I'm going to add to this, I've become a jerk of all trades in the media and creative industry for over 15 years and usually tell people not to go down my path but here are some extra points I've learned. 1.5) It's all networking, who you b__w not who you know. People need to schmooze, suck up, go to B2Bs meetings that pertain to them, and get out into the community. 6) Specialize! Be that guy for that thing you love. If you find yourself like me and doing 3d models one day and producing/directing a live-action commercial campaign you've gone too far, stop and focus on what you love. 7) Noone in bubleF*ck America will want to give you what you should be worth, you need to be where the work is. Get a plan and move out if you're in a creative desert. This is usually a place where there are only a few agencies and production houses. They are much better at schmoozing the people in the area then you are and have done it for years. The new model for these places is to turn and burn free labor provided by colleges and will never hire you unless you have an amazing repertoire that could replace older talent at a cheaper cost. 8) If you're doing live-action, Rent, Rent, Rent. Do not buy the new Sony, Red or Arri cameras when you first start off, add the rental cost and 15% to your proposal. Going into super dept will kill you in the slow times, I have had to sell gear on the last recession. Take that extra 15% and store it away for future purchases so one day you can buy the gear you want. 9) Listen to everyone, that intern on the conference call might be the owner's nephew if someone gives you a valid critique don't dismiss it, do it, but make sure it's valid and if it's not, make sure you can present a logical reason why you should not do it. 10) Don't kill your own job. I got a gig once doing re-lighting and roto work for about 50 and an hour and was supposed to be a 3-week job. I made an After Effects script that automated a ton of the work and knocked it out in a half a day. They said thanks for saving them money and my contract was fulfilled. I assumed they had more work on the project that they would give me, I was wrong lost a ton of cash for working too fast. Also @sirwadeneistadt, side question, what lens are you using to film that. I looked like it was at .7F that bokeh was impressive?
One time I had a freelance job where a client was going to give me 6 months to do what he called an "animated logo" for his short films, in all reality it was a 2 minute short history of his life that culminated into his production company logo. It was very complicated project involving modeling, rigging, animation and f/x. After 50 days he starts freaking out and shortens my deadline by 4 months and was shocked and mad as hell that I couldn't finish 4 months of work in 2 weeks. In reality I was 30 days ahead of schedule, he didn't want to hear it and cancelled the check he wrote me and we haven't spoken since. I can't emphasize enough how important it is to educate your clients on what you do and how long it takes to finish projects all by yourself.
Yes, always have contracts with details on what your tasks are! When I first started freelance and finished building one character for a client, he loved my work and ended up asking me to research and make concept of the next characters. I should have raised the price more before agreeing to it. The client kept asking me to do additional things more than what was written on my contract. It was also hard for me to set things straight and be upfront about it because I felt bad asking for more money. And they were a startup company, so I knew they didn't have a lot of money. He wanted me to create fur for some characters, but I told him that he would have to pay especially more, but he was unhappy about it. I later also found out that the client was paying a concept artist ten times more than he pays me when I'm modeling, sculpting, and texturing his characters. Be careful everyone whenever the client wants to change your pay consistently for no reason and look down on your lack of experience.
Absolutely bang on video. Anyone who has freelanced for a while will really relate to this. I particularly like the bit about integrity, I think that's really important. Also, the consequences down the road is very relevant to most people I'd say! I always recommend a tax professional too. Great video!
Your wife is awesome for taking you to Hawaii I really enjoyed looking at the scenery and a look at Vacation Mode Sir with Hawaiian shorts and snow cones lol. This was really helpful especially with the price since that is something I'm always struggle with. I also have my fair share of freelance stories. One time someone called me for a freelance job offered a lot of money but didn't tell me what the project was, I asked them about what the project is about and stuff. Mind you I'm assuming this is an animation job but he tells me he wants me to create a whole website and design a website. I have no idea how to create a website I told them this in a nice way and said I can animate some motion graphics for the website but in terms of creating a website from scratch I don't even know. Not even to mention this website they wanted me to create lets just say it's not for children eyes. Once I found out about what the website was about near the end of our convo I told them sorry but I can't take this job. So I do agree with you money isn't everything but I don't want this to be apart of my career.
Another point for your tip #5, if you take a trip and do business, like record a video for your YT channel, you can write off the whole trip on your taxes as a business expense.
Thank you Sir Wade! this was awesome and the remarks on free work were spot on. Been working in the game biz for a while and free work (I call it building relationships) used for future scaling does have great benefits if planned out correctly. Of course, it's gotta be with folks you trust because there are people that WILL use you. Hope your wife didn't kill you for doing this in the middle of vacay!
