Resorce: Freelance Work Websites.

Here are some links to sites with listed freelance work in illustration and animation A great way to find a brief that fits your interests and start finding paid work. Some of the site such as Coroflot, Freelanced and Behance will let you create a portfolio for potential clients to view your work.

Coroflot

 http://www.coroflot.com/

 

Behance

https://www.behance.net/

 

Freelanced

http://www.freelanced.com/

Fiverr

https://www.fiverr.com/

 

People per hour

http://www.peopleperhour.com/

 

oDecks

https://www.odesk.com/

 

99 designs

http://99designs.co.uk/

 

Spirit of wind - submissions

Are you a fan of Studio Ghibli? I have some great news for you, coming summer 2015, there is a tribute show taking place in Southern California hosted by 3tArts , and there looking for submissions!

Art work by Le Tea Leaf

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Information from 3tArts facebook

• You DO NOT have to submit a brand new piece. We would just like to see a portfolio of things you have done. If you can include some previous Studio Ghibli art, that would be great!
• That being said, you DO NOT have to have Studio Ghibli fan art in your portfolio! We would much prefer a quality artist with no Studio Ghibli art rather than a mediocre artist with tons of Studio Ghibli art!
• You DO NOT have to be from California.
• You MUST be 18+ years of age to participate. We know there are a lot of great younger artists out there but this is to protect us and any legal issues we may run in to.
• Once you submit, the curators will go over your portfolio and will consider you. ALL 3 curators must agree in order for you to be in the show.
• We will accept submissions until the end of this year or until the slots fill up. We will remind everyone and let you know the status of the slots.
• You MUST email your portfolio with [SUBMISSIONS] in the subject line and your artist name
• PLEASE do send us what BEST represents YOU as an artist

Now that you've read everything through, email us your submission at spiritofthewind2015@gmail.com!

If you have any other questions in regards to this and it's not answered here, please feel free to ask! Thank you!

3tarts

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Calling All Artist

… here is a perfect opportunity to promote and sell your artwork to a wide audience. The London Illustration fair are looking for submissions from a broad range of Illustrators and Artists for their event taking place Dec 5th-7th. Their last event saw over 2000 visitors attend with a huge amount of work being sold.

Submission date is Monday October 13th.

Head over to http://www.thelondonillustrationfair.co.uk/artist-guide

to check out their submission guide.

 

Artist tip: Don’t let the stall and commission prices scare you. It can be a bit daunting applying for events like these when you come across all the costs.  Try tackling the problem by approaching the event organizers about booking a stall as group. For example £200 split between five of you is a lot less scary then covering it on your own. Check out their previous events on their website and see if it appeals to you.

Create your own website - for FREE...

Create your own website for free from thousands of templates at Wix.com
Create your own online portfolio to showcase your work as an Illustrator or Animator. Stunning websites without the hefty price tag and no coding needed...just your creative input.

Wix.com - FREE website deisgn

And to register your domain name at a great price visit:123-Reg

A site with quite a few new animation jobs updated daily: Animated Jobs

Freelance contract sample

A reference for all freelance artists. This contract can be amended to suit you and your clients needs prior to starting a project.

Contrarctor to Client Contract

Artist Interview: Michael Doig

Artist Interview : Michael Doig

___________________________________________________________________

Concept Artist and Illustrator

What first drew you to a future in the arts? 

Truthfully, I had not considered developing a career as an artist until late into high school. I wanted to make games, and set myself down an academic path of math, physics and computing believing this would be my route into becoming a proficient games developer. A consequence of picking these at advanced higher left me with a great deal of free time during my 6th year timetable, and I spent those free periods in the schools’ art department. I learned of a games development competition known as Dare to be Digital which involved creating a game prototype hosted at the Universtyof Abertay, Dundee where they taught a BSc (Hons) in Games Technology so applied for an open day to visit the campus. During this visit I stumbled into the room set up to show past work by Computer Arts students and found it way more exciting. In the end I applied for both courses, and subsequently chose my path in Computer Arts.


What is the single most useful practice that you think aspiring artists should focus on to improve their skills?

