Today we will be diving into tip number 8 of my top ten tips for getting a freelance gig in the field of fantasy art. In tip 10, I told you to build yourself a website, which is much easier than you may think. Don’t believe me? Then I suggest you read tip 10. In tip 9, I gave you options and advice on where to look for work. So with that being said the next step is approaching potential clients, which leads us to tip numero ocho (that’s eight in Spanish…wow I’m smart.)
Tip #8 BE PROFESSIONAL
Approaching a potential client should be no different than handling any other job offer. I don’t know why but for some reason people feel that they can simply email, or send a private message using the forum software the person and say “Hey look at this picture. I drawed that. Wanna give me work?” I mean really come on people be professional.
I know the reason you are becoming an artist is because you like to be casual and laid back blah blah blah. Fact is your attentiveness, professionalism, and overall rapport is what is going to set you apart from all the others in the beginning. Let’s face it this list is for those just starting to get your feet wet in the freelance industry. Therefore you are going against a lot of other artists, most of which will already have experience and quite frankly will be better than you.
But if you send a follow up email a couple days after your initial submission and you are well spoken and professional that alone sometimes means more to a client than a guy with talent falling out of his ass who just sends out one email saying “Here’s my work. Let me know if you like it”
Simply put editors want results. Most editors will gladly take an average piece delivered on time over an exceptional piece that is 2 weeks late. I know there are artists out there who get work and are known for being famously slow ahem..Ahhtravischaresthem. But again you are just starting out and don’t have some sort of Rock star status that allows you to show up late and leave early.
I know that a lot of you out there may be thinking “My God this guy is really smart. Like you could be the smartest person ever.” And you would be right for thinking that. But you may also be thinking I wish he would post an example of what a submission offer should look like. Well today is your lucky day buddy boy. Below is an example to get you going.
Hello my name is _______________ and I saw your post on _________________ regarding your upcoming ____________ project. I would love an opportunity to work with you on your project because I love the genre of _____________.
I work in ___________ formats, and have very quick turnaround times. You may view examples of my work at ___________________
Thank you again for this great opportunity and I look forward to hearing back from you.
Now really is that so bad? Oh good lord it is not you cry baby! And trust me just a little professionalism goes a long way. Plus you do want to be a pro right? And you know that pro is an abbreviation for professional. Right? Ok then get to it.
Oh and again if you have any questions just email me and I will see what I can do to help. I would really love to hear back from you guys and find out how the job hunting is going. I will see you guys here tomorrow for tip #7 Stripping for money while retaining your dignity.
Wait…uh…sorry about that. Wrong list
In tip #10 I told you one of if not the most important thing you can do is have a professional looking website! In case you didn’t catch that let me try it again. GET A PROFESSIONAL LOOKING WEBSITE! Again I go over this in great detail in tip #10, so I suggest you read that now if you haven’t already.
Anyway let’s get back to the list with number 9, shall we? Heh I swear everytime I say number nine I have do it in a bad German accent. Damn white album. Oh and 10 cool points go to those of you who got that joke.
Now where was I? Oh yes tip #9.
9. Know where to look for work.
This may sound like a given but I know when I first started I had no idea where to look. Sure you can try various conventions for horror, comics, sci-fi etc. But by far the best avenue a budding freelance illustrator can explore is the Internet.
You can try “The Google” if you want, as you search for sites to submit work etc, but I have much better luck with forums. Simply put a forum (or message board) is an online meeting place for people of similar interests to communicate. Sound boring? Heh, well it’s not as bad as it sounds plus the most important thing to remember is everyone from novices to industry pros to gaming companies and publishing houses can be found on these forums. The networking alone can prove to be invaluable.
Just think, where else can you have your work seen 24/7 by people in the industry? Plus many of these boards have a classified section! I have included links below to some of the boards I frequent most and have had the best results.
You can also try contacting the big name companies directly but I suggest this route in the beginning so that you can hone your skills and get some real world situations under your belt. I can tell you from experience you really end up doing your best work when someone is depending on you and even more so if you are being paid to do it or if they are holding a gun to your head.
I mentioned a few posts back that I would be posting my top ten ways to get a freelance gig in the esteemed genre of Fantasy art. I say the “esteemed genre” because let’s face it. If a hot chick in a chain mail bikini fighting a dwarf with a battle ax isn’t classy then I don’t know what is. .
In all seriousness though, I do think that my tips will help you get a gig or at least your foot in the door. But if my tips don’t work out for you, then post a comment here or contact me because I would like to laugh at you for not getting a gig. No wait. I mean I would like to see what you did wrong because my tips are guaranteed to work* and if they don’t I will give you one hundred dollars.** Plus I can help you figure exactly what it is that is hindering you from getting a gig.