Been doing the freelance Animator thing for nearly 6 years now, you hit a lot of important points. There’s so much that goes into doing it successfully! Good video man :)
Great video. Also, for everyone in the comments section. Chris Do is also someone you could look into if you're freelancing, thinking of freelancing or just startng out. I think he makes a spot on video about dealing with clients, how you should price yourself, what your worth is, making a living, etc. I'm still learning all this, so I'm no expert but I just wanted to share this. Have a good day everyone.
This was really insightful, and I appreciate that you mentioned taxes! A small thing to prepare for that can save so much time and hassle in the long run (or until tax season comes at least lol)
I can totally relate on the story part.. I got a client that wanted a character cutting a bag open with their logo on it and money falling out of it (I already had the rigged characters, from a game). that's all they said, there was basically no communication and because it was my first freelance job I didn't ask for upfront payment and just rolled with it, asking for more details and all they said was "yeah just do whatever really".. it took me quite some time to get the animation and money simulation just right and asked for $100 (which at the time I thought was a bit high for a 5-second animation) and they agreed immediately. when I sent them the finished animation they said it was terrible and incomplete (no background, etc. but again they never asked for it), "nah, that ain't it". some back and forth later and we agreed on me adding a background and other details and they would pay me $150. I asked for $50 upfront and after a few days they cancelled the commission. in the end it was a good learning experience to not accept jobs without enough detail and at least 50% upfront payment.
Greaatt tips. Thanks a lot, man. Contracts are what I’m learning a hard lesson about right now. I took a flatfee job that I estimated at 60 hours and 6weeks of work. Now I’m about to hit 11 months and it’s looking like it’s going to end up at 200 hrs of work. DEFINITELY should have gotten a clear contract at the beginning.
Great video! Number of revisions!! I didn't have that in my early contracts and one client kept coming back with more stuff to do (I ended up doing design iteration at that point). Also clearly say what you will and will not do on that project.
Thanks Sir Wade. How i wish i knew tip no. 2 about a year ago, probably when you had just posted this video. I have under priced my self ever since yet providing high end rigging and animation services. Now i know. Thank you! :)
Hi everyone, Do you any twitch streamers that are doing freelance work or talking about freelance work in 3D? Any design long-form sessions? Something like a Blender session or a Photoshop session that was useful for you? If not, any long-form honest audio or video materials about design freelancing? RUclips streams or podcast episodes that have impacted the way you see business finding ? The reason I'm asking this question here is because the search engine on twitch is not well optimized for finding topic-specific content and I know there is good content over there. Any resource/link/idea would help.
Fantastic video Wade! I was wondering though: what is involved in forming a contract with a client? I expect there must be a lawyer or witness present during the signing of the contract or else one of the parties could alter their copy and there would be no proof that it wasn’t part of the original. How does that process work exactly? Again, great video, very informative, and I hope you have a nice time in Hawaii!
I say never work for free. Maybe work for a discount depending on the turnaround. I do work at discounts when the deadline is not rushed so I can take other work and do it in my own time. Also on big projects I ask for some money up front and I will almost never accept a flat rate. Early on working freelance I took a job and the art director kept on making changes that lasted months. I had to stop working on it and I never got paid. I swear the guy kept on making changes because he never wanted to pay me.
i m an 3D Animator ...is it good to be gud only in Animation rahter than learning rigging too... btw i m not interested but studios in India mostly ask for person with both skills.. plzz help
I hope these help you out! Got any freelance stories or tips you'd like to share? Or maybe questions for a followup? :)
I'm going to add to this, I've become a jerk of all trades in the media and creative industry for over 15 years and usually tell people not to go down my path but here are some extra points I've learned.
1.5) It's all networking, who you b__w not who you know. People need to schmooze, suck up, go to B2Bs meetings that pertain to them, and get out into the community.
6) Specialize! Be that guy for that thing you love. If you find yourself like me and doing 3d models one day and producing/directing a live-action commercial campaign you've gone too far, stop and focus on what you love.
7) Noone in bubleF*ck America will want to give you what you should be worth, you need to be where the work is. Get a plan and move out if you're in a creative desert. This is usually a place where there are only a few agencies and production houses. They are much better at schmoozing the people in the area then you are and have done it for years. The new model for these places is to turn and burn free labor provided by colleges and will never hire you unless you have an amazing repertoire that could replace older talent at a cheaper cost.
8) If you're doing live-action, Rent, Rent, Rent.
Do not buy the new Sony, Red or Arri cameras when you first start off, add the rental cost and 15% to your proposal. Going into super dept will kill you in the slow times, I have had to sell gear on the last recession. Take that extra 15% and store it away for future purchases so one day you can buy the gear you want.
9) Listen to everyone, that intern on the conference call might be the owner's nephew if someone gives you a valid critique don't dismiss it, do it, but make sure it's valid and if it's not, make sure you can present a logical reason why you should not do it.
