I'm writing this article to help all the people that are trying to land their 1st freelance job as a designer. I've been there not too long ago and I know how it feels and I hope that this will help you.
So let's start!
1st - Confidence
Be confident about your work! Never give up just because people don't believe in you. It's hard at times but if you don't believe in your art then why should somebody else believe in it?
2nd - Networking
Get your art out there and let people know that you exist! Networking is one of the most important things to do and nowadays it isn't really that difficult anymore. It's important to spread the word about your work so people can recognize you out of all others and it's a great way to get critique from other professionals. Also most of the art related websites have a section where people can hire freelance artist.
A few good sites to check out are:
http://conceptart.org (this site helped me a lot and I actually got my first job there)
http://deviantart.com (many people like this site but personally I don't really like it too much)
http://cghub.com (another great forum where you can post your artwork and maybe get hired as an artist)
http://cgsociety.org (this is a really BIG website and there are many inspiring artists to get in touch with!)
http://3dtotal.com (this site is rather for 3d artists but they also have a nice little 2d section)
http://behance.net (awesome site with lots of professionals!)
BoxLance (many job offers to find on this site!)
3rd - Know Your Skillset!
Know your skills! There are some people that say that you should be educated in many different subjects but I think it's best to master a specific subject rather than knowing a bit of everything. Get really confident in what you are doing and be a pro at it. Also you shouldn't apply for a job that doesn't fit you just so you can say that you have a job.
4th - Organize
Make youself a schedule and plan your day. Don't just sit around, twitter all day and spam your friend's facebook walls! Also you should work on something like a business plan. Set your prices by calculating:
-Working hours
-Materials needed
-Difficulty of the specific job
etc.
More to come in a later post!
I hope this helped some of you! If it did then please follow this blog and like my facebook page.
Thank you!
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