“I hope that I can continue to draw in this life.”
Editor’s note: This article comes from WeChat public account (ID: xtutux6) , author: Lin.
When he was still an office worker, Xipu dreamed of having his own studio in the future . Her ideal office environment should be surrounded by green plants, just like her painting:
Picture Name: My dream takes root in my heart
Xipu worked as a graphic designer at an advertising company in Guangzhou, but her deep dream was to become an illustrator.
She has accumulated 6 years of study in the design industry. When she was about 30 years old, she wanted to give her tired herself a vacation.
“What is the most thing I want to do?” After thinking for a long time, she found that what she most wanted to recover was still her dream of becoming an illustrator.
After officially resigning, she drew another picture, which clearly recorded her dream:
In a studio surrounded by green plants, there are pets, flowers, and sunshine, as well as good food in cooking and a good mood for leisurely work.
After 4 years of freelance work, Xi Pu realized his dream of becoming a freelance illustrator and owning his own studio.
Xipu ’s freelance career represents a typical type of independent creator. From the uneasy and busy early days, to the mid-term self-management and style establishment, and finally to find his own expression style and work rhythm.
I think that every freelancer / slash youth who wants to make a living from interest and creation may be able to gain something from Xi Pu ’s experience.
Sleeping dreams will not disappear
Sipu has always dreamed of becoming an illustrator.
However, the illustration market in 2010 was not mature. After graduating from college, she had to go to a Guangzhou clothing company to do graphic design.
I didn’t expect that the designer’s job would be 6 years. During these 6 years, she not only improved the designer’s professional skills, but also exercised her management and communication skills.
Before she left, she has already achieved the position of design management. This position not only needs to communicate closely with the leadership, subordinates, and different departments, but also frequently reports to customers on the plan.
This is a challenge for Xi Pu, who has a slow personality. She spent a few months adapting and gained time management and communication management skills. These skills provided a lot of help after she became a freelancer.
Amusement Park Market Draft
But the state of being too busy is not what Xi Pu wanted after all. When the work of management communication occupied most of the painting and creation time, she had the idea of resigning.
One day in 2016, Xipu was sitting in the office of Guangzhou Tianhe Business Center, looking at the rush hour traffic and traffic flow at 6 pm, and a question came out of her mind: “The meaning of my work Where? Is it necessary to maintain such a life for a lifetime? “
4 years later, Xi Pu told me: “I left because I couldn’t find the meaning of my job.”
At that time, she was about 30 years old and found that she still had a dream of becoming an illustrator. Although her family has not supported her in this seemingly unstable career, at that moment, she decided to live once for her dream.
It was 2016. With the advent of the Internet era, the market demand for commercial illustrations began to grow year by year, and the number of illustrators was much more than it was six years ago.
Before officially resigning, Xi Pu spent half a year preparing for it.
On the one hand, she began to actively participate in the design projects with commercial illustrations in the company, and put the completed works into her illustration cases, and slowly organized into a complete set of “personal case manual.
Xipu ’s design works were selected to “Packaging Illustration Art”
In her spare time, she will also take over some private design work and accumulate some business customers. After deciding to switch to an illustrator, she began to publish her illustrations in the circle of friends, or directly tell the old customers: “I can also take illustration design projects.”
On the other hand, she began to pre-store “startup funds” in a planned way to resist the risk of unstable income in the first year of freelance work, ensuring that even if a penny is not earned in the first year, she can live in Guangzhou.
So before officially resigning, Xi Pu did 3 things to lay the foundation for a freelance life:
1. Accumulate illustration works
2. Organize customer resources
3. Pre-stored start-up funds
Initial Freelance: Time management, customer accumulation, contract negotiation
For creative freelancers, the problems encountered in the initial stage are mostly similar. They are nothing more than “how to manage time”, “how to find customers” and “how to sign a contract”.
After starting a freelance career, Xipu sent a circle of friends and told friends and clients: I am now a freelancer. If you have design and illustration needs, you can contact me.
