Personal Guide to Freelance Illustration

Freelancing means being your own boss, working where you want (like at home!), and creating your own schedule (yes! night-owls unite, say no to early mornings). The freelancing business is not easy, and if it were easy to write about, there would be a lot more information out there, and a lot more successful freelancers! As it is, there's no defined guide, and plenty of freelancers who are left not knowing where to start. I'm not claiming to be an expert, I just know what has worked for me so far, and I want to share my experience and hopefully be able to inspire and motivate others to follow through with their goals.

STEP 1: TALENT The place to start is with talent. I don't care if you went to a top art school, or you couldn't afford the proper education, you either have talent or you don't. Let's make no bones about this, any business where you are your own boss and are required to be a self starter, you NEED to be your harshest critic. Be honest about yourself TO yourself: do you love your product, are you providing the best service, are you offering something unique, etc. You can't polish a turd, people. And starting a business of any kind is not for the faint of heart, if you can be harsh with yourself, you will be more open to accepting outside criticism which can HELP you develop your skills, services, product, etc. You also need to be able to sell your skills, services, and product, and if you don't believe in what you're selling, how will you ever convince anyone to "buy?"

STEP 2: DETERMINATION Okay, so you are determined to do this! You know your stuff, you've got talent, you need to prove it. You need to amass a body of work, your portfolio that shows off your skills! For those who went to school for this, you're feeling pretty good, cause you've got classwork under your belt. For those who just have that raw talent but no cash for school, well, you better have been livin', breathin', and eatin' art, cause no one's gonna believe in you without that body of work. Even for you recent grads, look at that portfolio again, is too full of "classwork" assignments, or does it show off a strong sense of your personal style? You don't need to be throwing in every oil painting and still life you did! You need to have a clear and concise body of work, it's quality over quantity. What you need are your best pieces that define you as a unique illustrator, showcase your style, your voice - ultimately, what makes you standout.

STEP 3: FINDING YOUR NICHE This brings us to the next step, concentrating on a market, finding a niche you can fit into - one that really matches with your style, aesthetics and one that you feel confident about breaking into. It's really important to concentrate and hone into a specific market, this will help you create a body of work that speaks loudly and clearly, instead of one that seems to flip flop about and looks inconsistent. Look at other sample artists' work, get to know your market inside and out by doing research, and take the initiative to interview some established artists that are doing what you'd like to be doing. It's not just about what you want to be illustrating, it's also about whether or not your style "fits" that market. Be critical of your work and the qualities about your style and technique that is working for you, and what is working against you, in terms of fitting into a specific market.

STEP 4: NETWORK No matter what you choose to do in life, in order to do it well, to master your craft, whether you are a lawyer, a chef, a teacher, or an artist, you have to immerse yourself in that world. If you love to draw, you should be drawing everyday, and as they say, practice makes perfect. Really make a point to refine your skills and challenge yourself. Take part in drawing communities, submit your work for critiques, have an online portfolio/blog, somewhere you can constantly refresh and show off your latest works. This helps get your name out there.

STEP 5: MARKETING YOURSELF When it comes to finding clients, it's important to get your work seen by the people you want to see it. Having internet presence is a great start, but you know how it goes, it takes money to make money. You have to advertise! I can't tell you what's the best way to be seen in your market, you'll have to do that research on your own. Chances are you'll already know, whether it's gallery shows or sending out postcards, what's going to work best for you. Here's a list of some of the things I like to do:

