Freelancing
August 12th, 2007 | Posted in Freelancing
Q: Have you ever turned down an assignment for MAD, and if so, why? A: Only once. Several years ago I was driving to Massachusetts to open my theme park operation at Six Flags New England for the first time. I received a call from MAD to do a parody of a movie called “Panic Room” starring Jodie Foster and Forrest Whitaker. Much as I would have loved to do it, I was about to spend almost two weeks setting up and working at the theme park, plus the drive home to Minnesota from Massachusetts. The deadline was too tight, so I had to turn… READ MORE
July 28th, 2007 | Posted in Freelancing
Back when I was going to college at a small school in St. Paul, Minnesota called the School of Associated Arts (now the College of Visual Arts), there were three distinct groups of students… the illustrators, the fine artists and the designers. To say the three groups were mutually exclusive would be unfair, as most of us got along just fine, but it would be fair to say that among each group there was often an attitude about the validity of other groups. The fine artists were sometimes heard to call the illustrators “wrists” as we were considered by some creativeless machines that churned out… READ MORE
April 21st, 2007 | Posted in Freelancing
I was thinking the other day about how much the internet has changed the dynamics of freelancing, in terms of how illustrators communicate, conduct and deliver jobs and market their work. For the most part it’s been an invaluable tool, but there is a dark side to it. The easy access and instant communication of the internet often leads to being contacted for jobs that aren’t really jobs. I used to have the same problem when I drew at the theme parks. A few times each summer someone would approach me at the park and ask me to draw something for them that was obviously… READ MORE
April 5th, 2007 | Posted in Freelancing
Several people commented on yesterday’s article on deadlines, both via the comments here and via e-mail. So I thought I’d follow up on a few other thoughts about deadlines. Shawn chimed in to say that, despite the financial uncertainty, he’s glad he made the jump to freelancing. With regard to freelancing versus employment, he says: “There’s so many arguments for either side. I personally find that I’m more satisfied and work harder for myself at home than in an office environment for a company. The trick is time and money management.” I am also glad to be freelancing successfully. That said, it isn’t as much… READ MORE
April 4th, 2007 | Posted in Freelancing
Good news! I’m not dead and I’m done with that MAD job. I’ll share the art on the blog upon publication next month. That may have been the shortest deadline I’ve gotten so far from them. Ahhhh deadlines… the bane of the freelancer’s existence. Every freelancer wrestles with deadlines, and we all complain about them. We complain about how short they are or how they are not flexible or not realistic. They are imposed on us and stress us out. How they eat into our time and brains and creativity, or make us compromise on aspects of our work to meet them. Deadlines are the… READ MORE
March 4th, 2007 | Posted in Freelancing
Q: My question is about keeping all business matters straight. Do you recommend any software in particular such as Quicken or the myriad Microsoft Office apps? A: The business aspect of being a freelance illustrator is sometimes intimidating for artists because… well…. they’re ARTISTS. Whether you buy into the left brain/right brain theory or not, it’s often the case that the creative mind has difficulty with analytical things like organization, record keeping, invoicing, etc. It’s really not difficult at all, and there are lots of things that can help out. Some are computer programs and some are not. In addition to the freelance business, I… READ MORE
February 20th, 2007 | Posted in Freelancing
An art director’s job, as it pertains to illustrators, is to work with an artist to create an image or images for a project, be it to accompany an article in a magazine, illustrate a book, add visuals to an advertisement or a product packaging. Anytime a client needs a piece of art there is almost always an art director (AD) involved. Basically ADs act as a translator for the client. They translate what the client’s needs are into the artist’s visual language. They have several tasks along the way. First they need to find an artist who’s work is what the project and client… READ MORE
February 17th, 2007 | Posted in Freelancing
I received the following e-mail from artist Ernie Kwiat: Every company I work for seems to have a different Work for Hire contract for me to sign. Since I usually am dealing with licensed characters and have no claim to their copyright or trademark, I usually just sign the contracts and hope to get my money. Lately these contracts have been getting more and more objectionable to me. How do you handle them? I’d have used that as a mailbag question but it needs a lot more than a quick answer. It also opens up the opportunity for me to write about the differences between… READ MORE