Enjoy drawing every day. Develop your sense of adventure, and your willingness to explore new things. Be this in life or in art. Challenge yourself to try things you hadn’t considered, and keep pushing when you hit a difficult task. If everything you are attempting feels easy then you have hit a plateau and you are not challenging yourself enough. Work Hard. Spend some time every day to draw. Think of all the things you can’t do art wise, and do them. Put your work out there, I recently attended a workshop in London where portfolio reviews from professionals were sought and encouraged. There is a humbling awe attained by handing over your folio to a number of great artists, each step and review you’re carrying with you the knowledge of all the flaws, and weaknesses they’ve revealed to you, and forcing yourself to hand it over again like a broken thing. Listen to the advice from people you trust, and question the source.

What is the difference between working 'regular' hours in house and working freelance?

During office hours you’re expected to work for extended periods of time on single or multiple tasks but the time is compacted into a working day. Freelance offers the flexibility to allow you to spread this time in a way which is more beneficial to your personal needs. Quantity of hours can vary in both circumstances. A great part of the decision to be a freelancer for me was the freedom that came with this of not being tied to a geographical location where the office becomes an anchor point for the work you do. Owning my own laptop allows me to work from anywhere I can carry a satchel to... that has an available power supply. I can work from home, or I can travel to work remotely for anyone, anywhere.


What should students leaving college expect from the arts industry? 

It is important to first recognise that there is no singular arts industry, and each industry involving art has its own practices, principles and people. The cultures vary, the work varies and the expectations fluctuate. Everything is in constant motion as new technologies influence present and future projects and you must be able to adapt to these changes with as much ease as possible. The difference between the approach to work in film, games and animation is staggering, but there are core fundamental skills/knowledge which transcends all of them, and they will best aid you in your versatility. Life drawing, drawing from observation and the use of light, colour, value, form, perspective, anatomy, edges, and visual design .I highly recommend browsing Gurney journey, a blog by Dinotopian artist James Gurney, as it is a treasure trove of art fundamentals and art history. Expect to show your work constantly, make it presentable as soon as possible and be able to communicate the creative choices you’ve made.


Have you ever had to work for any difficult clients?

Yes. Often this involved me working voluntarily and there’s a certain wariness involved in committing your time to a project where your value is not immediately clear or evident to the client. A clients’ background or skillset will influence how they will interact with you, so learning who and what they are is as important as learning what it is they are looking for, as with experience you can learn to deliver what your client needs, over what they think they need. Trust in your own experience, you have been hired for your knowledge, and often a clients’ opinion will override their sense. You need to manage their expectations against your own creativity and negotiate this with them. I once had to paint textures for an environment before the environment itself had been modelled, and had barely been visualised. It felt a lot like shooting in the dark, but I learned a great deal about hand painting textures, and communicating with a client.


If there was one piece of advice that you could go back and give yourself at the start of your career, what would it be? 

Don’t be afraid to finish a piece, and walk away. Often I would abandon works in progress for fear that if I kept rendering, I would lose the initial flurry of energy in the first strokes. Strike the balance for visual clarity, and learn to finish. One of the upsides of working digitally is that a piece can survive in its many incarnations along the path of its creation, with multiple layers and files which allows more freedom. I’d also recommend experimenting more with traditional media and colour earlier, and this is something I aim to learn this year is painting with acrylic and oils. I’d like to be more bold and take the risks that come with the removal of the undo key.

Is there a tip you’ve discovered that has made a difference to your work or workflow? Eg, a particular PS brush, plug in, or even just a way of using your pencil differently to attain a particular effect? 

Lots, I find watching livestreams online by my peers an amazing insight into techniques or approaches I had never considered. Find the tools which resonate with you, the answer to this question is your own unique artistic journey. I can share with you my own tools, but you are the key ingredient required to learn to use them. I can tell you what to look for though. Look for tools which increase your efficiency, which allow you to bridge the gap between your vision and the paint itself, so you can think less about the tools and more about their application. I work primarily in photoshop, and an example I learned abou Tool Presets from a livestream hosted by Anthony Jones. This dropdown list contains a list of my favourite go to brushes and the window is ever present beside my canvas. These are collection of brush templates + the additional brush settings applied to them, this way you can mix and match on the go.