In the past when working at the company, Xipu was able to receive private orders from 2-3 customers every month. Therefore, in the early days of her freelance career, all her design orders came from the introduction of regular customers and friends.
In the first month of her freelance career, her orders were full. In order to stabilize as soon as possible, she took two months of orders at a stretch, and on average completed 2-3 design tasks per week.
This made her workload in the first month seriously exceed the standard, and there was a big problem in time management.
“In the first month, it is necessary to get a contract, but also to see the customer, report the plan, and also design. When doing the design, the customer will suddenly find you to communicate, so it is quite busy.”
In the past, there were special departments dealing with legal and financial issues in the company. After freelance work, these tasks not only have to be undertaken by oneself, but also learn how to look at contracts and how to win customers.
“In the past, after receiving some customers in the company, I just need to concentrate on the good plan. If you talk about the customer yourself, you are not sure if he will sign a contract with you. You have to fight for it.”
For many creators who try freelance for the first time, it is almost inevitable to take part of their creative time to deal with financial and business chores.
From focusing on one job to dealing with every chore, big or small, freelancers are often just a company.
Therefore, it becomes particularly important to learn to manage time reasonably and efficiently.
“The first three months were like getting chicken blood. I woke up at 8 o’clock every day and worked until 12 o’clock in the evening. Sometimes I went to one or two o’clock in the morning, basically every day except sleeping and eating. At work. “
Western Workbench
In order to stabilize as soon as possible, Xipu only takes 1-2 days off every month, freelanceOn the contrary, karma is more tiring than going to work. “But because I am doing things for myself, I will not complain.”
After all, the time and energy that was put into it are finally converted into income and works, which is the most direct return.
But Xipu is also afraid of ruining his body for such long-term intensive work. Half a year later, she began to read some time management books and learned from well-known freelance designers how to arrange life and work reasonably.
Western Workbench
“I started to use the schedule, dividing the time into two parts, morning and evening. Basically, I did some relatively rational work in the morning, such as design, and some emotional exercises in the evening.”
Sipu ’s work was still design-oriented at that time. Although she wanted to transform illustrations, she needed time to accumulate and accumulate. Only by strictly distinguishing the time, she has a full time to practice illustration every day.
At the same time, she no longer accepts tasks with similar dates, but completes one item after another. If new tasks are added midway, It will be arranged in accordance with the completion time of the received task.
This change reflects an adjustment in mentality. After three months of intensive work, Xi Pu realized that it was useless to be anxious. No matter how busy he was every day, he should spare time to practice illustrations.
—— After all, her original intention to quit her job as a freelancer was to transform into a professional illustrator.
After a whole year of exploring, Xi Pu slowly found a work rhythm that suits her, but after a year passed, she still had some design rewards. .
“Especially for some real estate projects, the capital operation process is too long, and the settlement will be delayed for a long time. I remember the longest payment was delayed for a year before it was received.”
When many freelancers sign a contract with Party A for the first time, they will appear to be relatively weak. In addition, large companies are often relatively strong. Many new freelancers will swallow their dissatisfaction with fear of losing customers.
In the beginning, Xipu did the same, but after going through several times “too much change”, she told herself “still be a little tough”.
Illustration works of Xipu
“Whether large companies or small companies, it is important to clearly state your requirements before cooperating, for example, how many times you can only modify it. This is very important. If you do n’t say clearly or the contract is ambiguous, some companies I will grasp these points and keep making you amend it. “
“Secondly, when completing a commercial order, there must be a workflow, and each step must be confirmed by email or WeChat to Party A. Be sure to wait for them to confirm before proceeding to the next step. In this case Bad customer, he has no reason to blame you, because each step is completed with the confirmation of both parties. “
Xipu once encountered a customer who was troubled by the end of the plan and did not want to settle the balance. “Actually, I think he is satisfied with the plan, but he always vomited before the payment, but in the end they still used my plan.”
Finally, the final payment was settled by Xipu with a discount of 30%. “Fortunately, there was a contract, which explained the liability for breach of contract of the settlement part, and they were willing to pay.”
