Illustrative Raccoon

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Dreaded Taxes

Gregory Bresiger brought up a very interesting point in his article,  Freelance life incurs burden at tax time. Since I am only starting my journey as a freelance illustrator, I have always wondered how taxes for a freelancer works. Generally when you work at a full or part time company, there is a very clear record of your cash flow. So how does it work for a freelancer? Apparently it is a much longer more tedious process that artists tend to avoid. However, that isn’t going to stop the increase of people joining the occupation. Bresiger does give useful tips at the end of his article to help those who share the burden:

-Pay quarterly estimated taxes.

-Rule of thumb: Put aside a third of your income.

-Keep good financial records.

-Keep original receipts for an audit.

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Millennial Freelancers

On USA today, Charisse Jones talks about the increasing desire to do freelance work rather than full time within the millennial generation. She gives statistics for the amount of millennials that are interested in it. I felt that her comment, “Employers have a stronger chance of holding onto their staffs if they're willing to offer the flexibility many of their employees crave. “ was very accurate. Being both a freelance artist and millennial, I can say I am not an exception to this.

The Website: https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/2018/04/15/millennials-more-interested-freelance-careers/512851002/

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Freelancers in Their Natural Uniform

Here is something different from my usual posts! Miranda Larbi made a post sharing the artwork of the freelance artist Tyler Feder. She talks about the rise in her popularity from creating a series of illustrations of freelance artists in their natural fashions. I found them to be quite relatable as well!

Artwork by Tyler Feder

The Article: http://metro.co.uk/2018/04/30/illustrators-work-home-looks-relatable-7509077/

The Artist: http://www.tylerfeder.com/

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Writing About Me!

I’ve always had trouble filling out the about me section on anything. In fact, just the other day I was asked to send a little bit about me for a job! Unfortunately as an artist it is important to write one since it leaves an impression on potential clients or anyone who decides to visit your website. Luckily Jane Pelliccioto, a designer and consultant wrote tips on how to write one while being a little less awkward. In it, she tackles the problem of writing it first person versus third person. I personally will go back and refer to this the next time I’m asked to write and about me.

Artwork by Jane Pelliccioto

The Website: https://blog.freelancersunion.org/2018/05/02/bio-101-advice-for-crafting-the-perfect-personal-statement/

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Digital or Traditional?

It has been debated whether it is better to create art digitally or traditionally. There are perks to both sides, however if you plan to do freelance art, digital may be the way to go. Although working traditional has a special charm, it can also limit the possibilities. Working digitally is faster, is overall cheaper, and has that undo button that artists love. I personally find myself trying to press that button when I work traditionally.

Now, the question would be, how do you get that traditional charm when you work on the computer? Many artists will create brushes for it on Photoshop, but it generally doesn’t look just right. I spent years trying to feel comfortable drawing on the computer, constantly deleting every piece in dissatisfaction. Finally, I tried Corel Painter. The way it works felt the closest to creating traditional work than anything I ever tried. They even have a color pallet for mixing colors!

                                                                                                      Art by Skip Allen Corel Painter website: https://www.painterartist.com/en/product/painter/

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Freelance Artist Interviews

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Things to do While You’re on Your Way

While you’re on your journey to become a freelance, you might need to do some other things during the process. Here are 3 possible ideas to get you going:

1. Sell your designs on websites! Sites like Redbubble, Society6, and Inprnt allow you to upload a design and if someone likes a product it is printed on, the company takes care of the rest. You get a fraction of the profit, but it is a possible way to get going.

2. Ask your followers for a little help! With the creation of websites like Kickstarter and Gofundme, a little gem was made after. Patreon and Ko-Fi are websites that allow people to donate to an artist in order to support them. In return they are given exclusive content from the artist such as unseen artworks or tutorials.

3. Conventions! Check out what conventions go on near you and think about maybe getting booth. Not only can you sell your work, but you can also give out business cards. This helps to raise your social networking presence while also making some cash. Depending on your interests and what you want to do you can decide which one is best for you. For example, stARTup Fair SF is good for new comer artists.

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Social Media Sites

It is important to use social media to your advantage. It can give way to new clients and build up your followers. Here are some websites that can be useful in doing so:

Artstation This website is useful for people interested in the entertainment industry, such as concept art for video games. There are game companies such as Riot and Ubisoft that use the site to find potential employees. However, you can state that you are a freelancer. https://www.artstation.com/

Facebook Although Facebook has been known to just be for talking with friends and family they have created a system of pages. Artists can create a page for people to follow and see their newest works. I have also noticed many that post when a new work is on their online shop. https://www.facebook.com/

Instagram I have included Instagram on to this list even though it generally for mobile use. It is a great way to present your artwork and you can even show your progress in the stories option. Many companies will actually look at the follower count and hire the artist based on that. https://www.instagram.com/

Twitter Twitter is generally for giving status updates, short posts, and images. Recently however, many artists have been increasingly switching to the website. It is a very popular simplistic format that gets the point across fast. https://twitter.com/

*A website to watch out for would be DeviantArt.com. It used to be a very popular site for artists, but it has been discovered that they claim the rights to your artwork. There have also been many accounts of art theft.

