[Topracer01]

Anyone know of any good advice or resources for how to do freelance for 2d illustration and concept art?

[blue327]

yea I am interested in that topic too...really need some advice.

[ErinFellows]

First of all, ask some more concise questions. General advice is available in many books, the top of the list for specifics being the Graphic Artist's Guide to Pricing and Ethical Guidelines, though you may want to read this after you get some basics. Look on Amazon, there are plenty of guides and how-to books on the subject.

Get in and start doing a job: post on craigslist (though this is by far the worst option), troll job boards and talk to friends and parents' friends to try to find jobs you can do, even if they are small. You want to get your feet wet because until you do, you won't have many specific questions to be asking.

Once you have those questions, come back and ask them all! There will be plenty of people who will eagerly reply and give good responses to specific queries.

[Topracer01]

Originally Posted by ErinFellows

First of all, ask some more concise questions. General advice is available in many books, the top of the list for specifics being the Graphic Artist's Guide to Pricing and Ethical Guidelines, though you may want to read this after you get some basics. Look on Amazon, there are plenty of guides and how-to books on the subject.

Get in and start doing a job: post on craigslist (though this is by far the worst option), troll job boards and talk to friends and parents' friends to try to find jobs you can do, even if they are small. You want to get your feet wet because until you do, you won't have many specific questions to be asking.

Once you have those questions, come back and ask them all! There will be plenty of people who will eagerly reply and give good responses to specific queries.

I wouldn't know what to ask, that's why i posted in the first place. so i can find out what things to watch out for. oh and i did eventually find that book too. managed to find it a few weeks ago. also everyone i've asked don't really like doing it because they've been ripped off by their clients and they got tired of it, which is why i'm hesitant to get my feet wet all. they essentially did what you suggested and ended up not being paid for their work. its better to get get my feet wet with a little knowledge than none at all. thanks for the reply though.

[kovah]

1) Never. Ever. Ever work for free unless its a charity or possibly your mother. This flowchart should help - http://shouldiworkforfree.com/

2) Always use a contract, there are several templates on the internet that are very good.

3) Always get a deposit/advance. If they are not willing to do this its a good sign that they were never intending to pay you in the first place.

4) Profit shares might mean you never get paid, I've yet to have enough confidence in a job to risk doing one for a share of the profit at the end. It might not be true for all things but if people are not willing to invest their own money in it they might not have the inclination to see it through.

[Topracer01]

Originally Posted by kovah

1) Never. Ever. Ever work for free unless its a charity or possibly your mother. This flowchart should help - http://shouldiworkforfree.com/

2) Always use a contract, there are several templates on the internet that are very good.

3) Always get a deposit/advance. If they are not willing to do this its a good sign that they were never intending to pay you in the first place.

4) Profit shares might mean you never get paid, I've yet to have enough confidence in a job to risk doing one for a share of the profit at the end. It might not be true for all things but if people are not willing to invest their own money in it they might not have the inclination to see it through.

Awesome. That's the kind of advice I was looking for. Thanks a lot. Especially for that link. I appreciate it.

[MayLee]

Originally Posted by kovah

1) Never. Ever. Ever work for free unless its a charity or possibly your mother. This flowchart should help

2) Always use a contract, there are several templates on the internet that are very good.

3) Always get a deposit/advance. If they are not willing to do this its a good sign that they were never intending to pay you in the first place.

4) Profit shares might mean you never get paid, I've yet to have enough confidence in a job to risk doing one for a share of the profit at the end. It might not be true for all things but if people are not willing to invest their own money in it they might not have the inclination to see it through.

I read a similar article that informs freelancers on what to do to make sure that we get paid.

[Topracer01]

Originally Posted by MayLee

I read a similar article that informs freelancers on what to do to make sure that we get paid.

wow that was crazy helpful. I'll be definitely referring back to this constantly. thanks!

[RBessa]

I have little experience in freelancing, but I've been trying to get informed and these resources could help.

This article focuses on how to price stuff, but the whole blog is pretty helpful, specially with tips on how to work with mailers/advertise.

The Art Order is a website mantained by Jon Schindehette, art director for Wizards of the Coast. It's not even the specific type of work I would ideally like to work on, but his posts are such a wealth of information and he answers so many questions that anyone can benefit from them. For instance, this post focuses specifically on why and how to prepare your work for an art director you want to work with.

I hope this helps!

[Topracer01]

Originally Posted by RBessa

I have little experience in freelancing, but I've been trying to get informed and these resources could help.

This article focuses on how to price stuff, but the whole blog is pretty helpful, specially with tips on how to work with mailers/advertise.

The Art Order is a website mantained by Jon Schindehette, art director for Wizards of the Coast. It's not even the specific type of work I would ideally like to work on, but his posts are such a wealth of information and he answers so many questions that anyone can benefit from them. For instance, this post focuses specifically on why and how to prepare your work for an art director you want to work with.

I hope this helps!

Nice. Thanks for the links. Especially on that pricing article. I've always been intimidated by that since I've never actually freelanced before. This will help quite a bit. Thanks again.

[Tida]

Originally Posted by kovah

1) Never. Ever. Ever work for free unless its a charity or possibly your mother. This flowchart should help - http://shouldiworkforfree.com/

2) Always use a contract, there are several templates on the internet that are very good.

3) Always get a deposit/advance. If they are not willing to do this its a good sign that they were never intending to pay you in the first place.

4) Profit shares might mean you never get paid, I've yet to have enough confidence in a job to risk doing one for a share of the profit at the end. It might not be true for all things but if people are not willing to invest their own money in it they might not have the inclination to see it through.

Thank you very much. I appreciate your suggestion.

[everlite]

3) Always get a deposit/advance. If they are not willing to do this its a good sign that they were never intending to pay you in the first place.

That's not always true, i've been freelancing for over 10 years with pretty consistent work and there's many times when I enter into a job that doesn't pay up until 30 days after invoice. You really need to make an intelligent choice based on the client. I always do a little research into who they are, if i don't already know them. For example I do concept art and environments for commercials, so if i see the company has a large portfolio of projects on their website, then i feel confident they're going to pay up and from experience they always have, most of the time the clients i work with need to get paid by their client, so it's good business practice to respect this and not be too pushy That said, I also get a lot of people contacting me for independent films and other low budget projects, usually one or two people trying to get a project off the ground, in these cases i ask for 50% in advance. So in the end, you have to decide on a per client basis.

Dave

[Zentrope]

How to be a Rockstar Freelancer by Freelance-switch (Cyan and Collins)...
It's the best book i ever came across regarding this!
You should look into this one for sure!

If you want to ask about anything regarding this book Just PM me or further more visit the Official website of Freelance Switch!

[Topracer01]

Originally Posted by Zentrope

How to be a Rockstar Freelancer by Freelance-switch (Cyan and Collins)...
It's the best book i ever came across regarding this!
You should look into this one for sure!

If you want to ask about anything regarding this book Just PM me or further more visit the Official website of Freelance Switch!

Thanks for the recommendation. I'll check it out.

[Topracer01]

This is a good site for figuring out your hourly rates. http://freelanceswitch.com/rates/