It is these experiences that let Xipu establish the principle from the second year of freelance: whether it is a customer introduced by a friend or a cooperation with an unfamiliar company, whether it is a large company or a small company, as long as they cooperate, they must sign a contract .
Mid-career mid-term: Expand clients, determine style, and career transformation
Many creative freelancers will start thinking about how to expand their customers after entering a stable period.
The same goes for Xipu. In the second year of freelance, she already has a stable client in the design category in her circle of friends, but few clients in the illustration category.
“How do I promote my illustrations to let everyone know that my illustrations can also be used for commercial purposes?” This question once puzzled Xi Pu for a while.
Until a certain time, a customer woke her up in one sentence: “Which platforms do you have fans on?” the customer asked before collaborating.
“I suddenly found that I have never run my own public platform, just promote it in the circle of friends.”
Sipu then began to think about this issue, she researched those well-known onlineHow did the illustrator of the degree use the Internet to promote his works, and also compared the gameplay of different social platforms, and finally chose to promote his illustrations on Weibo.
Weibo: Xipu SYPO
At the same time, she is slowly confirming her illustration style.
In the past, whether it was a design work or an illustration work, Xi Pu ’s friends always could n’t tell which one came from her. However, online platforms such as Weibo and Instagram are more like a “show window”. It requires illustrators to fix their own style in order to have recognition in many accounts, so they are concerned by specific groups.
“I have been watching the work of foreign illustrators on Instagram and found that everyone will focus on one style, so I also use it to practice and fix my style.”
Now go to Xipu’s Weibo, you will find that her work has a high degree of recognition: strong yellow style, slightly fat girl, plant elements.
For creators, the establishment of style is not easy. Whether it is a painter, musician or writer, a unique personal style always starts from self-exploration.
In this regard, Xipu used the insights she used to design for the brand in her company: she thinks of herself as a brand.
She asked herself: “What are my characteristics?”
The answer is: “I am not very beautiful and a little bit fat. There should be quite a few girls like me who have similar troubles.” So she paints thoughts about life, and these thoughts can also cause similar girls. resonance.
Her common colorsAnd fixed elements are also related to personal preferences and growth experiences.
“I like plants very much, and I also want to be pastoral, so I will use these as fixed elements. Later, I used yellow tones because it is the only color that I do n’t paint. I also thought about why I like to use yellow so much. Recalling that I had a very depressed state before, because of family and emotional reasons, it was always very low at that time, and yellow is the color that can heal me. “
Starting from your own experience to tell a story is Xipu’s better expression.
Like now she has a fixed column on Weibo called # 西 朴 穿 什么 #, which is a small project that integrates her own characteristics and understanding of wearing into the illustration.
“I ca n’t compare it with some girls with good builds, so I made a chubby outfit. Because I think there should be a lot of girls in life who do n’t usually have time to exercise, or have a chubby body since childhood. , I should paint my outfit and give them some encouragement. “
Put on the column “What does Xipu wear”
So starting from oneself, the positioning of the “Xipu SYPO” brand is relatively clear.
Who is Xipu? She is a fat girl, but she loves life.
She wants to impress people with positive energy. The idea she wants to convey is “Don’t care about your fat body and the words of others, and be the happiest self.”
West Park in the studio
Now, her Weibo has accumulated 20,000 followers. In the past few years, Party A has found her through Weibo and Instagram.
“I will still promote illustrations in my circle of friends. In the past few years, as the market demand has changed, previous customers will also have illustration needs, or their friends need illustration content, so old customers in the circle of friends are still To continue maintenance. “
In the second year of freelance work, Xipu began to slowly reduce design work and shifted towards commercial illustration. It wasn’t until the third year that she began to “break away” and completely transformed into a commercial illustrator.
—— She is one step closer to her original dream.
Freelance stable period: income bottleneck, set up company, expand skills
Many skilled freelancers will encounter a problem in the middle and later stages of development: how to break the income bottleneck?
Because the skill-based freelance is essentially a “sell a time, get a different income” working mode, especially for creators with a distinct personal style, when the work cannot be mass-produced, the personal income The ceiling is very obvious.