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Managing Time

As a freelance artist, it is important to keep track of how fast you work. Fortunately, there are programs out there that can do that for you. One of the programs that I checked out is Toggl. It is free for the basics, which is the version I will be talking about. The program can be used on a web browser, but is also an app for both phones or computers. It is available for both iPhones and Androids. As for computers, you can get it for Windows, Macs, or Linux. Now, the user can just type in their task and click start for the timer to run. When they’re done, they just click the button once more to end it which is pretty basic. However, you can create specific projects and each time you work on it, the time is added to the total. This helps you to keep track of how much time it takes to complete any project. On their website, the data is also compiled to give a break down of how you are spending your time. You can even create a team for your projects! I think one of the most nifty tools that Toggl is capable of, would be setting reminders for you to start the timer. Many people forget to actually start tracking, so a reminder can be very useful especially if you have a schedule you stick to. Knowing how long you take to work can help decide how much you need to charge as well as help to create a time frame for any future clients!

The website: https://www.toggl.com/

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Give Your Best

In the post ‘Why Quality Should Matter Most,’ on the Freelancers Union website, Chuck Leddy gives his opinion on the standards of freelance work. Leddy is an experienced freelance writer who believes that artists should only put out the best quality of work that they can. I am inclined to agree with him. Although being speedy is an ideal trait to be successful in the world of freelance artists, there is an extreme importance in giving quality. As Leddy says, people know the difference between low-quality and high-quality. If an artist gets 3 jobs done, but the quality is below mediocre they are less likely to be hired by the same people again. In a case where they take the time to make it star quality while still making the deadline, perhaps they will be rehired OR perhaps the client will even recommend them to other companies/clients. Now that sounds ideal to me.

Putting the extra work in could do wonders to a career and will raise the title of freelance artists!

The article: https://blog.freelancersunion.org/2018/03/08/why-quality-should-matter-most-2/

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Artists of the Future

There are plans to create a resource center for freelancers in Singapore this year. What would that entitle? It would be a center devoted to providing resources, training in the social networking field, and even possible job opportunities. This is a great leap in supporting independent artists and hopefully other places will follow the example that has been set. According to Jalelah Abu Baker on the Channel News Asia website, parliamentary secretary Baey Yam Keng stated that the center would be both physical and digital. This would make it universally useful to those without access to the internet and those who want to learn in the comfort of their home. It could also be a step towards getting rid of the starving artist image that is so well known to the general public. Instead, being an artist may be an occupation that is encouraged by all future parents, lighting the way to an even greater future in the art world.

The article: https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/parliament/freelancers-in-arts-sector-to-get-resource-centre-10025208

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Things to Know as a Freelance Artist

A freelancer is a self-employed person who does not work with the same client for a long period of time. But what does a freelance artist do specifically? Freelance artists create works of art for their clients with a prior agreement on terms. Therefore it is important for an artist just beginning to know the ideal qualities of a freelance artist.

1. Punctual Being on time with the deadlines set by the client and the artist is extremely important. It shows professionalism as well as leads to client satisfaction. Of course this means, being schedule oriented, but in the end the client may lead you to more business in the future

2. Good at communicating The ability and willingness to communicate with your client helps to ensure that they receive what they wanted. There will always be clients that are difficult to work with, but that is one of the down sides to being a freelance artist.

3. Flexibility Keeping a clear schedule for work can bring more opportunities, so it is important to gauge how much time your have before jumping into the job. For example, If you are the kind of person who goes on vacation once a week every month, this may not be for you.

4. Be well connected As previously said, communication is vital to being a freelance artist. It also applies to being well connected, meaning creating a presence on social media. Websites such as Facebook, Instagram, and Tumblr (this one) can really help spread your name and bring in business. Make sure to keep it on the more professional side though.

5. You have to LOVE creating art This point is probably the most important. Having a strong passion for creating art will help keep you motivated. Having to do job after job can start to drain a person, but if it is what you love then it will make you happy instead!

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How can social media help expand freelancing illustrators careers?

I have always been interested in the world of freelancing as I embarked on my journey to become an illustrator. This brought me to the question, “how social media help a freelancer?”

Freelancing has begun a new foundation in which artist can freely express their talent without the bonding natures and competition a company would have. But how has it changed over the years, and has social media been an impact in any way. lets talk about the benefits of freelance first before we delve into how social media impacted it. First off is the increase in income. A lot of people think that freelancing means less money but in fact being your own boss means you don’t have to settle for someone else's pay, you have the option to settle for the amount you want. Social media boosts this because your employer will know ahead of time the prices you need and not waste their time or yours by trying to meet at a middle. Speaking of less time that’s another benefit, working as a freelancer means working in a controlled environment. Depending on the speed the artist can work at, there is a potency to make even more than working at a an actual company. Freelancing in social media means that less time is taken to travel around to teams and everyone can work when its best, not when it’s forced. There is less stress on everyone which also means better product. I could keep going on and on about all these benefits and how social media only helps to boost it even farther but bottom line is that it does help and that we shouldn't be scared of it or shy away in fact we should be developing it even further and encouraging more to participate in the ever evolving internet.

As they say, “ Time is money.”