Can you be successful freelancing in the creative industry?

 Freelancing, defined by Investopedia is “an independent contractor who earns wages on a per-job or per-task basis, typically for short-term work.” Promoting yourself and acquiring jobs or short-term contracts can be very difficult within the creative industries and animation world, but it can also bring many benefits and experience. There are different pros and cons to working as a freelancer which will be discussed further on.

Key skills required for freelancing:

There are many key skills you will need when freelancing within the animation industry, these skills can be learned though personal projects, working in group projects or through college and university courses. Communication is a very important skill to have while freelancing as you will need to discuss back and forth with your client about the projects they give you, letting them know about any potential issues, questions about the brief, suggesting solutions to problems, as well as regularly updating them about how much progress you have made.

Another important skill is time management, you will need to keep track of how much time you spend completing the project and get the work done quickly. Creating a timetable for yourself on what tasks to complete within a certain amount of time can help you plan out ahead of time what you want to get done on a day-by-day basis to pace yourself. As vital as it is to complete your work fast and before deadlines it is also important that you do not overwork yourself, and if there are issues with the project it is crucial to communicate these problems to your client to find a solution while remaining professional.

While getting feedback from your client you may also find yourself in situations where you are asked to do extra work that you may not be able to complete within the deadline and was not included in the original brief of tasks given to you. It is your responsibility to inform your client in a professional manner that the extra work you do may increase the number of hours you work and by extension, how much money you are to be paid for the project.

 

The pros and cons to freelancing:

There are pros and cons to freelancing as mentioned earlier which will now be discussed.

A pro to freelancing is that you get to choose which projects you want to work on and have more freedom working on them. Having more options on what you want to do means you have more control over how much time you spend working within a day as different projects can take different numbers of hours to complete.

A con to this is that finding work to do while being self-employed can be very competitive as how you price yourself, your skills and how much of a presence you have online and within the animation industry will determine which individuals or companies are willing to hire you for a project to complete. This means that you can’t always guarantee a job and won’t get paid holidays or sick leave as you would when working within a company.

However, it is because of this lack of job security that when your temporary contract with a client or company ends you will be able to earn more money from them, compared to employees who work within a company that have job security and sick leave.

Flexibility with where and when you work:

While freelancing within the animation industry you get to decide where you work and can move around more freely, you can either do your work at home or within your own office. However, this can be both a benefit and a con, when working alone you will be isolated compared to working within a company with other people. Some individuals may prefer this and concentrate better on their own while working, but you also loose the potential to learn new skills from other people and create networks depending on where you’re working.

While being self employed it is also your responsibility to manage contacts and establish your own presence online within the creative industry to create a business for yourself and receive work. Creating a network for yourself means that it is important to stay in contact with previous clients in case they want to temporarily hire you again or recommend you to another potential client or company. Attending various events that revolve not just around animation but other fields of work within the creative industry can also bring potential to create more networks and opportunities for future clients.

Without a company you will also be required to pay for your own equipment, manage your taxes and time, deal with any complaints or criticisms from clients and solve the problems on your own and your next job isn’t always guaranteed.

 

 

Overall, in my opinion the cons do slightly outweigh the pros. While having more flexible work hours and freedom to choose which projects you work on can be beneficial there is always a risk that you may not be able to find a job to do after one is completed compared to working within a company where you are guaranteed to have more work to do after completing a task.

I have personally done freelance work before during high school and college which was to draw pet portraits for my clients, and I found it very beneficial. While not related to animation doing these commissions did improve my communication skills with my clients when discussing the specifics of what they wanted for their drawing. I also learned time management skills as I gave myself deadlines for how much work on the portraits I should complete within a day and I will be able to make use of these skills within the animation industry.

An example of a drawing I was commissioned to draw using 'Clip Studio Paint' shown above.