In order to increase income, many creators will continue to improve themselves and increase the unit price of customers, and some creators will establish personal studios or companies to expand their business volume after the customer resources are relatively stable.
In her second year as a freelancer, Xipu considered whether to open an advertising design company to increase her income. She did register a company, but finally found that she still prefers to open a small company rather than a commercial one. Fine studio, concentrate on illustration creation.
Xipu draws in the studio
So in the third year, she began to look for partners with complementary skills and wanted to allocate the design work of the studio, He is fully responsible for the illustration part.
She tried two or three friends, but they were not satisfied enough until she met another designer Zhang Ketian on Weibo.
“When looking for a partner, it is important that the personality and work rhythm of both sides agree. Ke Tian and I are both impatient. When we think of something, we will start looking for information and then complete a prototype of the plan as soon as possible. It’s a good match. “
The clear division of labor between Xipu and Ketian has made the work more efficient, which has increased the income of the studio to a certain extent.
In addition to this, Xipu also mentioned other ways for creative freelancers to expand their income, such as “produce their own peripheral products.”
Last year, Xi Pu produced a batch of calendars with her illustrations, and the response was very good, which brought her a free income.
In the same year, she also opened eight online iPad illustration classes with a bookstore. Each of the students was full, which became part of her income source.
Freelancers often have a strong “crisis awareness” and “self-learning motivation”.
This spring, affected by the epidemic, many customers’ illustration projects are in a postponed state. Xipu developed a new learning plan for himself during this time.
“I think animation may be a trend in the future, so I ’m moving in this direction this year, adding some dynamic effects to the flat illustration. Like some display of the mobile interface, or some titles of H5 interaction and TV variety show. , MV, etc., will use animation. “
Dynamic illustration of Xipu
Sipu has always liked to learn new software by himself. For example, when he was self-taught in college to make flash animation, he just learned C4D to make 3D effects when he was a freelancer. After 2 years of freelance, he also learned AE to edit video; , She reported some courses on fonts, dynamic design and comic storyboarding, to facilitate future animation scripts.
In addition to self-study andWhen buying courses, she will also spend 1-2 thousand yuan per month to buy design books. “I think these investments are very worthwhile, which is very helpful for my design improvement.”
Xipu ’s design works were selected to “Packaging Illustration Art”
Freelance creation means meaning
In fact, the reason why Xi Pu is so anxious to learn new things is also due to another reason: she is facing the pressure of fertility.
“I have been married for 3 years, and I may have children this year, but I worry that this will affect my work rhythm. Because once a freelancer has children, many jobs will stop, but I still have a lot of things to learn , A lot of things are not done, it feels a pity. “
Xi Pu felt uneasy when he just stepped into his ideal career and faced the pressure of career suspension.
Xipu and her husband
“Then do you think you will continue to work freely?” I asked her.
“I think it will. Because I set myself a goal of 5 years and 10 years when I was a freelancer. After 5 years, I hope to become an illustrator with a personal style. After 10 years, I hope I can Have a little fame, and then you can continue to draw in this life. “
Seeing this, do you still remember the reason why Xi Pu left 4 years ago-“I can’t find the meaning of my job”.
Four years later, I asked her: you find it nowDoes it make sense?
She answered:
“I think I’m closer to my ideal self. Now I will spend a lot of time talking with myself. Unlike I have been busy before, I have no time to think about what I need, and I can’t slow down to feel many things. Now I am much more emotional than before, and a lot of inspiration will burst out naturally, so small that when I see the sun falling outside the window and the leaves fall down, I will be full of energy in my heart. “
“And now I have more time with my friends and the other half. I used to have a lot of work pressure, and it was easy to lose my temper with the people around me. Now that I have slowed down, my relationship with them has improved a lot. You are more anxious and have a stronger material desire. You will hope that you will continue to strive for upstream, and then your income will continue to increase, but your heart is relatively empty. “
For many creators, the distortion of high-pressure work is that it continuously squeezes a person ’s limited energy and time, spends the creator ’s time to experience life and draw inspiration, and spends endlessly revising the plan and repeating communication. And overtime ineffectiveness, so a group of people who live on creativity, but become the most exhausted people.
