Looking for job

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MichaelBlanco
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Posts: 1
Joined: Thu Jul 27, 2017 1:17 pm

Looking for job

#1 Post by MichaelBlanco »

Hi there,

I like TwoKinds comics. Honestly, I started from fanart and have recently graduated from grafic design school. I´m looking for a job now and would be grateful for any kind of help. Thank you! :flora:

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Dadrobit
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Posts: 1216
Joined: Mon Aug 22, 2011 5:46 am
Location: Sunny Arizona

Re: Looking for job

#2 Post by Dadrobit »

Huh, can't say I've seen a thread like this before. Might get locked for spam, but heck, I'll throw my two cents worth of wisdom in here.

(By the way, you should probably go make an introduction post in the newbie board. This probably could have been better placed in there.)

I'm gonna make the assumption that you are trying to make it as a commission artist? That seems to be the "thing to do," unless you were looking into an industry/salary job, in which case I don't think anyone here can help you.

What did you graduate with? A degree or a certification? Both are fine, but make sure that if you don't have a lot of actual art to advertise with yet, that you put it out on your profiles to bolster your reputation in the eyes of your clients.

Speaking of profiles, get yourself out on as many art platforms and platforms that accept artists as you can. Visibility is huge for you so you can start actually building a client base. Throw everything you can on these platforms that are of a quality that you are comfortable charging money for or feel are really worth representing. And for every update, use a business specific Twitter and or Facebook page to update your clients and show that you're active. (Business specific is important here, they're for updating your art profiles, not for retweeting politics and BuzzFeed pages. Unless you want to lose clients that is...)

As for getting work, don't undersell yourself and never work for free. Working for "exposure" is a [censored] ideology. All it gets you is other people looking for free handouts. If you want more "exposure" then make a piece for yourself and post it to your platforms updating everyone just like you would have if you'd done it for free, without furthering the expectations that you'll work for nothing. If you don't like charging money, then get over it. Seriously, you're in this to put food on the table, and doing something silly like charging five bucks for a fully fleshed out piece is not gonna keep the lights on. A good place to start is by just timing yourself making a full piece. Determine how long it takes you and apply at least minimum wage to it. If it takes two hours, then at least charge twenty bucks or so. Something along those lines.

And speaking of money, look into how you're going to do your taxes. This avenue doesn't provide you with a nice simple W-2 to work off of, you're going to have to actually keep track of every dollar yourself and file everything with the suits yourself. If you're in America, look into this page and talk to your bank or credit union of choice on how to continue from there.

https://www.irs.gov/businesses/small-bu ... f-employed

I'm not kidding in the slightest on that point, knowing what you do and don't owe the government is a huge part of working for yourself and is not to be taken lightly.

And finally, never stop improving on the quality of your product. The better your art, the larger your client base, and the more you can charge them. Stagnation and sub-par delivery are a great way to flounder. A great reputation is built on relentlessly delivering above and beyond what the client demands time and time again, a bad reputation is built by not delivering just once.
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Rafe
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Posts: 571
Joined: Tue Mar 19, 2013 6:00 am

Re: Looking for job

#3 Post by Rafe »

Dadrobit wrote: Thu Jul 27, 2017 3:54 pm ...knowing what you do and don't owe the government is a huge part of working for yourself and is not to be taken lightly.
He's right about that. It's also a good way to prove to potential employers (or anyone else) that you're serious about this being your profession.

One thing further you might want to do:
Learn to spell "Graphic Design". Your resumes will be taken much more seriously.

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