Artists for Hire

Young artists are exploring the world of freelancing through short commission opportunities on the internet.

Two studio labs fill almost every day with more projects to finish at her dorm room. University of Houston Fine Arts student Nicole spends her time practicing her digital painting, colors, and design — and she takes more projects from her twitter clients.

In between practicing models or concept sketches, Savannah College of Art and Design animation major Vex Vear might take some paid work from their followers on Tumblr or Instagram for their own characters.

Going to school during the day and working a job as well, Lone Star College student and aspiring illustration major Cassandra Montealvo paints realistic portraits for some dedicated family clients in her spare time.

Aspiring artists like Choi, Vear, and Montealvo are a small part of the art scene that are dipping their toes into the freelancing market both on and off the internet. Dozens of artists on the internet are building their careers, reputations, and networks starting out on commissioned work.

[left] Nicole Choi, 20, uses her iPad to finish commissions. She primarily conducts her commissions over her twitter after amassing a following for her fanworks. | [right] Choi holds up one of her self-portraits she created with her acrylics on canvas. She is switching to a Bachelor’s of Fine Arts with a painting concentration.

[left] Cassandra Montealvo, 19, shows one of her bust drawings colored with Copic markers. Her sketchbook is covered in bright colors from her experimentation. | [right] Montealvo sketches near-daily in her several notebooks. She has plans to continue her education and become an illustration major.

[left] Vex Vear, 19, practices pen techniques in their sketchbook. As an animation major, they practice both physical and digital mediums. | [right] Vear shows one of their pieces done for an online for-profit project, which they collaborated with other artists for.

Freelancing, also known as the ‘gig economy’, is the concept of doing work for multiple clients without operating under a boss or corporation.

American freelance, both part and full-time, is increasing since the turn of the decade. Since 2014, the freelance workforce in America rose by 4 million workers.

The annual “Freelancing in America” studies commissioned by the Freelancers Union and Upworks document the increase of the gig economy. As the United States’ workforce has increased to 160 million and the ease of technology grew, freelancers across the nation have grown more connected and able to find more gigs.

The Freelancers Union found that 64% of freelancers worked over the internet in the 2018 study, which is a 22% increase from the original study four years prior.

As freelancers connect online, 77% of them believe the internet aids the market and the number of jobs offered. Art and entertainment sectors top the expanded market as the industry with the most freelance jobs in the 2019 study.

The Freelancers Union shows that art is full of free talent, but how does new talent like Choi, Vear, and Montealvo find their way into the freelance art market?

“Well, I saw other people, who are also artists, do commissions to make a little bit of money on the side,” Choi said. “and I thought it was a good idea.”

Vear also started their art career by following the examples led by other artists online but also acknowledges that family and connections can be a good pushing point. Montealvo worked primarily on portraits commissioned by distant relatives to start her portfolio.

“The hardest part is getting a following and having people actually want to commission you,” Montealvo said. “There are so many artists out there that already have a following.”

Choi agrees about the competitive online market.

“There’s a bunch of other people, hundreds of thousands of people doing the same thing as you and you constantly have competition,” Choi said. “It’s important; you just need to be smart about it.”

Learning to value their artwork and setting their prices has also been difficult work.

“Newbies are always underpricing themselves,” Vear said. “I did that too. I charged a full body full color at $12 that took 5 to 6 hours, which is ridiculous.”

Choi places a deep amount of importance on self-discipline and motivation in freelancing. Freelancers craft their own work schedule and their own business model.

Motivation and disciplines vary for all three budding artists. Choi arranges her time meticulously in structured planners, Vear uses the monetary goal to get themselves to finish, and Montealvo curbs her desire for her own artistic wants before commission work.

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The requirements of skill, discipline, and logistics are all accounted for. Social media cultivates these growing ambitions and extends their roots to establishing clientele and audiences.

“Social media is very important when commission work,” Montealvo said. “Not even commission work, I feel like art is one of those things where it’s nice to go to school for it, but I don’t think you need to. Because there have been a lot of people that have been discovered through social media and found work there.”

Montealvo isn’t unfounded in this perception. More value is placed on skills and trade in freelancing than college degrees, according to “Freelancing in America: 2018” study.

The world of art freelance isn’t immune to the game of internet popularity. Getting several followers and posting frequently is the way to widen your market.

“Once you start drawing art people are interested in, more and more people will follow you, spread your art around,” Choi said. “and then you have an audience of people who want to see your art and update. Then you will have people who are willing to pay for it. That’s just how posts get around.”

However, like all art, it is not immune to the struggle of getting an audience for your original works.

“You have a completely new idea you need to get people interested in and that’s a lot harder to do,” Montealvo said.

Art is creative in nature. As they work for agencies, artists realize they want more autonomy and freedom for creative control over their projects. Freelancing satisfies these needs and commissioning allows young artists to network and gain experience, according to Choi.

“Freelancing is truly the artist’s dream,” Choi said.