Getting work as Freelancer: rely more an artistry or business sense?

[Morne]

Hi all

This is one of thise "how long is a string" kind of questions. But here goes anyways.

As a freelancer, some people seem to get a LOT of work and money, while others are really just "struggling artists" that doesnt get any work or money.


For those that get lots of work, what percentage would you say is attributed to your artistic skills, vs your skills as a businessman/woman?

[joconnell]

Here's a post someone stuck up on cg talk a while back which is relevant:

One thing I'd like to mention is that a big reason that some artist
work and others don't is because of their business skills.
Unfortunately we in the arts, (whether it's CG, traditional,
performance art, dancing, music) tend to only work solely on the craft
and we never take the time to develop proper business skills.
Promoting yourself, networking, finding leads, interviewing, sales,
closing the deal etc., are all part of an art form that can be
developed if you work on it and spend a little time reading on how to
do them properly. Unfortunately, as artists we never take the time to
learn these precious skills and sadly they aren't taught in art
schools (they should be). That is why you have reps, managers, and
head hunters, who spend their time schmoozing with art buyers and
industry people.

Many years ago I had a fortunate turn of events disguised as a
calamity. I went through a horrible divorce and had a sort nervous
break down and didn't want to do art anymore. Mostly I didn't want to
work or do anything except lie in bed. I went out and got a job as a
real estate broker because I thought it would be easy. Shit job, but
it's a do or die business and nobody does it because they love it or
because they want to change the world or leave a legacy. It's a
business that is unashamedly done for money, nothing else. I did it
for three years and the first year I starved and ate through my
saving, even though I worked 7 days a week, 14 hour days! But, in
three years I went from starving and eating through my savings to
being the top producer at my office and even winning an award for it.
It all happened when I realized that deals aren't just going to fall
in my lap. Hitting bottom made me get humble and I started to read
every book I could on the art of selling and salesmanship. I read
books on closing deals, on business, on real estate, on interviewing
and being interviewed, on marketing, self promotion, on networking and
even books on body language, and how to make good first impressions,
even books on how to get people to like me. I searched out people who
were doing really well and I picked their brains for information. Then
I applied this stuff to everything in my life. LOL! I even used some
sales techniques I learned to get the woman who is now my wife, to go
on a date with me!

Then one day I thought, "why am I being hateful scum?", (that's how
brokers are treated) and thought, "why don't I apply what I've learned
to getting back into my first love, illustration?". I had previously
been very successful especially in the 80's, but it was totally blind
luck and because of a pretty good skill level that I had in
traditional painting. I had spent the early 90's in show business and
had burned all my bridges in illustration and lost all my old clients
during that time. But now I decided that I wanted to get back to
illustration and I wanted to do it mostly in CG . (Very few people
were doing that yet, but I saw the writing on the wall early on and I
also am a freak for technology). In short I applied, these networking,
interviewing, and closing techniques I learned in Real Estate to
illustration and in six months I made more from illustration than I
had done in the 80's in two years. I acquired several dedicated
clients that I have to this day. That was over a decade ago and I
haven't been out of work since. I actually have to turn down work
month after month because I get too much, even in this economy. I've
had to hire an intern and I outsource my billing and paperwork to
India with a virtual assistant! And this is all without a decent
website, actually it's a page of thumbnails that I haven't updated in
many, many years. I don't even sign my name to my work. One day I'll
put a real website together for vanity sake, but I don't need one, all
my work now comes from word of mouth and my network.

I'd would like to humbly share some of the tricks I learned on getting
work. I'm a freelancer and I primarily do 2d, but I think this stuff
would work whether you are looking for solid employment or if you do
3d modeling.

First of all, know your industry. What are the companies that do what
you do? Who are the people who do the hiring at these companies and
what are they looking for? If you do paintings for book jacket covers,
don't send pictures of Tom Sawyer to a place that does Romantic book
covers, and don't send paintings of beautiful girls to a place that
does children's fiction. That is why I don't use a website, because
when make a connection with someone who has the power to use my work,
I prefer to send them a specialized selection of what I do, based on
what they need.

