Description

Being a freelancer is a style of life: encountering and diving in various projects, contacting different people and teams - like a sea-journey moving from one island to another and always wondering: what will be next? But this journey can be difficult. And these aspects are able to cause trouble not only to a freelancer, but to artists who prefer to work in one steady place for a long time too. At first, for example - all sorts of layoffs. There’s always a nice new different reason for this, and there will always be a few more. The second is not so obvious, but in my opinion even more damaging. It’s not being in your place. When you hate your project and what you do, dreaming this work would be finished soon and you can turn off the screen or do some art for yourself. Strangely enough for a creative industry, but I hear this pretty often. I mostly work as a freelancer, but I very rarely take the short contracts. In other words I don’t draw just one or two pictures, but dive into new work, when there’s a whole world waiting to be created, a whole story to be visualised. Which means those projects can’t last a few days - they are in the long process of production for months and sometimes years. And after being in the beginning of my career a few times in a situation when I just hated what I did, I naturally formed kinda rules for starting new contracts. Rule of Three. At first I didn't even notice that I’ve got any rules, but once I gave them a shape of words, they worked pretty well for a lot of years, saving my neuro system and my time. And I think, the time of others too: because I believe that projects have to be done by people who really love them, want to make them better and are interested in them. At this rate the final product will be something awesome no matter what - because it will be something special for all the team that created it. The Rule of Three itself is simple: First - choose the team. Second - project. Third - money. Exactly in this order, and not another. Now a bit of an explanation. First - choose the team. Why is this most important? And yes, it is the most important, even when you never see the office and the whole team is online, scattered all around the world. In fact during all years of my career I’ve seen the actual office only once. But still - the team is on the top of the list. As I mentioned, projects are a long term journey. You can’t make a game or a movie in a week or even a month. There’s a long work of concepting, writing, modelling, animating, etc, etc. A team of different people visualising one idea. Of course, it’s obvious that you’ll have to be in touch with at least a few of them, even if you’re a complete hikikomori. But even that is not the main reason. The main reason for such order in the rule is that during this long period of making the project the Life is happening. It doesn’t care about you, or your work, because it just doesn’t care about anything and anyone. While the team is working hard in giving life for their Big Idea, the life around throws viruses, wars and craziness of the technology. And it will find what to dig up for a present next time for sure. And for that reason the first one in the list is the team - choose people with whom you are going to work. If you can trust your team, the obstacles of life around won’t hinder the flow or especially damage your neuro system with premature hoariness, because you’ll be able to rely on others and others will be able to rely on you. If people are on one wave, it doesn’t matter how huge the storm is. The second in the list is a project - and I think it’s quite obvious why. If you don't like the style or idea, it will be either a living hell to draw it, or a Kingdom of Bore. And only the last is money. I suppose there are people who are ready to do a work they hate for a huge pile of numbers on their account, but I never was this kind. I value my time much more than money, and I don’t like to waste it on things I don’t like. Of course there’s an important part of ‘I need to pay bills next week; dentist costs like ferrari; the fridge is empty’… Money is important in our life. But how not to let your family starve and have enough time to find the perfect team and project you’ll enjoy working with, is another long story and it’ll be in the next episode. So - to be continued.