Freelance Artist Jobs – When most people think of a career in the arts, they associate it with the stereotype of the hungry artist struggling to find regular work. This picture is steadily changing as freelance art careers have become the norm for artists who build their businesses and launch their creative careers.
As work from home jobs remotely gaining popularity, the freelance artist jobs market is expanding to make room for both beginners and more experienced artists. A freelance artist can work in multiple roles, ranging from designer to art director.
This article describes the logistics of a freelance artist, including estimated salary, education, and experience. There are also some resources about where to find freelance artist jobs and companies that you should pay attention to when searching for gigs.
Who Hires Freelance Artists?
- Artists possess unique skills that are sought after by companies that rely on customer engagement – which are nearly every company. Here are some examples:
- TV networks: TV networks rely on artists to create the look and feel of their brand, shows, print media and the web. For example, Disney’s ABC Television network hires freelance graphic designers with experience in Adobe Creative Suite, Final Cut Pro, and Cinema 4D.
- Publishers: Multimedia artists thrive in the publishing world. Designers skilled at planning documents, including books, magazine magazines, brochures, posters, and charts are essential to this process, and you’ll find plenty of media that need your talent.
- Websites: It is no secret that the Internet fuels global trade, and websites are constantly looking for artists to meet their creative needs. Make a list of the sites you visit and check their jobs page for opportunities. For example, the home decor site, Apartment Therapy, regularly posts freelance jobs, some calling an artist.
Once you have located your niche and placed your chosen expression, it’s time to start looking for a paid outlet. Get started with these resources to help you find reputable clients for your creative talent.
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How to become a freelance artist
You want to be your own boss, which means you need to make some commitments on yourself, and it can sound a little intimidating. This is one of the main reasons artists are reluctant to build their own businesses – fear of not succeeding and letting themselves down.
Becoming a freelance artist always requires a lot of hard work, consistency, and perfect organization. Actions speak louder than words, so let’s check out our list of essential things you need to do when you dream about making money on your own. You must do the following.
Before committing to being a freelance artist, land a full-time job first: You don’t have to, but you should. Working for a company will give you an experience that you will not get alone. You will learn how to communicate with other people and clients, work according to a deadline and plan your time in the most effective way.
Do you think you can go from zero to hero? Well there’s a chance for that. But working as a freelance artist will require a professional background that you will only achieve through working for someone else.
Once you land a full time job, you need to be 100% sure that you are ready to take off. Building your personal appearance in action will take some time, so don’t jump to conclusions too quickly. Give yourself some time to find clients and don’t get discouraged when there is no real income initially.
It’s a process that can last a few months or even a year, so don’t be too hard on yourself, save some money from the job you still have and wait until the right time to shine.
Build your presence on the Internet: No matter how much you don’t want to admit it (because you might think you can do better) – the internet is the main tool you should use to build your presence in the art business world.
Are you not present as an artist on Instagram? You don’t exist at all. The first thing you need to do is create an online professional portfolio. It doesn’t matter if it’s a loud-looking website or just a simple blog – just do it, because you need a place to fill your business that you show to potential clients. You have to print the address on your business cards too!
The next step is to link your website to your company’s social media channels. Focus on creating a good-looking Instagram profile, it is the most powerful tool for artists and influencers right now. This way you will be able to attract fans around you, check their reactions and – most importantly – gain new customers!
Dedicate your room to an independent artist’s studio: It’s hard to take your work space seriously when you’re always in pajamas, right? Think of your room as a real office. Make sure you have a suitable space to work with and that each drawing tool is within reach. Keep them clean and well organized and don’t let the surroundings distract you. Working from home makes it very easy to break out of your routine and suddenly start cleaning the closet. Do not do it.
You can always hang some motivational posters around you so you believe you can and will work as a freelance artist.
Plan your days: Unless you’re a pedantic planner, you’ll feel lost at first. Lots of free time with Netflix at your fingertips doesn’t necessarily serve the hard work. Everything will look tempting. Laundry? Completely. Combing the dog? why not. Scrolling through Twitter for the fifth time in a minute? Yes sir!
So here’s the tricky part you need to do on your own: a daily plan. Only working on a schedule will help you succeed as a freelance artist. You are your own boss now, so it is your duty to watch your time. And you know what they say – time is money, right?
Well, practice your daily routine until it becomes a habit. Divide your days into chunks and make them dedicated to different activities that you need to do, for example engage with your followers on social media, uploading the latest artwork to the site, finding new clients, communicating with clients and working on orders.
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Be focused and steady: Once you come up with a business plan, you can’t let anything distract you. Avoid television, games, your mom’s calls, or cute outdoor toys. When you decide to work two hours in the morning, nothing should get in your way. Because letting any turmoil mess with your head is a straightforward way to fail. Create an atmosphere of total focus. Everything is fine as long as you are able to fully focus on creating. Art isn’t your hobby anymore, so take your work seriously.
Treat it like a 9-5 job: Well, not quite literally. But anyone who knows how to work as a freelance artist will tell you: It’s all about sticking to the routine. You can start very early in the morning or be a night owl, as long as you stick to the schedule.
Treat the start of your work as if you were entering the office. welcome? That’s okay – now is the time to focus and tackle the job. It needs to be done, and no one will do it for you. You can take breaks but remember – once you are at your workplace – your excuses are gone.
Remember – you are your boss now – you need to care about your one-person company. Because if you don’t – everything could fall apart.
How Much Do Freelance Artist Jobs Make?
The pursuit of art as a profession is usually born out of a love for the creative process and the passions of each individual artist. The romance disappears a bit when you consider the practicalities of the money and all the bills that you have to pay.
A big drawback to freelancing is the lack of a structured and guaranteed payment. The nature of freelance work makes compensation for these types of employees completely variable. The money they make depends on the industry or the type of freelancer they work in, skills, experience, and location.
If the freelance worker is freelance or fully self-employed, he can charge clients fees on a daily, hourly or per project basis. Although this sounds like the ideal scenario (you’re your boss, so you can dictate what you think is fair to your art), it takes a lot of work to get there. The artist often does not start by creating his own works and successfully selling his art.
If the freelance worker is represented by an independent company or agency, the wage rates may be more regular depending on how clients are charged and the cost is spread out to the freelancers.
For independent artists residing in the United States, the average annual salary as of October 2020 is $ 53,000. Some were reported to have salaries of up to $ 120,000 and as low as $ 14,000. This is a very dense range to consider but, again, there are a lot of variables.