Cast a big net, but also spend time focusing on companies that you
know you would be right for. Then make decide that you are going to do
work with them. (I say "work with them" instead of "work for them"
because that little subtle difference in attitude is the difference
between you being someone who is a useful and valuable to their
company or being a beggar looking for a hand out. Many artist go into
an interview with their tail between their legs begging for a job
instead of showing them how what they do is going to be invaluable.)
Learn as much as you can about your target companies and the people
who work there as you can. What projects are they working on? What
programs do they use? What awards have they won? Who's who?
Once you know who the hiring people are, put a target on their backs.
If they have secretaries, get friendly with their secretaries (in a
respectful way). Be really nice to them, they are often the
gatekeepers. Ask them for advice on getting to your target and how to
best approach them. I've gotten tons of useful advice from secretaries
over the years and they've set up meetings for me that I would not
have ordinarily gotten. However, sometimes you have to bypass the
gatekeepers. Try calling after 5pm or before 9am. Secretaries work 9
to 5, but the people who are your targets, often put in long hours and
are very often still at the office long after secretaries have gone
home.
Once you make contact, get the appointment by asking nicely, tell them
what you do. If they tell you they aren't hiring ask if you can send
them some of your work for their files. Ask them if they know anyone
else at their company or any other company who could use the services
you provide. Ask them if it's OK to show them work you do from time to
time and tell them that you would appreciate their thoughts and crits.
After all these people are human, and many like to help.

[joconnell]

And the second part:

If you get a face to face interview, don't forget to ask for the job
after you are through with your presentation. I can't tell you how
many artists go into an interview show everything they've done and
then just wait for the client to offer a job. You have to ask for it.
And then after you ask for it shut your mouth and let them answer. I
can't tell you how important that is. Ask for the deal and zip your
mouth to put the pressure on them to answer. Joe Girard, on record in
the guinness book as the greatest salesman, says, in his book, How to
Sell Anything, "when you are done with the presentation, ask for the
sale then shut up. The first one to speak owns the product". This one
trick increased closings when I was doing real estate about 5000
percent! It has worked for me in the illustration field time and
again, and I even used this trick to ask the lady who is now wife, for
a date!

Every assignment you do, ask your client if they know anyone who would
benefit from what you do and then ask if you can use their name. Call
or email the people that are recommended to you and say, "I'm an
artist, "John Smith" thought you might be interested in what I do, can
I come in and show you? Then shut up and wait for the answer. If they
say they don't have the time, ask if you can send a few samples of
what you do, then don't forget to follow up a few days later. If they
still say no, then ask if there is anyone they know that can benefit
from what you do. Then shut up for the answer. (You should be
practicing this all the time on everyone). If you get to show your
work, don't forget to ask for the job. If they say no, find out why
without acting hurt or being obnoxious, and ask them what can you do
to make the work more suitable for their needs, and after they answer
ask if you can do a few samples. Then shut up and wait for the answer.
If they say yes, treat it as if it is your "obra maestra" your
masterpiece. My wife, who is in Fashion just landed a $400,000 a year
job in a fashion company using this very tactic. The company was so
excited at the idea of her doing a few samples that they asked the
other interviewees to do something too. Everyone else either did one
or two drawings or they tried to pass off previous work. My wife,
designed a whole line specifically catering to their needs and made a
gorgeous presentation. The line is a name brand, so my wife went out
and researched the person the brand is named after and was the only
one to make a full presentation that was relevant. And it was
stunning. They were incredibly impressed, especially the person the
brand is named after. My wife is now the creative director of the
Brand. All for going that extra mile.

This brings me to another point. No one goes the extra mile any more.
If you are asked to do something, even if it's on spec, treat it as if
your life depended on what you do. If you get a job at your desired
place, even if it's the lowest level entry job, go full out. Then make
yourself so valuable that they have to hire you or promote you because
you are so valuable. It's called work for a reason, give that extra
thousand percent and it will come back to you.

Also, your best leads are the people you already work for. If you do
work for someone, make a card or a spreadsheet for them and put every
piece of information you know about them on it. Ie, birthdays,
assignments you've done, crits you've received, articles you read
about them, comments they've made, etc. Always send a card from time
to time. This should be something you do for anyone you made a
connection with, whether it's a secretary, an art director, a head
hunter, or even someone who just gave you a lead. There are tons of
holidays that can be excuses to send a card with your work on it.
Every year I make a Christmas card, a Halloween card, Easter, mother's
and father's day (for clients that are parents), one year I even made
a first day of summer card. You can be sure that very few people are
going this extra mile and it's so easy, especially now a days with
email and virtual assistants. Even if you land a job somewhere, keep
in touch with your network, you never know when you will be pounding
the pavement again.