—— This is one of the strange phenomena in the contemporary workplace and one of the reasons why many creators choose to leave the workplace.
After all, there is no freedom.
Fortunately, after 4 years of freelance work, Xi Pu has slowly recovered his work rhythm and the power to love life and work again.
In her own words, she is a freelancer because “a person works more efficiently and has more inspiration.”
Finally, I hope that everyone who has a creative dream can work in a free environment. I also hope that one day, no one will complain about work because it has become a happy thing.
Quick and Quick Answers:
Lin: Any suggestions for newcomers who want to become freelance designers / illustrators?
West: Whether you are a designer or an illustrator, if you want to become a freelancer, the problems you face are the same. The first is to pass the technology, and then the promotion and accumulation of customer resources.
The design involves a wide range, including logos, packaging, promotional materials, etc. It may also beFor overall VI design, you need to understand the brand positioning and customer needs first. It is very important to understand customer needs in the early stage of the design. Later, you must also consider the effect of the material landing, the structure, size and practicality of the printing.
In addition to design, as an independent designer, it takes a lot of time to do communication and verification. It needs more hands-on experience to quickly respond to problems. For some newly graduated friends, it may be a bit difficult and adaptable. Will take longer.
And the content that the illustrator has to consider is relatively not so trivial, the customer may already have relatively detailed needs. Take commercial illustrations as an example: customers want an A4 size illustration to be used in product packaging, or used in online publicity, manuals, then post-printing does not necessarily require an illustrator to follow up, focusing more on whether the picture can be Just express the customer’s needs.
Probably for freelance illustrators, the technique, creativity, and form of expression are particularly important. If the illustrator also understands that graphic design has a relatively large advantage, he can consider the actual application in the later period to do more fun and interaction.
Lin: For ordinary people, from zero foundation to being able to receive commercial illustrations, how long do you think it takes to learn?
West: Of course, it will be faster to get started with a foundation, and it will also be more handy in terms of picture expression. If it is a 0 foundation, it may take longer. This time may also depend on the speed of personal understanding. I see some friends I keep practicing every day and get started in 1 year. Some friends may take longer.
animation practice skipping rope by 西 朴
Lin: What is the current market demand for commercial illustrations?
West: There has been a lot of demand in recent years, and many brands will use illustrations for promotion. There are also many business cooperation areas, such as publishing, advertising, packaging, cartoon modeling, picture books, comics, game original paintings, onlineStations, online publicity, education, etc., style requirements are also diverse.
I feel that there are a lot of friends in the illustration industry. I want to jump out of many illustrators. My personal style is especially important, and it will attract more brand cooperation.
Lin: What are the average prices of different types of illustrations in the market?
West: The market price span is very large, which is proportional to the ability and influence of the illustrator. I do n’t think there is a very clear standard. For example, it is also an online publicity illustration. Some friends offer one or two thousand. Friends quoted tens of thousands or more.
However, please understand the specific content before quotation, and quotation will be based on the content and the time of completion. It is better not to lower the four-digit number if you are a newcomer. In case customers demand a lot and are in a hurry, too low a price will make you painful to draw, and it will be difficult to mention the price later.
The Year of the Rat Calendar by Western Park
This interview has been included in the podcast show “Retro Life”. How to subscribe to podcast programs: Himalaya, Podcast, Netease Cloud Music > “Retrograde Life”
I am Lin An, a freelancer who lives on content creation. Freelance writer / media operation, part-time b-site up-host / podcast anchor / portrait photographer.
I am currently interviewing “100 people who do not work” and have published the first book “Work Only, Not Work”.
Many creative freelancers will start thinking about how to expand their customers after entering a stable period.
The same goes for Xipu. In the second year of freelance, she already has a stable client in the design category in her circle of friends, but few clients in the illustration category.