10) Don't kill your own job.
I got a gig once doing re-lighting and roto work for about 50 and an hour and was supposed to be a 3-week job. I made an After Effects script that automated a ton of the work and knocked it out in a half a day. They said thanks for saving them money and my contract was fulfilled.
I assumed they had more work on the project that they would give me, I was wrong lost a ton of cash for working too fast.
Also @sirwadeneistadt, side question, what lens are you using to film that. I looked like it was at .7F that bokeh was impressive?
thanks sir wade , for the words
One time I had a freelance job where a client was going to give me 6 months to do what he called an "animated logo" for his short films, in all reality it was a 2 minute short history of his life that culminated into his production company logo. It was very complicated project involving modeling, rigging, animation and f/x. After 50 days he starts freaking out and shortens my deadline by 4 months and was shocked and mad as hell that I couldn't finish 4 months of work in 2 weeks. In reality I was 30 days ahead of schedule, he didn't want to hear it and cancelled the check he wrote me and we haven't spoken since. I can't emphasize enough how important it is to educate your clients on what you do and how long it takes to finish projects all by yourself.
Yes, always have contracts with details on what your tasks are! When I first started freelance and finished building one character for a client, he loved my work and ended up asking me to research and make concept of the next characters. I should have raised the price more before agreeing to it. The client kept asking me to do additional things more than what was written on my contract. It was also hard for me to set things straight and be upfront about it because I felt bad asking for more money. And they were a startup company, so I knew they didn't have a lot of money. He wanted me to create fur for some characters, but I told him that he would have to pay especially more, but he was unhappy about it. I later also found out that the client was paying a concept artist ten times more than he pays me when I'm modeling, sculpting, and texturing his characters. Be careful everyone whenever the client wants to change your pay consistently for no reason and look down on your lack of experience.
I have been victim of this as well. Worst experience ever.
Absolutely bang on video. Anyone who has freelanced for a while will really relate to this. I particularly like the bit about integrity, I think that's really important. Also, the consequences down the road is very relevant to most people I'd say! I always recommend a tax professional too. Great video!
Your wife is awesome for taking you to Hawaii I really enjoyed looking at the scenery and a look at Vacation Mode Sir with Hawaiian shorts and snow cones lol. This was really helpful especially with the price since that is something I'm always struggle with. I also have my fair share of freelance stories. One time someone called me for a freelance job offered a lot of money but didn't tell me what the project was, I asked them about what the project is about and stuff. Mind you I'm assuming this is an animation job but he tells me he wants me to create a whole website and design a website. I have no idea how to create a website I told them this in a nice way and said I can animate some motion graphics for the website but in terms of creating a website from scratch I don't even know. Not even to mention this website they wanted me to create lets just say it's not for children eyes. Once I found out about what the website was about near the end of our convo I told them sorry but I can't take this job. So I do agree with you money isn't everything but I don't want this to be apart of my career.
Whoa that's bizarre!! Haha sounds like you handled it well! :P Also thank you!! The snow cone was really good haha
Another point for your tip #5, if you take a trip and do business, like record a video for your YT channel, you can write off the whole trip on your taxes as a business expense.
Holy crap, no one has ever explained pricing this easily. Such value in this 👏
Thank you Sir Wade! this was awesome and the remarks on free work were spot on. Been working in the game biz for a while and free work (I call it building relationships) used for future scaling does have great benefits if planned out correctly. Of course, it's gotta be with folks you trust because there are people that WILL use you. Hope your wife didn't kill you for doing this in the middle of vacay!
Been doing the freelance Animator thing for nearly 6 years now, you hit a lot of important points. There’s so much that goes into doing it successfully! Good video man :)
This video was incredibly useful and informative! Thanks! Found your channel through the podcast you did with Chris and Lizzie!
I actually really liked this video! not sure if this is the format or good tips - its very cool:) thank you!
Great video. Also, for everyone in the comments section. Chris Do is also someone you could look into if you're freelancing, thinking of freelancing or just startng out. I think he makes a spot on video about dealing with clients, how you should price yourself, what your worth is, making a living, etc. I'm still learning all this, so I'm no expert but I just wanted to share this. Have a good day everyone.
best storytime ted talk ever! That was a really good lesson Sir Wade! =)
This was really insightful, and I appreciate that you mentioned taxes! A small thing to prepare for that can save so much time and hassle in the long run (or until tax season comes at least lol)
I can totally relate on the story part.. I got a client that wanted a character cutting a bag open with their logo on it and money falling out of it (I already had the rigged characters, from a game). that's all they said, there was basically no communication and because it was my first freelance job I didn't ask for upfront payment and just rolled with it, asking for more details and all they said was "yeah just do whatever really".. it took me quite some time to get the animation and money simulation just right and asked for $100 (which at the time I thought was a bit high for a 5-second animation) and they agreed immediately. when I sent them the finished animation they said it was terrible and incomplete (no background, etc. but again they never asked for it), "nah, that ain't it". some back and forth later and we agreed on me adding a background and other details and they would pay me $150. I asked for $50 upfront and after a few days they cancelled the commission.
in the end it was a good learning experience to not accept jobs without enough detail and at least 50% upfront payment.