At the interview, be alert, and look presentable with a touch of
something that makes you look like an artist. Whoever is hiring you,
has their own job on the line, and if they hire you and you aren't
reliable, it looks bad on them. If two people with equal skills come
in for a job and one looks like they are going to a basketball game
(you wouldn't believe how much this happens) and the other is dressed
very neatly and business like with maybe a pin or a tie that looks
cool and artistic, who do you think will get the job? A friend of mine
use to use his well-groomed long hair to make him look like an artist
and counter-balanced that with a very cool, casual, tie-less suit to
look like an artist that you can trust with a $200,000 job. He was a
very successful mural painter and did murals for major movie theaters.
I even worked with him on a couple of murals for several Sony and
Leows theaters.

Once you get your foot in the door, make friends with your clients.
Cultivate those friendships, they are part of your network now and
people hire friends far more than they do people they don't know. My
clients know my wife and they know my daughter and we sometimes invite
them for dinner. I have clients that I call whenever there is a good
art show in town and a couple of art buyers that I take to the Society
of Illustrators shows every year. I have clients in Canada, Spain,
Poland, Germany, and England and whenever any of them are in town, I
make sure I find time to take them to dinner. This is really
important.

[joconnell]

And the bloody third!!!

Keep looking for leads and approaching contacts. this is of great
importance and you should be looking and approaching people all the
time. After all you are in sales. You are selling yourself as well as
your art. And any good salesman will tell you, sales is a numbers
game. Every prospective client you approach and ask for "the deal" is
one closer to your being someone who does art full time. Don't be
afraid to afraid to approach the top studios and companies. Sometimes
it can be easier to get into a major company than a little fly by
night company. But remember it's a numbers game. The effort it takes
to make a contact at a major studio is well worth the effort. If you
succeed in making contact with some one at a major studio, don't let
that go. Cultivate it, keep in touch with them, show them what you do,
ask for crits, and befriend them. I know someone who got a job at one
of the major studios because they friended an artist there at one of
the forums. He did great work and always posted on the same threads
and gave and accepted good criticism. After time they actually became
good friends and acquired mutual respect for each other's work and
work ethic. When there was an opening at the movie studio, the guy
working there recommended the other. The other got an interview and
the rest is history. This kind of thing happens a lot more than you
think. Don't be afraid to go after the Dreamworks and ILMs of this
world. And if you make contact ask if you can show your progress from
time to time. Big risks come with big rewards. If you never ask for
work at ILM, you chances of getting it are 0. But if you do ask, you
have increased your chances.

Funny how few people realize that they are what they are selling. You
are your product. When you have a portfolio that goes that extra mile
and the characters are thrilling to look at and are posed in exciting
and imaginative ways, and you show your workflow and the UV and meshes
are displayed in an interesting way, and your whole presentation is
extraordinary, What do you think that says about you and your values?
Imagine two guys with equal skills, but one one goes the extra mile
with work specifically geared towards their target, shows imagination,
is creative, and has professional portfolio and the other person shows
a portfolio with nothing in it but t-poses and a ton of work that is
irrelevant... who do you think will get the job? (One reason I like to
cater my presentation to each client rather than to have a generic
website, is because I like to do too many different things, and this
confuses prospective clients)

Lastly, don't show a ton of work. About 8 to twelve is the sweet spot.
If they can't tell what you do after they've seen 10 pieces, it's
because you are confusing them or your work is all over the place. You
are only as good as your worst piece in a portfolio. Better to have
four stunning pieces that knocks everyone out than to have those same
pieces lost in portfolio with 20 other mediocre pieces. Back in the
eighties when I first got out of college, I used to show something
like 20 pieces and they were all over the place and of different
quality. I knew I was good but, no one would hire me. then a friend
gave me this advice and as a result I cut my portfolio down to my 4
best. I started to get jobs immediately because my portfolio went from
mediocre to great.

