should be asking you, but if he doesn't you should offer the information anyway. There's no such thing as too much detail.07 Mar Marketing Mentor
Marketing Mentor is an excellent website and blog for freelancers run by Ilise Benun, a consultant who specializes in helping creative professionals do a better job of marketing themselves. Her blog posts are short, direct, and very helpful. For a sample, check out her recent posts "What does it take to be your own boss?" and "Hourly rates and salaries". Last...
29 Feb Ask Mr. Artist Guy: Why Have A Blog?
Designer/illustrator Clay Cantrell writes:"How important do you feel a blog is as a part of an overall business model for a freelance visual artist? Does it make good business sense, or do you think that only other artists read them, as opposed to potential or current clients?"This is an excellent question, one I've been thinking about a lot lately. My blog has been something of an experiment, and frankly I'm still undecided as to whether or not a blog is a worthwhile way to promote myself and my work. I started getting serious about my blog in July '07, posting five times a week and making efforts to publicize my blog on other websites. My readership has steadily grown; I currently average about 700-800 page views every weekday, and I'm very flattered that so many people are interested in what I have to say. I suspect most of my readers are other artists who will never hire me, but I know for a fact that at least a few are art directors or past clients who have a serious interest in me and my work. Nevertheless, from a purely financial standpoint my blog so far has been a bit of a disappointment. Maybe I'm doing something wrong. But then again, I've only been working at it seriously for about eight months. Everything I've read about blogging describes it as a very slow and gradual build towards success. Blogging is not for the get-rich-quick crowd. So I'm planning to hang in there a while longer and see what happens. I've read about freelancers who started a blog and before they knew it job offers from readers were pouring in (this is more common among freelance writers than artists, which makes sense). While I'd love to say that I'm one of them, that has not been my experience. I can count on two fingers the number of job offers I've received in the last six months as a direct result of my blog. One fell through, the other was actually a writing gig for which I made decent money.
27 Feb Keeping A Morgue Or “Swipe File”
As a freelance illustrator I often use reference photos for my work. Not to copy or trace but to study in order to help me understand the subject matter as I draw. My friend and fellow illustrator Tom Richmond recently wrote a good post on the proper role of reference photos when creating a piece of art. He compares it to a writer using a thesaurus, and warns against relying too heavily on reference imagery so that it becomes a crutch. When I was in art school the internet was brand new and there was no such thing as Google, much less Google Image Search. Back then we were taught to scrounge old magazines from friends, relatives, and recycling centers so that we could pour through them and rip out photos of anything and everything we thought we might be asked to draw someday. We were taught to organize them into what was called a "swipe file" or a "morgue". Over a period of several years I eventually filled two-and-a-half filing cabinets with photos. Google has made much of my "morgue" irrelevant, but not all of it.26 Feb PayPal For Freelancers: Pro’s and Con’s
When I bill out a project, my experience has been that most clients prefer to pay me the old-fashioned way by mailing in a check. However, as the internet continues to make things more convenient some companies are beginning to embrace online options as a way to pay for outside services like freelancing. And more and more freelancers are beginning...