“How do I promote my illustrations to let everyone know that my illustrations can also be used for commercial purposes?” This question once puzzled Xi Pu for a while.
Until a certain time, a customer woke her up in one sentence: “Which platforms do you have fans on?” the customer asked before collaborating.
“I suddenly found that I have never run my own public platform, just promote it in the circle of friends.”
Sipu then began to think about this issue, she researched those well-known onlineHow did the illustrator of the degree use the Internet to promote his works, and also compared the gameplay of different social platforms, and finally chose to promote his illustrations on Weibo.
Weibo: Xipu SYPO
At the same time, she is slowly confirming her illustration style.
In the past, whether it was a design work or an illustration work, Xi Pu ’s friends always could n’t tell which one came from her. However, online platforms such as Weibo and Instagram are more like a “show window”. It requires illustrators to fix their own style in order to have recognition in many accounts, so they are concerned by specific groups.
“I have been watching the work of foreign illustrators on Instagram and found that everyone will focus on one style, so I also use it to practice and fix my style.”
Now go to Xipu’s Weibo, you will find that her work has a high degree of recognition: strong yellow style, slightly fat girl, plant elements.
For creators, the establishment of style is not easy. Whether it is a painter, musician or writer, a unique personal style always starts from self-exploration.
In this regard, Xipu used the insights she used to design for the brand in her company: she thinks of herself as a brand.
She asked herself: “What are my characteristics?”
The answer is: “I am not very beautiful and a little bit fat. There should be quite a few girls like me who have similar troubles.” So she paints thoughts about life, and these thoughts can also cause similar girls. resonance.
Her common colorsAnd fixed elements are also related to personal preferences and growth experiences.
“I like plants very much, and I also want to be pastoral, so I will use these as fixed elements. Later, I used yellow tones because it is the only color that I do n’t paint. I also thought about why I like to use yellow so much. Recalling that I had a very depressed state before, because of family and emotional reasons, it was always very low at that time, and yellow is the color that can heal me. “
Starting from your own experience to tell a story is Xipu’s better expression.
Like now she has a fixed column on Weibo called # 西 朴 穿 什么 #, which is a small project that integrates her own characteristics and understanding of wearing into the illustration.
“I ca n’t compare it with some girls with good builds, so I made a chubby outfit. Because I think there should be a lot of girls in life who do n’t usually have time to exercise, or have a chubby body since childhood. , I should paint my outfit and give them some encouragement. “
Put on the column “What does Xipu wear”
So starting from oneself, the positioning of the “Xipu SYPO” brand is relatively clear.
Who is Xipu? She is a fat girl, but she loves life.
She wants to impress people with positive energy. The idea she wants to convey is “Don’t care about your fat body and the words of others, and be the happiest self.”
West Park in the studio
Now, her Weibo has accumulated 20,000 followers. In the past few years, Party A has found her through Weibo and Instagram.
“I will still promote illustrations in my circle of friends. In the past few years, as the market demand has changed, previous customers will also have illustration needs, or their friends need illustration content, so old customers in the circle of friends are still To continue maintenance. “
In the second year of freelance work, Xipu began to slowly reduce design work and shifted towards commercial illustration. It wasn’t until the third year that she began to “break away” and completely transformed into a commercial illustrator.
—— She is one step closer to her original dream.
Freelance stable period: income bottleneck, set up company, expand skills
Many skilled freelancers will encounter a problem in the middle and later stages of development: how to break the income bottleneck?
Because the skill-based freelance is essentially a “sell a time, get a different income” working mode, especially for creators with a distinct personal style, when the work cannot be mass-produced, the personal income The ceiling is very obvious.
In order to increase income, many creators will continue to improve themselves and increase the unit price of customers, and some creators will establish personal studios or companies to expand their business volume after the customer resources are relatively stable.
In her second year as a freelancer, Xipu considered whether to open an advertising design company to increase her income. She did register a company, but finally found that she still prefers to open a small company rather than a commercial one. Fine studio, concentrate on illustration creation.
Xipu draws in the studio
So in the third year, she began to look for partners with complementary skills and wanted to allocate the design work of the studio, He is fully responsible for the illustration part.
