Jobs

[boundless]

Actually I finally got elance to remove my account because I didn't like the site. Plus I'm no longer doing logos and graphic design work because free tools just aren't good enough and I don't have the money for an Adobe suite right now. I'm doing general art projects like portraits, wall decals, comic art, photography, etc etc. Basically any kind of traditional art medium.

And actually I did get an animation on Channel Frederator, but it didn't get me much exposure. Thanks for help though. I'm sure it'll help other people interested in freelancing as well. 

As for my question on traveling: I'm going to do it (as long as they agree to my rate). I don't actually need to do the work at the person's house. I can pick the item up, work on it at home, deliver the finished project, and collect muh money.

Now I just need to figure out if I need a business license. I'm working as an artist, not a company. But I was told that registering as a business is better for taxes and protects you from getting sued since they can only sue the company and not me personally. Does anyone have a better understanding in this area?

[Loathsome]

-Have an attractive website of your work linked from the ad.  Just a front page with links is enough, but it should be well-designed and easy to navigate.

Are the DA portfolio sites ok? I'm a terrible webdesigner.. I barely know anything about coding and such.

http://conny-cartoon.daportfolio.com (wip)

[boundless]

Yeah of course. Unless you're a web designer, you don't need to design the site yourself.

EDIT: does anyone know places to post flyers? I called the library and grocery store, but they only allow non-profit advertising on their bulletin boards. I'll probably pay for a real ad somewhere, but it would still be nice to have some free options.

EDIT2: advertising on facebook works pretty well. got me some potential clients for a couple dollars. im giving it a week to see how i like it

[tommo]

Social networking sites are good (I'm going by what teachers have told me who are in the illustration/animation business) pretty much any artist websites you can find are good too.

Loathsome - You need to fix the grammar on your website before you direct people to it.  Also it's best to write it as if you are not yourself.  For instance, instead of
"My name is Conny Nordlund and I'm a conceptual and a illustrator. I like making character baised stuff for film/tv/books/magazines/etc.."
make it
"Conny Nordlund is a conceptual artist and illustrator, his specialty is making character based artwork for film/tv/books/magazines etc."
And you should add a thing about what jobs you have done and for whom.  As long as they are a business, it doesn't matter WHAT it is, no matter how small, even your school.  It just shows people that you have experience.

I would also like to know about this business thing that boundless mentioned.  I think the way it protects you is that if you are a business you can just claim bankruptcy if someone tries to sue you and then you don't have to pay a dime.  Just give your companies money to your mum or something lol.  Why someone would want to sue an artist I have no idea, but in America, anything is possible.  (I'm assuming you're in America?)

[boundless]

Hmm good idea.. I wonder if it really helps to write ABOUT yourself and not AS yourself. I might change my own site a little and see how it affects business.

And yes I'm an American so I have to watch my back. I could be sued as an artist if a client feels that I ripped him/her off. Even if it's a bogus claim, it'll cost me time and money just to defend myself. And if they succeed, I'm personally liable unless I register as a Limited Liability Company. BUT plenty of people work as Sole Proprietors when they do freelance and have no problems, so I'm not worried. And I don't want to deal with the extra paperwork and taxes involved in running a company.

BTW I've gotten a few emails since I started advertising on Facebook. It costs me about $3 USD per day and I'm only doing it for a week. But it hasn't helped that much more than Craigslist which is free.

[tommo]

Facebook advertising if FREE man. lol  Just send everyone on your list a message, add bands who are just starting out (myspace is better for this) stuff like that.
And just tell them you're an illustrator/graphic designer and would like to create album covers for new bands and direct them to your website.

I think it does help to write about yourself, it looks more professional.  Barely any professional artists or bands or anything will create their own website.  Unless you're a web designer obviously, and illustrators designers may do the layout and design but not the actual site.  So it just overall makes it looks like someone else has made it for you so therefore making you look more professional.

Yeah the paperwork for businesses would suck.  Once you start getting more business you can always get an agent and I think they handle the business side of things for you.  The downside is you have to pay them though.

[boundless]

I'm trying facebook's advertising program which allows you to target people by age, location, interests, etc. What you're talking about is basically word of mouth advertising which is obviously free and a good idea.

[tommo]

Well yeah that's what I meant.  I was basically trying to say I don't think it's worth paying for it when there's a much cheaper way to do it and may be just as effective.

[boundless]

I pay $0.30 or less per click and cap it at $3 a day. So it's $21 at the most for a week of advertising. I might as well give it a try since word of mouth isn't helping me right now and the ads will reach a wider audience. It might be worth it so I figured I'd give it a shot.

[tommo]

O ok wow that's pretty cheap.  Might give it a shot myself sometime if it works out for ya.  Let us know how it goes.