This world wants to label you and put you into a cubby hole. That is
how they identify you. If you have too many different genres and
styles in your portfolio it confuses them. In my case, I can do
painterly paintings, super tight realistic paintings, I can do
impressionistic landscapes, cartoons, I can do traditional, and cg
etc. But if I have a target client and I show them all of this, I've
just made it harder to get a job. The client wants to know what he/she
is going to get from you. remember their reputation is one the line.
The client would much rather hire someone known for what they are
looking for. For instance, if they want someone who does painterly
work, they will hire an illustrator known for being painterly even if
his painterly stuff is not as good as mine. If they want detailed
realism, they will hire someone known for detailed realism, even if it
isn't as good as mine. The reason is because if they give you an
assignment, they want to know what they are going to get. Surprises
suck in the commercial art industry. After you are working for them,
then it's OK to show the other things you do and this can lead to
doing work in your other styles (this is what usually happens to me).
An exception is if you are looking to work at a company that you know
will benefit from a generalist, like maybe a small games company. But
this is something you need find out and decide to do when you are
researching the company, before you go to the interview.

How do you find leads? Networking as I've described. Industry
magazines, Company websites, friends, google, forums, etc. (if you see
someone on cgtalk or concept art and their profile says they work at
ubisoft, politely send them a pm asking who is in charge of the
hiring, you have nothing to lose)

At the interview, be professional, look professional, and treat your
work with respect. Don't just flop it on the table, it's your
livelihood and should be treated like gold. An interview is a two-way
thing, so make sure that you speak 50% of the time and that you listen
50% of the time. It's a balance. Have your story well rehearsed so
that you can speak comfortably about you and your work, your
experience, why you want to work doing this, your training, your work
habits, your background, your workflow, your skills, how you can fit
in their organization, what you can bring to the table etc. But also
ask questions, remember that an interview is a two-way thing and you
are also auditioning them. After all who wants to work for an asshole.
But more than that, asking questions and listening to the answers, and
expressing a genuine interest in the company makes you a more human
and less like a self-centered jerk. That is why it is good to do your
research and come in knowing a little about who is interviewing you.

Learn mirroring and matching techniques. People hire or help people
they like, and mirroring really works. It works with interviewers, it
works with making friends, and heck it even works on a dance floor or
at dinner with a person of the opposite sex, or same sex if that is
your preference
http://www.exforsys.com/tutorials/n...techniques.html

Eye contact and a firm handshake is also very important. Practice
this. Never bad mouth anyone at an interview, this makes you look
petty., be positive and enthusiastic. Enthusiasm is infective, sour
grapes are not. After the interview, add your thoughts to your
spreadsheet on them. Whatever you've learned, the names of their kids
or spouse, criticisms, advice, the work you showed, the reaction, etc.
And most of all follow up. If they can't use you, make sure you
haven't wasted your time by getting some leads out of them.

Most of all, take chances, try new things, and don't be afraid to feel
uncomfortable. "Big risks come with big rewards!"

I'll leave it at that for now, I think I've already made this post too
large, but I hope it all makes sense. LOL! I only meant to post a line
or two, my apologies to those who know this stuff already

[Morne]

Thanks John, as usual, you have a pretty good answer. Or in this case, a link to a pretty good answer

[Drawehn]

@joconnel: Thanks for posting this!

I am have just started working as a freelancer so this is really interesting! They really should start teaching marketing at arts schools.

[3DMK]

But all sales techniques are usless if your work is shit!
Apart from business techniques the thing that makes for sucsess is hard work & improving your skills.
All thoses people who are getting the work are very skilled & talented.

Quality beats everything......just ask Alex Roman
Remember that you are only competing against companies that can produce work as good as yours, so if your work/quality is at the highest level, then you don't have much competition.

But all this quality is usless without a business plan...so business setup IS just as important

Cheers
Jamie

[stevesideas]

Best way to get freelance work (in my opinion) without reading all that blurb is having a good portfolio, web presence and links back to your site, networking with other freelancers, pitching ideas to clients. Your portfolio should reflect good examples of the type of work you have already done and also the type of work you want to do. You would be surprised at how some clients cannot see the skill link between one project and another. You need to have as many good examples of each different type of skill-set you have, ie. animation, modelling, composition, combinations of all of the above...

I'll read that blurb some other time as I'm sure most people can learn something from it.

I will say this... I think people that specialise can sometimes struggle to find work...ie. Just doing arch vis for instance. I personally do any type of 3d work or motion graphics, flash coding and graphics design and try to learn as many packages as possible. This keeps my work varied as well. My newest string to my bow will be camera tracking...although I know the learning curve is fairly steep it is definitely something else that would help me get extra work in the future.