Becoming a successful freelance artist is a long road to take and a route that proves to be a rocky one. Understanding your undertaking, however, takes away half of the stress and will clear your road ahead. LtL endeavors to create a transparent look into the artistic worldwide freelancing business. Below you will find a solid collection of articles that will help you on your way.
Especially when you’re just starting out, it may be hard to understand what people are talking about when it comes to different stages of artworks. It’s very important though to know what they are and what they encompass. Because this will help you to communicate properly with your client, and it will also help you to set up prices for different kinds of artworks. Sometimes someone may want only a concept, while others want flat colored art and the 3rd person wants full renders. So what exactly does this all mean?
Setting up a timeline for your client is not only essential for said client, but also for you because it will guide you through your own planning as well. It’s easy for an artist to get lost in their art, and you probably recognize the feeling that your art is never ‘finished’ or ‘good enough. If that’s the case with you too, and you are hired for commissions every now and then, you probably know this is not true, and it only feels that way. Having a timeline set up will help you to quit fiddling and actually get to work, as well as accept your art for what it is.
Copyright is one of the most important things you should have a good understanding of whenever you’re selling your art. There is a lot of misunderstanding going around among both artists and their clients. Selling/obtaining the copyright then seems like the easiest thing to do, while in fact, you as an artist might end up dealing with a serious headache. Selling the copyright shouldn’t even be considered. Instead, licensing is the way to go.
So what is the difference? And how do you go about informing your client and creating licenses?
Who doesn’t want to make money with their passion? There are few people out there that enjoy work they have no passion for. We artists are quite privileged when it comes to that. We have a passion, and that passion can bring in some good money. But how do you make your first money? What do you need to do to get there, and when you do get there, what should your rates be? And how do you make sure both you and your client are happy at the end of the line?
