YSK: The Ups and Downs of Freelancing with No Network/Formal Training
Published in
2 min readOct 3, 2020
If you like podcasts, I recently had the pleasure of guesting on Art Heroes’ podcast and got to talk about my journey as a freelance illustrator.
I’m linking the page here, the video below, and expanding some of the things I talk about by key moment as often as I can and updating this page as I go. Check back in a few days or follow me on Twitter for the updates!
Before anything, and I’d like to stress this: freelancing is not easy but it’s doable. It’s a mix of privilege, perseverance, and luck. I may not have stressed this enough in the interview itself but I am stressing it now; not everyone can afford to take risks and leaps of faith, and that’s okay.
KEY MOMENTS OF THE EPISODE
- [0:52] Asia describes what she’s doing right now in illustration and working with existing clients internationally.
- [3:10] She explains what it entails to illustrate characters, the subjects of the characters she does, and the average time it takes to draw characters.
- [6:56] She explains why she uses a different program and not Adobe Suite except for Illustrator. (check back on Friday)
- [8:59] The work that goes into creating characters and making them blend into the scene and the challenges that comes with it. (check back next week)
- [13:45] Asia describes the events that led her to travel the world and work as a freelance illustrator.
- [19:58] How she started freelancing full-time without even an art network and previous school education.
- [21:40] She talks about her views on taking formal art education and forming a network of artists.
- [23:30] Tips on how to get both an offline and online art community and the importance of having one.
- [28:24] How she gets work with big organizations and who she pitches her work to.
- [34:59] She explains why she teaches online to help people become self-sufficient and why learning should be accessible.
- [42:16] Asia answers the fun ten questions.
