The Death Of Freelance Illustration, Passion Projects & Why We Quit Our Dream Jobs (Chris Oatley & Noah Bradley): An interpretation

Note: This is just my interpretation/ translation of the talk.  

This is a talk show(?) by Noah Bradley and Chris Oatley on YouTube. Be warned that it's 2 hours long. 


You can also go to Chris' blog post, but mostly it's to encourage you to listen to the talk and many, many links (relevant to the talk).

These guys have things they want to express and they're actually great ideas, but it was a little hard for me to get what they were saying. So I made this post as a kind of note to myself and for anyone who is trying to get a better picture of the talk.

While Chris Oatley was a Character Designer for Disney, Noah Bradley was an illustration freelancer for 3 years. They BOTH QUIT what they were doing, and now are doing their own personal projects and businesses for a living. Chris has his website, paperwings project, and Oatley Academy, an online art programme he teaches. Noah has just quit freelancing recently, 2 or 3 months ago, and has an art education programme, Art Camp and his own IP project called sin of man (the last bit I heard him say but don't comprehend)

Noah and Chris were both at a fantastic position that most of us only ever dream of; a freelance illustrator that can pick and choose the jobs he accepts, character designer at Disney... But when it comes down to it, anyone who ever entered the art industry did it because they loved art. They love to draw and to paint. Fundamentally, all of us are artists. That is our core. And as artists, these two wanted to take things to the next step. Noah here says he never liked doing what other people told him to do, and basically working for any company or person would entail that. Thus he quit freelancing, and is trying to do what every kid dreams of doing-doing what he likes and getting paid for it.

What Chris is saying, STOP looking at the industry in a traditional way of 'Disney dream job, and stable income OR freelancing fun but dangerous and unstable'. With the internet our choices are much more expanded, and you can take different approaches now. HOW and WHAT he does not elaborate, because he thinks it's different for everyone depending on their artistic skill set, preferences, and most importantly goals and dreams. Ultimately, what is it you set out to achieve? what is it that you want to take your art to? and from there you take steps, and you can initiate your own way of getting there.

What Noah is saying on the other hand, is while freelancing seems like the ultimate dream job if you can live on it, freelancing is completely dependent on getting clients. No clients=no job. And he's a damn famous and damn good freelance illustrator, and basically he found that the limit for freelancing is pretty low. You get to his level of fame and skill, and gets all the high paying awesome jobs, but that's about it. There is no 'up' from there. So he quit, and now he's trying out other stuff, not freelancing nor getting a job working for someone or some company.

But what about the financial side of things? Which is probably as important as our artistic goals itself, since finance provides the support. This is where the two says that yes, the financial side is important. Before quitting their respective jobs, Noah and Chris had saved enough to live on for about 6 to 9 months without income. That is because they know whatever personal venture they embark on will not immediately start paying good money, and is an important step of their transition. They DO NOT recommend doing your own thing without having financial security, which is basically the conundrum since all of us have jobs to finance our lives.  The point is that they're talking about this so that those of us who haven't yet reached that point in which 'doing our own thing' is an option know about what they're facing. Especially for art students and fresh grads, while doing our own thing might not be a viable option, it is important to note what they're saying because then we have an idea of the path we want to take. And, Chris adds it's extremely important that your family supports the decision to 'do your own thing' (you'll see me using this term often in the post). 

They go on to talk about  being an art teacher in their programs, and how fulfilling it is. Not much information to digest here.

Their next topic focuses on health insurance.You can read Chris' post on his blog about it. He's from America, and this part is only relevant to those living there or are interested in the topic.

So what's happening with freelance illustration? 

Freelance illustrators need to take whatever job they can get because of the fierce competition and limited choices, and as a result they do odd jobs here and there. It is most likely a lot of the jobs they have to take on are ones that they don't necessarily enjoy. Which is why they strongly encourage people to do their own thing, create their own intellectual property. It's better if you're both a good artist and a good storyteller, as one compliments and supports the other. If you can do both, it broadens horizons and gives you leverage.

Because of the overflow of talents, companies don't pay very well and don't pay on time. This is a given, and is the status quo. Chris and Noah say that instead of working for peanuts, you can create your own art and actually make money out of it. For example, Chris highlights a case where this artist was illustrating a card for a 100 buck, when he could probably sell 5 prints of the same illustration and earn as much, while retaining all his rights over the images and handling of his product. (Now in my opinion, you can only do this kind of thing if you're both well-known and a great artist, which a lot of us aren't. They cover fanbase and such later in this post.)

Another common thing in the art industry is 'free art tests'. The company asks you to draw stuff for them for free, and after that they'll decide if they'll hire you. MANY or I would say most senior artists advocate one thing on this: DON'T DO IT. You're doing work for free, which should not happen, and your portfolio should be able to show if you are capable. If not, recommendation from previous clients can work as reassurance, or something similar. Many shady companies, or one that just start up ask for that. Some also ask you to do free work for reputation, which is nonsense. (Case in point, TJ Wright's case) Side note, free art tests and story tests for animation companies are different.

