I thought it could be helpful to some of you out there if I took you from start to finish on an actual freelance gig that I am working on right now.
I picked up this gig from penciljack.com, which is one of the forums I visit on a regualr basis. I’m also a mod there, so you know, suck it and respect me because I will ban your ass.
Power trips aside, I do find that forums are a great way for freelancers to pick up work. Most forums have a job section but to be honest once your work becomes really polished and professional people will take notice. I say this because you post a really killer piece, you will start receiving emails and/or private messages (via the forum) asking for commissions etc.
However, this particular piece I was selected to do after applying for on Penciljack.com, which reminds me. Guys when you apply for a freelance gig there are few things you should always do.
- Be professional. When you first apply be sure to point out your strengths such as quick turnaround times, ability to work in multiple medias you know stuff like that. Don’t just say ”here is my link”. I usually end my emails with ” I look forward to hearing back from you soon.” It may not sound like a lot but I think it does help by leaving the ball in there court and showing that you are ready to begin work.
- Include links not only to your site but also sublinks to your best work.
- Mention something personal about the project to prove that you read their post. What I mean by that is don’t use a generic email for each gig you apply for. Mention specifics about the characters or story from the post, such as if someone posts that they are looking for a LOTR style artist mention that Alan Lee is a favorite of yours and that you have drawn that genre before.
There are other tips that I will go into later but I believe that those are the top three to make a good first impression, but for now onto the piece at hand.
The design you see above is my rough of the character which I will be sending off shortly for approval. The concept is a young woman with stylish shoulder length hair in a white cybernetic suit with a Macross Plus vibe. Although I have never seen the Macross series I have seen the DVD cover and plus I have the power of Google at my fingertips. So after about…oh who am I kidding? I didn’t look up any reference for the character. I just went with my gut, which is something I really suggest a lot of you out there do when doing a character design. This is just the initial rough and although I hope it’s approved, if it’s not it won’t be the end of the world. You will find that most of the time people don’t know what they won’t but definitely know what they don’t want. It can be frustrating but it beats being an underwear model. Trust me on that.
I will let you know if the rough is approved in the next couple days but in the meantime check out the links below to a few great forums where you can also start looking for gigs.
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