Freelancing

[deceiver]

So, the job search isn't going so good as noone seems to be looking for juniors in Quebec right now. I've still got university as a backup at the NAD Centre, so it isn't so bad. However, I've started looking for paid freelance jobs as a games artist to do during the summer and during uni. Other than game-artist.net, gameartisans or conceptart.org, any other site you'd recommend checking out for freelance opportunities in games? I've checked out the outsourcing companies as well such as Shadows in Darkness and Liquid Development, no answers yet so far. Does anyone by any chance know specific people in outsourcing to contact about contract work or such? Also for those that have contracted before, what rates would you typically charge for say a prop, vehicle, character, etc.?

Would be great if you talked about your freelancing experiences as well!

[DaanO]

To be honest, i really wouldn't know about the climate in the game industry right now (it's been years since i tried getting a job there) but i do know a little about getting freelance contracts in the art world in general. First of all, don't send email. Go places, meet people, call people and only then send an e-mail. It's way to easy to say no on the phone, and people will generally trust people only after they've met them. Besides that i can only think of less important pieces of advice, like only use 10 or less images in your portfolio. But the most important thing is the first. I remember, and i don't think i've ever told anyone about this, that when i wasn't even a decent leveldesigner, i applied at Guerrilla Games (don't even know if they still go by the same name, they're the guys that made Killzone). I just went there with my crappy portfolio on a burned CD, and asked for a meeting. The level designer guy was away at the time so i didn't get it, but even though my portfolio was below par, they called me later and asked if i wanted to send them updates of my portfolio, they wanted to keep track. This won't seem to be much, but when you think about it, they put effort into it. They didn't just turn me down, even though i practially just started. Enthusiasm is everything, show it.

[Pericolos0]

Have to disagree there Daan0, people showing up at the office that way usually sound really desperate, and it's pretty weird and annoying tbh. Maybe it works like this in the freelance tranditional art world, but there are better channels to get a job in the games industry. It can work though , but game companies will look for people when they need them, so the most important thing is to get your work out there. Do competitions on forums, put together a kick ass website and make it very clear what kind of job you are after. If you want to meet game developers in person, go to conventions and show off your work at job stands . And of course it doesn't harm to send over your portfolio to companies! Most important is that companies know of you as a potential freelancer when they need one.

Freelance is very hard though, you definitely need to be a step up from the average game industry artist to find work regularly imo, and even then it can be hard. Companies seeking freelancers will usually send out offers to the best freelancers they can find, and when those freelancers have a full schedule they'll send out those offers to other people. That's how I found it to work, you need to have your little network of freelancers so you can direct the job offers to each other. Are there other people in your uni freelancing? Might be a good idea to ask them .

When it comes to rates, a good rule is what you would have made per hour when working on site, but x2. This is hard to determine if you havn't had a job yet though, so I'm not sure how to answer that.

[2d-chris]

what peris said, at least from my experiences in the industry ;P

[Zacker]

I have been doing a bunch of freelancing over the past few years and pretty much all of it has just been offers that I have received through my network. So I dunno so much about official channels, but if you make yourself known in the game dev community in your area, then the offers will come. I can quite recommend this freelancing actually, you rarely know if you have a job in 3 weeks, but after some time you get used to that an offer will come just when you are ready for the next task.

[deceiver]

Well...seems like I just landed my first *substantial* freelance job on the upcoming X-Com remake, Xenonauts, as a 3D Scenery Artist through one of my classmates. Not industry rates by any means, but it's something, good chance to expand portfolio and work on a game people are looking forward to.

[Pericolos0]

congrats dude! Sounds like you found your way in

[2d-chris]

[Grinwhrl]

Well...seems like I just landed my first *substantial* freelance job on the upcoming X-Com remake, Xenonauts, as a 3D Scenery Artist through one of my classmates. Not industry rates by any means, but it's something, good chance to expand portfolio and work on a game people are looking forward to.

grats

[Warby]

i cant give you any advice because i seam to be completely incapable of swinging myself a freelance gig anywhere

... but tons of startups and mod teams would love to have me for free D: :ssj:

ironically enough though:

i am drowning in "full time/on site" job offers at any given point in time

... from some very high profile studios too !

but i just want to live in hamburg please !

[dux]

Freelancing for indie studios is generally where I tend to find myself. Although the pay is lower than being on site with a mainstream studio. Like Warby, I like living where I am.

[Hourences]

Getting freelance opportunities all comes down to:

a. your name and fame

b. your big network of contacts

c. your superior skill or unique specialization

If you don't have at least 2 of those forget it, you won't be able to live of it for a prolonged period of time. Freelancing is more difficult than working onsite on the contrary of what many people seem to think.

[deceiver]

Freelancing for indie studios is generally where I tend to find myself. Although the pay is lower than being on site with a mainstream studio. Like Warby, I like living where I am.

Thanks for the feedback on the subject guys!

And speaking of which dux, is Unknown Worlds looking for a Modeler or Texture Artist right now? Was thinking of applying, maybe I could go through you ?

[alecmoody]

i cant give you any advice because i seam to be completely incapable of swinging myself a freelance gig anywhere

... but tons of startups and mod teams would love to have me for free D: :ssj:

ironically enough though:

i am drowning in "full time/on site" job offers at any given point in time

... from some very high profile studios too !

but i just want to live in hamburg please !

soenke i will trade you.