What is art to you? 

Art is an ability to tell stories visually. Art serves purpose, whether that is to entertain, to educate or some semblance of both. Art is a way of processing the world, and delivering back your taste of it. Art is a way of life.


What is the most useful piece of equipment/software that you own?

My sense of adventure and my laptop/Wacom, they are a symbiotic pair, as one would not be useful without the other. I like to keep my equipment portable, so I can eagerly explore and travel with my art.


What is the worst piece of advice that you have ever been given?

‘You’re only here for the money, if you weren’t being paid, you’d be at home drawing what you’d want to be drawing.’ Money isn’t the motivator, it’s the catalyst, an enabler for you to do what it is you truly want to do. Why would I remember the bad advice? I don’t have enough room in my mind to store useless information, and why would that be of any use to you? ;3 If you’re looking for horror stories I’m sure I could dig up some.


Which of your pieces is your favourite and why?

I honestly don’t know. I know which pieces have resonated with others and could therefore be seen as successful, but I like pieces where I feel a sense of accomplishment. I painted an anthropomorphic raven playing a bone flute, and it’s an example of pushing one of my paintings to a more finished state. I recently learned this one piece tipped my life onto its current path, gaining me new work so I figure this one is pretty favored.

Which other artist inspires you the most? 

I couldn’t possibly pin this down to one artist - if I had to I would say one then this year I’ve taken a ton of inspiration from concept artist, Anthony Jones. His kickstarter for his art book Heaven’s Hell has been fantastic and I am eager to get my hands on a copy. His kickstarter livestream launched a lot of communities on facebook which I’m glad to have been a part of.


Do you listen to media while you work? If so, what kind? 

A great deal of the time I will listen to music which evokes in me the kind of feeling or passion that I want to instil in my work. This is often soundtracks from films/games/television. It is best to set up these playlists in advance otherwise when I song ends into silence, it may pull you from your creative state in order to find the next track and this is a distraction best avoided. I also listen to livestreams that have been recorded or broadcast live from varying peers as I find it incredibly useful to learn about the artist behind the work, and experience what makes them tick. In addition to this google hangouts have become a great way of interacting with multiple artists as they are working, I’m especially fond of the Crimson Daggers hangout.

(http://crimsondaggers.com/)

How often do you use reference material in your work?

Not as often as I should and you can see this immediately in my imagined heads/faces or stiffer looking poses. I’m working to incorporate more reference and studies into my daily routines. I try to break down the use of referenced studies as a problem solving exercise, where I am capturing the nature of the subject in the least amount of strokes. This analysis and breaking down what I am seeing into simpler forms allows me to better understand what I am looking at. Don’t rush though, the aim is not to work fast, but efficiently.

Can you Draw the Dinosaur? 

____________________________________________________________________

You can find more of Michael Doig's art at:

michaeldoigart.blogspot.co.uk

facebook.com/michaeldoigartist

twitter.com/michaeldoigart

13 Pieces of Advice for Freelance Designers & Illustrators

Graphic Designer & Illustrator Graham Pilling (www.armyofcats.com) spent some time with the 3^rd Year students discussing professional practice and how to approach the business side of visual creative work.

The following are some quick thoughts and ideas that came out of some of the questions asked and the points discussed and may prove useful to anyone looking to get into the design, illustration, or animation industry, whether freelancing or working for a studio.

Many of the topics below are vastly more complex than the short accompanying descriptions imply, and it is suggested that these form the starting point for students’ own more detailed research online and in books.

HOW TO GET THE BALL ROLLING

Know the direction you want the ball to go, and start pushing. The key is not to wait around for someone to get the ball rolling for you.

I come across many students who seemingly get so into the routine of being assigned work by a tutor, handing it in to receive comments and criticism, and then dutifully receiving the next brief, that when they leave education they innocently wonder where the next task will come from. It's a competitive industry; it's unrealistic to assume someone is going to come along and give you a 'leg up'.

