Freelancing
December 7th, 2007 | Posted in Freelancing
Most of the time the way freelancing works, at least with illustration, is that you get a call or e-mail from a client with you in mind for a particular project. They describe what it is they are looking for, and most of the time name a dollar amount as their budget on the job. Then you either accept the job, or you don’t. It isn’t always that way, however. There are three main scenarios where a “job” comes in that isn’t really a job but is a “potential job”… you may or may not end up with any work out of it. The first… READ MORE
November 29th, 2007 | Posted in Freelancing
Last week I posted the final artwork for an ad job I did for Hardee’s Restaurants that was supposed to be used in full page ads in Rolling Stone and other magazines, but ended up not being used at all due to ad budget cuts and instead was used for some internal promotion. That may seem outrageous but that is what sometimes happens in the advertising business. Companies often just burn up money producing images and designs for ad campaigns that never get off the ground. I’ll get paid full rates (and advertising generally pays a lot better than editorial) to do finished art that… READ MORE
November 4th, 2007 | Posted in Freelancing
Q: Are you ever distracted working out of your home, and have you ever considered getting a studio outside your house? A: Having a studio in my home is both good and bad. It’s good in that I do not have to drive anywhere, the studio is always close and ready to go, and I do not have to miss family things like the baby’s first step or my kids getting home from school, etc. It’s bad in that I am never really away from the office… work is always calling to me from the other side of the door, distractions abound from the telephone… READ MORE
October 15th, 2007 | Posted in Freelancing
Over the years I’ve picked up a lot of tips and advice from artists I greatly respect about the best way to make a living freelancing. While there are differing opinions about a few concepts and approaches, most of the successful freelancers I’ve talked to tend to agree about the fundamentals like developing strong relationships and communication with clients, creating a reputation as a reliable, hard worker who meets deadlines and fulfills promises and doing solid work. One concept that does see a fair amount of debate is whether or not a freelance illustrator should stick to a single style and/or specialty or develop several… READ MORE
October 7th, 2007 | Posted in Freelancing
Q: Sorry for the boring question, but how do you deal with income taxes as a freelancer? I see by your logo you are incorporated. Are there tax benefits to that over being self employed? Do you have to pay quarterly estimated taxes? A: Taxes? Boring? Surely you jest! Being self employed is great except for the paperwork, especially the estimated tax payments. Somehow when your tax payments appear as numbers on your check stub as an employee, and you never get the money in the first place, it’s less painful than to have to remove it from your checking account. It’s like you didn’t… READ MORE
September 16th, 2007 | Posted in Freelancing
Q: I’m curious how much money can a cartoonist or a digital artist could make? Could they make as much as 6 figures, or not that much? A: The short answer is there is no definitive answer. There is a limit to your income because there is a limit to the time you can spend working. The freelancer is only one person, and therefore can only produce so much work. The ways to make more money are: Get as much work as humanly possible to do Get more money for the volume of work you can produce Hire assistants to do some of the work… READ MORE
September 9th, 2007 | Posted in Freelancing
Q: What are the first, and most crucial, steps in setting yourself up as a freelancer? What bookkeeping measures or programs do you suggest? How difficult is dealing with taxes? If you were starting out today, what would your “to-do” list look like? Thanks! A: The absolutely most important first step is setting up your identity. What I mean by that is creating a professional image though the organization and presentation of your work and yourself as an illustrator. All the peripheral stuff like book keeping, taxes, etc. are just paperwork. They are important in their own right, but only if you are getting work… READ MORE
August 19th, 2007 | Posted in Freelancing
Q: I am currently developing a couple of different portfolios to shop around to different companies. Each portfolio I am working on basically “caters” to that specific company I am going to send it to. I have done some freelance work in the past, as a matter of fact, as I speak, I am developing and illustrating characters for a board game expansion due out in September, but, as I develop my portfolio and ready myself to send it out to the different companies I am targeting, what advice can you give me to make a better impression on the companies I am sending them… READ MORE
