Freelance vs Studio

We have two types of work here. The one side, and most known, is the type you work in a company 5 days a week and 8+ hours a day, for as long as you want or are allowed to.
The other type is working as an independent freelancer for all kinds of clients mostly from home. Or if you put a lot of effort and hard work into it you can live from your own personal art without working for clients.
There is also a third option which is called contract work. This is a job where you get hired to work for a specific project or a specific time, and then you have to leave and find something new. Sometimes you can do it from home, sometimes you need to work in-house for that. So that’s actually a mix between both of them.
But let’s just stay with the full-time freelancer and full-time studio jobs.

🌱 First of all, no type is better than the other one. It all comes down to your own personal preference and what your current situation needs. You also can jump back and forth between being a freelancer or working in a studio OR doing both at the same time. That means you can have a full-time studio job and besides that, you can work in your evenings or weekends as a freelancer.
(Note: Before you can start freelancing as a second job, you have to talk with your company about that and if they are okay with it. That’s very important, because if they are not okay with it or if the compani’s conditions don’t allow having a second job then you can have a lot of trouble if you still do it. The main reason for them not having you with a side job is pretty simple because if you overwork yourself this can have a bad impact on your main job/their company. You probably can’t finish tasks because you are too tired, you get sicker because of too much work or you just can’t put enough energy and effort into this company anymore. So keep that in mind and always ask for permission first. The best thing is to ask that already when you have an interview with them. Makes everything easier and you know if you can when you want to.)

Anyway, there is no rule that you have to do one thing forever. That’s why i love being a creative person because you can choose which way you wanna go for this current moment and then just switch when you wanna try out something different or when you get another opportunity.

Freelancing has gotten more and more popular not only in the art industry but in other industries as well. So it’s good to gain a bit of knowledge about that.

What is a freelancer?
A freelancer is self-employed, works on a contractual basis, and is not necessarily committed to a particular employer long-term. This person offers their services for a fee and does not usually have any expectations of a permanent job. He or she can work from home or in a studio and communicate with clients over E-mail, Video Hangouts, or Phone among others.

Both sorts of careers are PROS and CONS of course. Just a few examples here.
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Freelance Pros
✔️ Working from home
✔️ Take a vacation at any time
✔️ Have your own schedule
✔️ Different clients
✔️ Variety of projects
✔️ Freedom to select projects
✔️ Payment is usually higher
✔️ You are your own boss
✔️ You can build your own brand
✔️ You can offset many things against tax

Freelance Cons
❌ The possible feeling of loneliness
❌ You have more costs
❌ A lot of paperwork to do
❌ Harder to find clients
❌ No health benefits. Instead, you pay on your own
❌ You build or rent your workstation/workspace
❌ No learning experiences from colleagues
❌ No financial safety from a studio
❌ Months where you dont have any jobs
❌ Requires more discipline
❌ Besides being an Artist you have to know other areas as well

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Studio Pros
✔️ You are amidst the company of other artists
✔️ Constant creative collaboration with others
✔️ Financial safety
✔️ Studio events
✔️ Easy access to help from others
✔️ Work on cool projects with colleagues
✔️ (Depends on studio) working on AAA titles
✔️ Coming together with other studios
✔️ Health benefits, insurance, and bonuses
✔️ Better chance to meet someone for a great opportunity

Studio Cons
❌ Someone is always above you
❌ Less quiet time for yourself
❌ Same schedule every day
❌ Only a handful of vacation days
❌ Possibility of having a nightmare of teams, bosses, or clients
❌ Possibility to get laid off anytime
❌ Mostly only one client/style
❌ Deal with the stress of traffic to go there
❌ Moving to another country or city for the job
❌ You work on someone else’s dream
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These pros and cons for both, the freelance and the studio, will give you a balanced and realistic look at expectations listed from my own experience in both. It really depends on what you prefer. The good thing about being an artist is you can actually jump around. Work one year on a project in a studio, leave, then do some years as a freelancer, then maybe go back for a few years to work in a studio again, and so on. I would recommend trying out both so you can experience for yourself what you like and dislike about it.