Instead of working for someone else, try creating your own creation, which you have full rights over and that you can control, for example making your own interactive story/comic, or app. What Chris and Noah is trying to say in this entire podcast/talk is, stop thinking and looking at the industry in the traditional way, take things into your own hands, find ways to make your own creations. If they're good, you can definitely make money out of it. (An important note here is the 1000 True Fans concept by Kevin Kelly. I will link to it again at the bottom of this post for uniformity.)

So, if doing your own thing is so great, why do so few people actually doing it? The main reason is that there is no guarantee. We fear without our lifelines. We have families to take care of, bills to be paid each month. For freelance illustrators though, that's not much of a difference in that sense. That's why the things Noah and Chris are talking about isn't for everyone. If you like working for other people, go ahead! That's great. If you're looking to create art creations of your own though, you ought to try to do it, starting with making considerations and planning. It's extremely tough because you have to market, budget and do everything on your own, but that's the price that comes with the freedom of pursuing your own artistic goals and interests. Nothing of value comes easy, and being able to create your own art (and make a living out of it!) definitely isn't easy either.

If you want to do your own thing, and make money out of it, you obviously need a fanbase, which is in a way, your 'clients'. So how does one go about getting a fanbase? Chris says, by creating something great. Now this is where I think everything comes together: You're an artist because you have something you want to share with the world, and a creation can only be great if you're invested in it, or passionate about it. If you have something like that and execute it well, you can touch people. And when they're touched, they become fans, and fans buy your creations, which fund you for creating more art. Social networking is important, but that is just to share your creation with as many audiences as possible. You can't create a fanbase on nothing. And the main element for creating something great, is that is is special. Unique. And that uniqueness comes from your own art sense and personality, what you like and so forth that cannot be duplicated by another individual.

Doing your own thing though, requires that the individual has many different, necessary skills. In particular, Chris and Noah talk about being able to code and launch their own website, which Chris learnt the basics of when he just started out and was doing odd jobs, and needed to brush up a lot before working on his own webpages. Noah on the other hand learnt most of it before he was out of high school. The point is, to find out the skills you need and are lacking, learn those skills (it's becoming easier and easier since you can learn just about any skill online now) and apply them. This is where you need discipline and hard work, to find skills you lack and to polish skills that you have to outshine others in the same field.

Another thing they discuss is about side income. I personally think it applies whether you're doing your own thing or working with a stable job. If you can make money out of it, even just a little, like prints or affiliate links, why not do it? You won't lose anything and all of the accumulated little money you get adds up to something.

Nuggets of wisdom (The Q&A Part of their talk)

Get an accountant, saves a lot of hassle and saves more money on tax returns, since the accountant knows the in and outs.

If you're comfortable to walk away from a job/deal, you have some power in said project. If you need each and every job to pay bills, you have none.

Wordpress for people with no web design or coding knowledge.

People live free stuff. Doing giveaways or creating a piece of work to be enjoyed for free every once in a while is something to consider.

They don't recommend paid advertisement.

Communication skills are extremely important. Proper grammar and punctuations, spell-checking shows that you care enough to at least say things right, and leaves a good impression. Be polite and professional whenever you communicate.

If you do something to promote yourself and your work, that something should have to do with yourself and your work, i.e making tutorials about making comics if you're a comic artist. Don't randomly make a tutorial about something else, which might lead astray the attention of people to something not related to your work. This is a part of the 'specialisation' thing that they support.

Whether you're trying to expand your fanbase or promote your work, you can find fans of your genre everywhere on the internet, especially social media sites like Reddit.

Stay focused on improving your craft, whatever it may be, invest your time and energy so that you may excel in it, and remember the importance and how dire it is that you succeed in excelling in a craft that you want to make a living out of.

Help people if you can do so, whether it be answering their questions or helping them find a link or giving them suggestions. The help will be appreciated and helps you form relationships with others.

And that's it!

I will be linking the same links as in Chris' blog post about this talk for convenience and because there are one or two things he mentioned that he missed out on. (Note: I did not include the links to Chris and Noah's art program, which I feel would be advertisement here. If you are interested just go to their sites and you'll find the programs with ease.)

Will Terry's YouTube Video: My Speech to Illustration Students. There are 3 parts, approx. 45 mins in total.


http://ChrisOatley.com

http://NoahBradley.com

Seth Godin's blog

The Long Tail concept by Chris Anderson

1000 True Fans article by Kevin Kelly

Freakonomics: The Upside of Quitting

Will Terry's blog post: Where are my Freelance Jobs?

Noah's 100$ a Day post

Chris' Top 5 Illustration Portfolio Pitfalls post

Chris' Bad Clients post

Kwik (Photoshop plugin for creating apps.)