Greaatt tips. Thanks a lot, man. Contracts are what I’m learning a hard lesson about right now. I took a flatfee job that I estimated at 60 hours and 6weeks of work. Now I’m about to hit 11 months and it’s looking like it’s going to end up at 200 hrs of work. DEFINITELY should have gotten a clear contract at the beginning.
That looks like a nice resort. I went to one similar a few years ago. Hawaii is a very beautiful place. Enjoy your vacation and loved your video
Great video! Number of revisions!! I didn't have that in my early contracts and one client kept coming back with more stuff to do (I ended up doing design iteration at that point). Also clearly say what you will and will not do on that project.
love you videos bro, continue the videos, one day the youtube algorithm will bless you and you will go viral 🎯
Thanks Sir Wade. How i wish i knew tip no. 2 about a year ago, probably when you had just posted this video. I have under priced my self ever since yet providing high end rigging and animation services. Now i know. Thank you! :)
Thank you so much for this 😊 really needed guidance
You are one of my Top 5 favorite RUclipsrs.
Thank you so much! :D Who are the other 4? :)
@@SirWade edu puertas, Domics, Jeremy Jahns and yourchonny. Not in order.
Thanks for always posting these. They are helpful to a lot of us :D
Great. As a freelancer myself, I do agree all you said bro
How would you go about making a contract for this freelancing?
Thank you! hope you have a great time in Hawaii!
Hi everyone,
Do you any twitch streamers that are doing freelance work or talking about freelance work in 3D? Any design long-form sessions? Something like a Blender session or a Photoshop session that was useful for you?
If not, any long-form honest audio or video materials about design freelancing? RUclips streams or podcast episodes that have impacted the way you see business finding ?
The reason I'm asking this question here is because the search engine on twitch is not well optimized for finding topic-specific content and I know there is good content over there.
Any resource/link/idea would help.
Thank you
Thank you so much. Been a lot of help. :)
This was very helpful. Thank you!
nice . is need to do fix freelance job with fixed people or continuesly change job by changing clients?
Great info. Thanks for the video!
"I'm not going to play with Micky Mouse's lawyers" Sent me to the floor ahahaaha
Thanks for another insightful video!
Very informative! Thank you, Sir Wade
Thanks very useful tips.
Fantastic video Wade! I was wondering though: what is involved in forming a contract with a client? I expect there must be a lawyer or witness present during the signing of the contract or else one of the parties could alter their copy and there would be no proof that it wasn’t part of the original. How does that process work exactly? Again, great video, very informative, and I hope you have a nice time in Hawaii!
Check out the app legal shield. And I don't believe lawyers need to be present
Thank you! Is that app an industry standard? I will check that out.
@@henreebee6561 I have no idea, my professor who freelances recommended it to me.
Great video! Very helpful information, especially for young people like me who have no experience. 👍🙏
I think someone missed the like button and had their device upside down... Who's the one dislike?
Thanks for enlightening us
Can you do a video on how to block in Animation?
This was very interesting thank you!
🎉🎉🎉 in this video have ambiental noises but I love this video I like differents topics in this channel. How could it be vblog? 🤔🤔🤔
I love this shirt
Very helpful!
can u suggest some books and courses for animation
I say never work for free. Maybe work for a discount depending on the turnaround. I do work at discounts when the deadline is not rushed so I can take other work and do it in my own time. Also on big projects I ask for some money up front and I will almost never accept a flat rate. Early on working freelance I took a job and the art director kept on making changes that lasted months. I had to stop working on it and I never got paid. I swear the guy kept on making changes because he never wanted to pay me.
Taxes is how I messed up. They should teach taxes in College Art courses.
i m an 3D Animator ...is it good to be gud only in Animation rahter than learning rigging too... btw i m not interested but studios in India mostly ask for person with both skills.. plzz help
Gold
How's the vacation going??
You are right,. Upwork is a time waster. Simply miserable.
😂😂😂I'm not gonna play with Mickey mouse's lawyers
Well I’m here early
Great video. Hope you and your wife have an amazing time in Hawaii. Make sure to bring a coconut bra for the next video. Lol
i wish i won a tablet in give away
Impressive 📵code❌🛑 thank you…Great advice