1- Advertise in established directories, such as Directory of Illustration, Blackbook, Play, and there are others as well. It's not inexpensive, so you have to be prepared, and set your best foot forward. And remember, this IS a competitive field - there are lots of freelancers out there, and there are plenty that will be advertising in the directories right along side of you. So make sure your work is strong and stands out!
2- Send postcards! With such advanced times where everything is instantaneous with emails and blogs, it doesn't seem like snail mail marketing would work. But it does! And it's just a fraction of the cost of advertising in a directory. It's a lot of legwork though, you will need to find names of the right people (CDs and ADs, etc.) that you want to get your work seen by, and their WORK addresses. Then send them a postcard! There are a lot of great online printers to choose from, to help you get some postcards printed off, such a PS Print, Vistaprint, Modern Postcard, and many more! Find the right one that fits your budget and needs, and get it done! Then all you have to do is mail them out to the right people. Postcards are a great marketing tool no matter what your audience, whether you are mailing out to ad agencies or passing them out at gallery shows. It gets your work seen immediately, and chances are if they like it, they'll check out your website and you may be well on your way to getting some work! But please people, no one likes spam, and that includes snail mail spam, don't just bombard people with postcards and other things you may have the urge to send, save yourself some money, send ONE postcard at a time to potential companies you'd like to work with, and space it out should you want to send another down the line, to refresh their memory of you and your work!
3- Word of mouth. Sometimes all it takes is one lucky break, and then the word spreads of how great you were to work with, and how fresh your stuff is. The important thing is to get yourself out there in all the ways you can possibly think of. After all, this IS a creative market, be creative in finding ways to advertise and get your works seen. And all the while, don't forget that you should be constantly drawing, challenging yourself, and refreshing your portfolio.

There's plenty of ways to market yourself. Be creative, try different things and see what works for you!

STEP 6: PERSISTANCE Remember, the key is to have confidence, believe in yourself, practice makes perfect, and don't be afraid to get your name out there! Bring business cards with you, you never know when you're going to meet up with a potential client! But be wary of people who say, "I've got an uncle whose best friend is writing a children's book and ..." Lol, though it's great to take initiative and open yourself to all sorts of opportunity, you don't want to set yourself up for an experience that MAY discourage you and set you back - make sure you know what you are getting into and make decisive judgments! It's easy to get taken advantage of, especially when you are first starting out and want to get some work going.

Most people think that the best think about working from home is being able to roll out of bed whenever you want to. I'll tell you straight up though, that does NOT work for me. Haha, I wish it did, but naturally I am not the sort that likes or wants to sleep in late. Which is surprising because I DO go to bed pretty late (say 2AM). Everyone will know what works best for them, some people like "rushed" deadlines and need to feel that pressure, so maybe they wake up late, take their time, and crunch it out into the wee hours. Others are more methodical, and really pace themselves and use all their time wisely.

A Rough Outline of My Day

- Wakeup 7AM

- Start Work 8AM

- Lunch whenever I'm hungry, but usually Noon. And I often eat while I work.

- Work throughout the afternoon

- Take a break before my eyes pop out, usually around late afternoon to early evening. At this point I try to do something healthy for my body since I am sedentary most of the day, such as taking a walk, run, or a workout routine.

- Work some more! That's right folks, the workday often stretches out past 8 hours, I will not glamorize this!

- Eat a late dinner, anywhere from between 7PM-9PM

- Work even MORE! This is usually dependent on how I'm feeling, and what kind of deadlines I'm looking at and what my workload is like. Also consider that even if you don't have any projects lined up, be sure to not waste your day away - add to your portfolio, do more market research, be sure to refresh websites/blogs, etc. Never miss an opportunity to improve on yourself and what you've got to offer!

Hey, remember how you wanted to work from home, be your own boss? Well that means you are responsible for keeping yourself in check! Just because you work from home, doesn't mean you should be taking all kinds of breaks - that means don't run off and do the dishes or start a load of laundry or go do your errands. Define your workday boundaries and stick to them! If you've got household chores to do, schedule them into your day, or keep them for the weekend, but you need to have a good block of time where you are concentrating on work and only work! Don't let yourself get distracted. And like I stated, even if you have no projects, no deadlines, take that time to refresh your work, create new challenges for yourself, and do some research on how to bring more work in, master your craft, and develop better business skills!

And another tip, exercise and eat right! This is just a personal note, I find that sitting at a computer for 8+ hours of the day can be hard on the body and mind. What's even worse is letting yourself develop bad habits where you're eating candy bars and drinking soda and coffee all day, and NOT moving one bit. A healthy body is conducive to a healthy mind, where you are thinking on your toes. Be sure to try and develop better eating habits, and to fit in some time where you take a walk, or get some form of exercise into your daily routine. It's good to get away from your work and come back with a fresh view on things.