She tried two or three friends, but they were not satisfied enough until she met another designer Zhang Ketian on Weibo.
“When looking for a partner, it is important that the personality and work rhythm of both sides agree. Ke Tian and I are both impatient. When we think of something, we will start looking for information and then complete a prototype of the plan as soon as possible. It’s a good match. “
The clear division of labor between Xipu and Ketian has made the work more efficient, which has increased the income of the studio to a certain extent.
In addition to this, Xipu also mentioned other ways for creative freelancers to expand their income, such as “produce their own peripheral products.”
Last year, Xi Pu produced a batch of calendars with her illustrations, and the response was very good, which brought her a free income.
In the same year, she also opened eight online iPad illustration classes with a bookstore. Each of the students was full, which became part of her income source.
Freelancers often have a strong “crisis awareness” and “self-learning motivation”.
This spring, affected by the epidemic, many customers’ illustration projects are in a postponed state. Xipu developed a new learning plan for himself during this time.
“I think animation may be a trend in the future, so I ’m moving in this direction this year, adding some dynamic effects to the flat illustration. Like some display of the mobile interface, or some titles of H5 interaction and TV variety show. , MV, etc., will use animation. “
Dynamic illustration of Xipu
Sipu has always liked to learn new software by himself. For example, when he was self-taught in college to make flash animation, he just learned C4D to make 3D effects when he was a freelancer. After 2 years of freelance, he also learned AE to edit video; , She reported some courses on fonts, dynamic design and comic storyboarding, to facilitate future animation scripts.
In addition to self-study andWhen buying courses, she will also spend 1-2 thousand yuan per month to buy design books. “I think these investments are very worthwhile, which is very helpful for my design improvement.”
Xipu ’s design works were selected to “Packaging Illustration Art”
Freelance creation means meaning
In fact, the reason why Xi Pu is so anxious to learn new things is also due to another reason: she is facing the pressure of fertility.
“I have been married for 3 years, and I may have children this year, but I worry that this will affect my work rhythm. Because once a freelancer has children, many jobs will stop, but I still have a lot of things to learn , A lot of things are not done, it feels a pity. “
Xi Pu felt uneasy when he just stepped into his ideal career and faced the pressure of career suspension.
Xipu and her husband
“Then do you think you will continue to work freely?” I asked her.
“I think it will. Because I set myself a goal of 5 years and 10 years when I was a freelancer. After 5 years, I hope to become an illustrator with a personal style. After 10 years, I hope I can Have a little fame, and then you can continue to draw in this life. “
Seeing this, do you still remember the reason why Xi Pu left 4 years ago-“I can’t find the meaning of my job”.
Four years later, I asked her: you find it nowDoes it make sense?
She answered:
“I think I’m closer to my ideal self. Now I will spend a lot of time talking with myself. Unlike I have been busy before, I have no time to think about what I need, and I can’t slow down to feel many things. Now I am much more emotional than before, and a lot of inspiration will burst out naturally, so small that when I see the sun falling outside the window and the leaves fall down, I will be full of energy in my heart. “
“And now I have more time with my friends and the other half. I used to have a lot of work pressure, and it was easy to lose my temper with the people around me. Now that I have slowed down, my relationship with them has improved a lot. You are more anxious and have a stronger material desire. You will hope that you will continue to strive for upstream, and then your income will continue to increase, but your heart is relatively empty. “
For many creators, the distortion of high-pressure work is that it continuously squeezes a person ’s limited energy and time, spends the creator ’s time to experience life and draw inspiration, and spends endlessly revising the plan and repeating communication. And overtime ineffectiveness, so a group of people who live on creativity, but become the most exhausted people.
—— This is one of the strange phenomena in the contemporary workplace and one of the reasons why many creators choose to leave the workplace.
After all, there is no freedom.
Fortunately, after 4 years of freelance work, Xi Pu has slowly recovered his work rhythm and the power to love life and work again.
In her own words, she is a freelancer because “a person works more efficiently and has more inspiration.”