Most artists are freelancers these days or doing freelance work alongside their studio work. The reason for this is to build on experience to do more interesting projects, attempt new things, have more income, be your own boss, and publish your own work. Working on your personal content is one of the biggest reasons why artists decide to go on the freelance route. Of course, doing studio and freelancing at the same time can be hard work. But if you find yourself hesitant to commit to freelance work, then it will definitely be easier to have a full-time job besides that. Just know that freelance work is a possibility, should you decide to do your own thing.

Working in a studio is more familiar for most of us. You get a contract, pay half of your health benefits and insurance, have a specific amount of holidays, and get your salary weekly, every two weeks, or every month. The bigger studios tend to have common rooms or lounge areas with recreational activities furnished with video consoles or soccer tables. You normally have lunch together with your teammates as well. Or they may have scheduled festive events for the whole company. Many provide cafeterias offering healthy food and beverage options. In the Blizzard studio, for example, they have a library full of video games and art books available for lending for a few days. Smaller studios, like indie studios and others, usually don’t have these add-ons because of money and space issues, but the work environment is pretty informal and casual which can be nice too. I heard some people saying that they prefer working in a big and some in a small company. This also comes down to personal preferences. try out both and see what you prefer.

One big downside of a studio job can be the sudden laid-off part. I saw quite often that a huge amount of artists were suddenly laid off because of money struggles at the studio. And this can hit everybody. There was a recent story told by an artist i know about a huge laid off in the company he worked for. He was in a specific section of that company and his boss, so the leader of that whole team made a lot of mistakes that caused a huge amount of money loss (and i talk about million deals). So the company decided to keep the boss, who made all these mistakes, and laid off his whole team instead to shrink down future costs. (Unfair i know but that’s how business works for many company owners) So ya this can happen in a studio. Of course not as often but it CAN happen out of a sudden.

Freelance is not even better, when your clients act like buttholes and dont pay you for the work you made for them and then you have to run behind your money for months, maybe including legal actions and all that stress you have to deal with on your own because as a freelancer you are responsible for EVERYTHING!

So everything has ups and downs in both areas.

But let’s talk about freelancing a little bit more though because i know that we all are more familiar with the typical studio jobs and know less about freelancing.

Make it official
The first thing you need to know is that you can’t just go in the moonlight as an artist. You can test out freelancing, as long as you don’t invest too much capital in it when you begin. But when you make more money out of it and your income starts growing, you need to register as a small business owner in your local government center. There is a lot of paperwork to fill out and a bit of waiting for your official documents and registry number. You will need the paperwork and the registration number for your upcoming taxes. You will now be responsible for filing your own taxes every year if you have never done so in the past. The government will scrutinize freelancers, so they will control every step you take and make sure you are doing everything correctly. This is why it’s important to keep all your official documents organized. If you find yourself lacking the skill of filing your own taxes, you can hire your own personal accountant. (Just keep in mind that hiring an accountant will cost money as well. If it’s not too complicated, then maybe you can do it on your own.) If you work without registration, consider your work illegal. Do yourself a favor and keep yourself informed about government requirements among other things in running your own business.

One other small thing to mention is, being a freelancer means you are your own personal brand. That means, no matter what you do, how you act, talk, and create, THAT is your brand, your company, your baby. So whatever you do, try to be organized, polite, and stay true to your own responsibility. I say that because, in today’s age, it is so easy to damage your own brand and yourself as a person when you do things wrong or when you act like a fool & shitty person. So be conscious of everything that you do as a freelancer.