Start thinking about the direction you need to go in before you leave and start working towards that now.

BUSINESS SKILLS & UNDERSTANDING VALUE

Know your market. Devote a fraction of your time towards researching about how the industry works. There are lots of blogs and books available about the business skills needed to be a successful designer, illustrator, animator, etc.

Don't be one of those students who I get emails from asking the most short-sighted and banal questions which they could easily answer for themselves. Be proactive! Read up on this stuff! If you plan to freelance and don't understand tax basics or how to keep accounts, then you are lacking much needed skills.

WHAT IS IT FOR?

This is a great question to ask of pieces of work that you see in order to start understanding the commercial application of illustration and design. What is the purpose of the work? Who is the target audience? How will it make money or create value for the client/artist? What does it set out to achieve, and is it successful?

Read blogs and look at the work of established creatives - often they will point out the objective of the work they have produced. Getting your head round the commercial application of design/illustration can give you a huge early advantage in your career. Which leads us nicely on to...

IF YOU CAN'T GET CLIENTS, MAKE THEM UP!

I have no formal qualifications in art or design. When I got my first design job, all the other applicants had design degrees, yet I was successful at getting the job. Why? Because I had a portfolio of client work, and they had portfolios of school work.

Once you are able to better understand the commercial applications of the work you want to do, start working on examples for your portfolio. Make up the client briefs if you have to, just make them realistic with the purpose of being a case study to show that you understand the application of the work.

I highly recommend the book "Creative Workshop: 80 Challenges to Sharpen Your Design Skills" by David Sherwin for generating ideas and improving your skills.

DESIGN COMPETITIONS / SPEC WORK / WORKING FOR FREE

I, like many professional designers, wholeheartedly discourage involvement in design competitions, crowd sourcing, or spec (speculative work) where the final design is to be used for any sort of commercial purposes.

This basically means any endeavour where you are being asked to submit your creative work, time, and experience for free, but with the promise that you may get some sort of reward if your design is 'picked', or that you will gain exposure, or a great piece for your portfolio. Sometimes you are even expected to PAY to submit work.

Fundamentally, what it boils down to is this: if a business is asking you to do free work, how much do they actually value your work? Do you really want to spend time working for someone who considers your work and time to be worth absolutely nothing?

You wouldn't go into a restaurant and ask 10 chefs to each prepare 10 separate meals with the intention of only paying for the meal you enjoyed the most. Likewise it is just as unreasonable and unethical for clients to employ this method of soliciting work.

This process often results in a poor end result for the client, and also it damages and devalues the work of the industry as a whole.  Spec work is a widely debated topic and one which creatives and clients alike sometimes struggle to understand fully, so if you're still not sure what it is, then read up about it. http://www.no-spec.com is a good place to start.

I have seen blogs and other online articles advising young designers/illustrators to initially do work for free in order to get a portfolio together. Don't do this. It is absolutely terrible advice. Value your work and the time you put into it. If you don't value your work, you may find yourself stuck with an endless stream of 'clients' who don't value your work either.

Heed the advice of Jessica Hische, author of the wonderful http://shouldiworkforfree.com  Being asked to give your work away in return for 'exposure' or 'a good portfolio piece' is "the most toxic line of bullshit anyone will ever feed you."

GET THE BASICS RIGHT

Put together an online portfolio where people can see your work. Make it easy for people to contact you. Put your contact details in an email signature as well as on your site. If you decide to work under a 'studio name' that isn't your actual name, avoid unprofessional or offensive names. Reply to emails in a timely fashion.

These are all very simple points but I frequently come across designers/illustrators who can't even get the basics right.

DEVELOP A PROCESS/WORKFLOW

Learn some basic planning and Project Management skills to enable you to plan out any given project you might be approached with. Not only will this help you organise the work, but it will be vital in providing accurate quotes to your client.

Use a Work Breakdown Structure to work out what tasks need to be completed in a given project. If you are working to a deadline, then divide up the time and make sure you have enough time for each task in order to deliver the final work on time. Where appropriate, explain your process to your client and give them an indication of when they can expect certain deliverables.