Ok on to my first and probably most important tip.
#10 GET A PROFESSIONAL LOOKING WEBSITE!
Did you get that? I hope so because there is no, I repeat, no reason why you should not have a professional looking website. None, nada, zilch, no reason. Five years ago I would not have said that, but today you have no reason. Since the advent of blogging software, such as Wordpress, Blogspot, Typepad, there really is no reason to not have a good looking site.
I personally recommend Wordpress, which is the platform I use for the amazing blog you see before you right now. Wordpress is free, easy, and oh yeah did I mention free and easy? Now you may say “Nuh-uh Jason. You have to have a hosting to use Wordpress” To which I reply “No not really”.
Sure I have my site hosted with Godaddy and host my blog there, but you can also simply go to wordpress.com and register for a free blog if you are really strapped for cash. As mentioned before you also have the options of blogspot, typepad, and others that I can’t think of right now.
I would still recommend Wordpress above all others simply because it gives you the ability to created pages and galleries. For example if you want to have a contact page in Wordpress just create a page then add the link to your sidebar. Done, that’s it! However in Blogspot/bloggger/whatever the hell Google calls there blogging software, you must create a post and link to that post because it simply doesn’t give you the ability to create a static page like Wordpress.
Now I’m not saying that blogspot is bad because it isn’t. First let’s remember it’s free and it’s also easy to use. Also much like Wordpress there are several free templates out there to allow you do a quick and easy overhaul of your blog. Also let’s not forget that since its hosted on Google it will have potentially better rankings. Yes I believe that. I also don’t think Oswald shot JFK while we’re talking conspiracies.
I would also like to say that there is absolutely nothing wrong with a standard HTML site, so don’t think that I am trying to push blogging software on anyone. But I do know that you can have your site done much faster and it will probably look better using a blog format.
Whatever platform you choose, let me take time now to tell you what links you need to have most prevalent. Ready?
Gallery and contact.
I know pretty hard right?
Seriously you would be surprised how many people out there don’t think to make these links obvious. I’m sure some great artists have missed opportunities because an art director couldn’t find how to contact them or had trouble finding their work. You have to remember the art director is there with a purpose and if it takes him or her more than 8 seconds to find your contact link or gallery they are going to bolt.
Ok everyone I think that does it for my first tip and I hope that those of you who don’t have a site will create one soon so that you have an online gallery for potential clients to view. A website will make you look more professional, dedicated and appealing. Trust me.
* Tips are not guaranteed to work however the opposite sex my find you more attractive
** Ha! A hundred bucks my ass! I might help you if you’re female and hot but even then you’re not getting a hundred bucks. The only thing I can say for sure is that I will laugh at you; behind your back and in secret of course.
Hey hey looks like yours truly is featured on a couple blogs! I am really honored to be featured on fantasy-art-and-portraits and thegaleon.
Again I am really honored and once I become rich and famous, I will be sure to never forget these people. Whoever they are.
No really thanks again guys and you guys be sure to stop their sites and tell them what a great job they are doing for the art community.
http://fantasy-art-and-portraits.blogspot.com/
http://www.thegaleon.com
It’s late. I’m tired. So let’s get to it. Shall we?
In part 3 of this I don’t know how many part tutorial the robot design had been accepted so now it was time to combine the cyber chick and the robot into one picture. The client asked for both figures to be placed on a gray background and well that was it. Simple enough.
As you can tell from the picture above I have have placed both on the requested gray background and now it’s time to start finishing the piece. This of course means correcting any proportions, errors stuff like that. I can honestly say I didn’t really have too much to correct anatomy wise. But I’m also really dumb and half blind so God (or you) only knows what I have missed. But, as I said, I’m done so I am moving on.
This is probably my favorite thing about working digitally. The ability to make dramatic changes in compostion or whatever with ease. Such as simply combing the two figures traditionally would have taken me much longer and would have required a trip to the lightbox. But digitally it was a snap. Does this mean I prefer digital? Of course not! Don’t be stupid. Nothing can replace my pencil, but once my pencils are scanned in; I love me some digital.
Check in tomorrow kids and I will have a top ten list for getting gigs and I may also have something clever to say. Because right now the only clever thing I can say is “Beeeeedd…..Beeeedttimmmmeee…..soooo sleeeeeepy…..”
Merry Christmas from Harley Quinn
Kick Ass Trailer sorta Kicks Ass
Iron Man 2 Trailer = Nerd Boner time
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