Freelance comes slowly
After registration and fulfilling all government requirements, you can now officially consider yourself a freelancer and legally start working. The only challenge here is finding the right clients and enough jobs. Most people will hire an artist from a known company or when the portfolio shows amazing skills, which is why I previously recommended that you can work as a freelance artist alongside your work in the studio (even if juggling both jobs can be stressful). Long ago in my experience, I jumped into freelancing too early directly after my 3d school, and back when social media was not a strong platform for me. I had very little experience, and I didn’t know anybody in this industry. I made the mistake of taking the leap too soon. I would urge you not to make the same mistake. So keep in mind that jumping right into freelancing, fresh from college, isn’t always the best choice. So, stay informed, know what your need to get your bills paid, and build on your skills, experience, portfolio, and clients before your jump into a full freelancing career.

But like i always say, everybody is different and goes a different path at their own personal pace. So do what you think is the right way for you. These are just recommendations.

Save enough money
This is important! Save enough money before you jump into freelancing full-time. I would recommend that you save enough money that you can survive for one year without having any income because freelancing can take time. It took me two whole years before I was hired to do my first project as a freelancer. I started with nothing after school. It does not mean that you will take the same amount of time to get your first client, but it COULD be. Just have enough savings to keep you afloat until your first commissioned work. Be smart and don’t rush it. Freelance work is not running away and sometimes a more secure job is a better start into this whole industry.

Be sure to pay your bills
What i recommend is to secure a job first in a company and slowly discover freelancing while you have a steady income to support you. This is called security, which is a blanket to keep you warm. When you finally reach the point of networking, building on clients, and having enough contacts, and you can honestly say you will have enough jobs over the year with which you can pay your bills, then you can slowly start going into freelance full-time. You can, of course, jump right into it, but I really recommend going the safer way rather than if you start with no foundation. I don’t want that you struggle as I did. I know how stressful and depressing it was to always think about money, making ends meet, and constantly worrying about paying the bills. That was my life in the beginning and i dont recommend that for you guys.

Little Storytime
When I started freelancing, my experience was a nightmare. It was an impulse decision because I was tired of all the internships, failed job searches, and always getting laid off because of the studio’s financial reasons. So I thought it would be easier to just be my own boss. Without the connections, experience, and any online presence it was really challenging to get any work at all. So I was literally unemployed for two years with no project to keep me busy. From a client’s perspective, it would be risky hiring someone like me especially if I had no work and no experience to show. You just need to have the confidence to showcase your art and believe in yourself.
If you want to start freelancing but are afraid of failure, just dive in. Actually, the only way to be better is to just do it even if you have fear in the back of your mind. It’s okay to have fear, I had and still have that same fear too. But this fear is not causing it to stop. I made mistakes at the beginning, which is normal to have. Beginner mistakes. We all make them, no one is perfect and without them, we wouldn't be able to grow. It’s actually a MUST.

My freelancing experience is still pretty raw (it must be something like 5 years now?), but what I can definitely say is that job opportunities come when you don’t really expect them. I had times where I felt pretty down because i didn’t have any jobs heading my way and suddenly out of nowhere I get an email for a job opportunity because someone had recommended me or they saw some of my work online. There are also times when everybody wants something from you and you get so many job opportunities and you’ll find yourself declining from some of these. And there will be times when nothing comes your way. Prepare for that. There will be a lot of ups and downs and you will never know when and where the next job will come from, but it’s exciting to have this sort of freedom.

In the time I had no work at all, I found myself finally having the time to work on my personal projects. If I had jobs all the time I wouldn’t have time to work on my personal goals anymore. So I really enjoy having busy weeks on the job, and then calmer times when i have finally the time to work on goals that are important to me.

I can say for myself that working as a freelancer is difficult but also worth it, but in my case, I prefer it more than working in a studio. It doesn’t mean I wouldn’t work in one in the future, but because of my introverted personality and because of my many personal goals in life and in my career, being a freelancer gives me the opportunity to fulfill my own dreams and visions. But this is just my preference. If a great opportunity comes in my way and I feel in the mood of switching for a bit in a company then that’s cool too. There are many artists who identify with working in studios and this is perfectly fine too. It would be good to have a good sense of self-identity: who you are, what you like and prefer, and what goals and dreams you want to accomplish. Then, you can decide if working freelance or in-studio suits you.

Or like I said before, jump from one to another.