When you complete a project, take a little time to self-review and look at what worked and what didn't? What can you streamline and improve so you can be more efficient next time?

TIME SAVING TOOLS

If you find yourself doing repetitive tasks then explore better/faster ways of doing them. A simple Google search might save you hours of work in the long run! Use methods like Time Boxing to control and focus how you spend your time.

CONTRACT / WORK AGREEMENT

Don't undertake work without a contract - especially with new clients.  Your contract, or Work Agreement, doesn't have to be overly complicated, it just has to be a way to formally

acknowledge the project description, the agreed payment terms, time-scales, as well as the appropriate Usage Rights for the client (i.e. if you're being paid to do a t-shirt design, the client should not get usage rights to create prints or stickers of the artwork).

There are lots of resources online and in books to help you put a contract together. Put a bit of time and effort into researching and writing one. Don't worry that the contract will scare off clients - the only ones it will scare off were the ones who were planning to shaft you! Professionals use contracts; it should become your standard practice.

DEVELOPING A STYLE

When you're still early in your career, don't worry about trying to develop a style. That will come with time and experience. Experiment and try out different mediums. Broaden out.

This may be hard to hear but your early work will suck in ways you may not see until you develop an eye and understanding that comes with experience, so trying to develop a style early on is not always the best use of time. Just keep working and improving!

REFINE YOUR IDEAS

Learn how to REFINE your work and ideas. In many situations a simpler idea or concept will be far more successful than a complicated one. Imagine a gold prospector from the Old West - when he is panning for gold, he is sifting out the crap and looking to leave only the gold behind. Imagine a jeweller polishing a valuable trinket or jewel - he is removing that outer layer of dirt and dust to let the good stuff shine through.

It's far too easy to 'overdo' good design/illustration work by adding too much to it. When it comes to refining and polishing, instead ask yourself what can you remove? Look for ways to discard the superfluous and leave behind the core design, message or concept.

DON'T BE PUT OFF BY TALENT OUT THERE / DON'T WORRY ABOUT FEELING LIKE A FAKE!

This can be a tough one. It is easy to be discouraged when focusing on the successes of others or the mind-blowing quantity and quality of work out there in Internet Land. Do not give in to doubt and distress! There are lots of opportunities out there so keep working and it will pay off. Focus on improving the delivery and quality of service for your clients - you might not be able to be the greatest in your field, but you can still be the greatest to you clients.

When starting out, everyone has to deal with self-doubt and the sneaky feeling that you are 'faking it'. This is a natural part of being inexperienced so don't let it get to you. It means you are learning something new, challenging yourself and making the transition from shaky newbie to stalwart professional!

BE HONEST, BE POSITIVE, HAVE INTEGRITY, CELEBRATE QUALITY

I firmly believe that your attitude to your work, your clients, and your peers can have a huge impact on your success in all aspects of work and life. While being positive doesn't guarantee you clients, being negative is certainly a good way to make them avoid you. Strong ethics and professional integrity might not seem like they add obvious value to the service you provide. These aspects are in fact priceless and will strengthen your reputation and gain you word of mouth referral work.

Strive to be honest, reliable and professional and be proud of the quality of service you can provide.

Further Reading

Here’s a selection of books I’ve found to be useful or just inspiring. These are aimed more at Graphic Design but are still worth a look if you are involved in a different field:

How to be a Graphic Designer, Without Losing Your Soul - Adrian Shaughnessy

The Art of Looking Sideways - Alan Fletcher

Graphic Design: A User's Manual - Adrian Shaughnessy

Things I Have Learned in My Life So Far - Stefan Sagmeister

Sagmeister: Made You Look - Stefan Sagmeister

The Illustrator's Guide to Law and Business Practice - Simon Stern

The Small Stakes: Music Posters - Jason Munn

Naive Graphics: Modernism and Folklore in Contemporary Graphic Design - Robert Klanten

Creative Workshop: 80 Challenges to Sharpen Your Design Skills - David Sherwin