PACT (An organization dedicated to improving the working standards for illustrators. It seems quite promising.)

There are 3 book links on Chris' blog post, and if you're interested you should go from his link as he will get a small cut if you do and buy something on the site. I will just mention the title here:

Quitter: Closing the Gap Between Your Day Job & Your Dream Job by Jon Acuff

The Dip: A Little Book That Teaches You When to Quit (and When to Stick) by Seth Godin

The 4-Hour Workweek: Escape 9-5, Live Anywhere, and Join the New Rich by Timothy Ferris

Dance in Moonlight

Take my hand, my love, my sweet
And dance with me
What's wrong, sweetheart?
Bask in the madness of the moon full
Dance, darling, dance like a fool
Knowing only the sweet delirium of the moon



Just a quick sketch inspired by the full moon tonight (last night?) and slightly delirious feelings.

Tonight feels like a night to weep and be enchanted by the tears

Momma I'm Scared

Momma, momma, I'm scared
There's something in the house
Something big and bad
Something sinister yet sad

Momma, momma, I think it's coming closer
I can hear whispers in the dark
Telling me choking lies and putrefying truths
Turning into a sweet, sweet lullby 

Momma, momma, can't you see it?
That monster in the mirror right over there
Its claws pointing right at me,
Its crazed smile and demented stare

你不是真正的快乐 - 五月天 (You Are Not Truly Happy by Mayday) Lyrics and English Translation

你不是真正的快乐
作词：五月天 作曲：五月天

人 群中 哭著 你只想变成透明的颜色
你再也不会梦 或痛 或心动了
你已经决定了 你已经决定了

Crying in the midst of a crowd, you just want to become transparent
You will no longer dream, nor be in pain, nor ever be moved again
You have decided, you have decided

你 静静 忍著 紧紧把昨天在拳心握著
而回忆越是甜 就是 越伤人了
越是在 手心留下 密密麻麻 深深浅浅 的刀割

You silently hold it in, gripping yesterday tightly in your heart
And the sweeter the memory, the more it hurts
The more it leaves a dense, tingling, deep yet shallow knife wound in your palm

你不是真正的快乐 你的笑只是你穿的保护色
你决定不恨了 也决定不爱了
把你的灵魂关在永远锁上的躯壳

You are not truly happy; your smile is only the camouflage you wear
You've decided not to hate anymore, and also decided not to love anymore
Have your soul shut inside an empty shell that's forever locked

这 世界 笑了 於是你合群的一起笑了
当生存是规则 不是 你的选择
於是你 含著眼泪 飘飘荡荡 跌跌撞撞 的走著

This world is laughing, and so you play along and laugh with everyone
To live is a rule, and not your own choice
So with tears you walk on--drifting, swaying, stumbling, colliding

你不是真正的快乐 你的笑只是你穿的保护色
你决定不恨了 也决定不爱了
把你的灵魂关在永远锁上的躯壳

You are not truly happy, your smile is only the camouflage you wear
You've decided not to hate anymore, and also decided not to love anymore
Have your soul shut inside an empty shell that's forever locked

你不是真正的快乐 你的伤从不肯完全的愈合
我站在你左侧 却像隔著银河
难道就真的抱著遗憾一直到老了 然后才后悔著

You are not truly happy; your wounds have never been willing to completely heal
I'm standing on your left, but it's as though a galaxy separates us
Could it be that we're really going to hold this remorse until we grow old, then regret it after

你不是真正的快乐 你的笑只是你穿的保护色
你决定不恨了 也决定不爱了
把你的灵魂关在永远锁上的躯壳

You are not truly happy; your smile is only the camouflage you wear
You've decided not to hate anymore, and also decided not to love anymore
Have your soul shut inside an empty shell that's forever locked

你不是真正的快乐 你的伤从不肯完全的愈合
我站在你左侧 却像隔著银河
难道就真的抱著遗憾一直到老了

You are not truly happy; your wounds have never been willing to completely heal
I'm standing on your left, but it's as though a galaxy separates us
Could it be that we're really going to hold this remorse until we grow old, then regret it after

你值得真正的快乐 你应该脱下你穿的保护色
为什麼失去了 还要被惩罚呢
能不能就让 悲伤全部 结束在此刻 重新开始活著

You deserve true happiness; you should shed the camouflage you wear
Why after having to suffer loss, you have to be punished as well
Can we just let all the despair end at this moment, and begin living anew


I translated this so that it would be fluid in English while trying to make it as close to the original as possible. The sentence structures were mostly switched around, but the meanings are as accurate as I could get. Hope you find this useful!

The Hole and Hourglass

There's a hole in my chest
Where an hourglass sits perfectly
Watching tears fall in uniform drops
Going drip, drip, drip.

There's a hole in my chest
The weight of tears now calm
Causes my hourglass to spin
Waiting emptiness into being.

There's a hole in my chest
Where my hourglass spins
In a dance of tears and hollowness
In measured despair.