Finally, I hope that everyone who has a creative dream can work in a free environment. I also hope that one day, no one will complain about work because it has become a happy thing.
Quick and Quick Answers:
Lin: Any suggestions for newcomers who want to become freelance designers / illustrators?
West: Whether you are a designer or an illustrator, if you want to become a freelancer, the problems you face are the same. The first is to pass the technology, and then the promotion and accumulation of customer resources.
The design involves a wide range, including logos, packaging, promotional materials, etc. It may also beFor overall VI design, you need to understand the brand positioning and customer needs first. It is very important to understand customer needs in the early stage of the design. Later, you must also consider the effect of the material landing, the structure, size and practicality of the printing.
In addition to design, as an independent designer, it takes a lot of time to do communication and verification. It needs more hands-on experience to quickly respond to problems. For some newly graduated friends, it may be a bit difficult and adaptable. Will take longer.
And the content that the illustrator has to consider is relatively not so trivial, the customer may already have relatively detailed needs. Take commercial illustrations as an example: customers want an A4 size illustration to be used in product packaging, or used in online publicity, manuals, then post-printing does not necessarily require an illustrator to follow up, focusing more on whether the picture can be Just express the customer’s needs.
Probably for freelance illustrators, the technique, creativity, and form of expression are particularly important. If the illustrator also understands that graphic design has a relatively large advantage, he can consider the actual application in the later period to do more fun and interaction.
Lin: For ordinary people, from zero foundation to being able to receive commercial illustrations, how long do you think it takes to learn?
West: Of course, it will be faster to get started with a foundation, and it will also be more handy in terms of picture expression. If it is a 0 foundation, it may take longer. This time may also depend on the speed of personal understanding. I see some friends I keep practicing every day and get started in 1 year. Some friends may take longer.
animation practice skipping rope by 西 朴
Lin: What is the current market demand for commercial illustrations?
West: There has been a lot of demand in recent years, and many brands will use illustrations for promotion. There are also many business cooperation areas, such as publishing, advertising, packaging, cartoon modeling, picture books, comics, game original paintings, onlineStations, online publicity, education, etc., style requirements are also diverse.
I feel that there are a lot of friends in the illustration industry. I want to jump out of many illustrators. My personal style is especially important, and it will attract more brand cooperation.
Lin: What are the average prices of different types of illustrations in the market?
West: The market price span is very large, which is proportional to the ability and influence of the illustrator. I do n’t think there is a very clear standard. For example, it is also an online publicity illustration. Some friends offer one or two thousand. Friends quoted tens of thousands or more.
However, please understand the specific content before quotation, and quotation will be based on the content and the time of completion. It is better not to lower the four-digit number if you are a newcomer. In case customers demand a lot and are in a hurry, too low a price will make you painful to draw, and it will be difficult to mention the price later.
The Year of the Rat Calendar by Western Park
This interview has been included in the podcast show “Retro Life”. How to subscribe to podcast programs: Himalaya, Podcast, Netease Cloud Music > “Retrograde Life”
I am Lin An, a freelancer who lives on content creation. Freelance writer / media operation, part-time b-site up-host / podcast anchor / portrait photographer.
I am currently interviewing “100 people who do not work” and have published the first book “Work Only, Not Work”.
Lin: Any suggestions for newcomers who want to become freelance designers / illustrators?
West: Whether you are a designer or an illustrator, if you want to become a freelancer, the problems you face are the same. The first is to pass the technology, and then the promotion and accumulation of customer resources.
The design involves a wide range, including logos, packaging, promotional materials, etc. It may also beFor overall VI design, you need to understand the brand positioning and customer needs first. It is very important to understand customer needs in the early stage of the design. Later, you must also consider the effect of the material landing, the structure, size and practicality of the printing.
In addition to design, as an independent designer, it takes a lot of time to do communication and verification. It needs more hands-on experience to quickly respond to problems. For some newly graduated friends, it may be a bit difficult and adaptable. Will take longer.
And the content that the illustrator has to consider is relatively not so trivial, the customer may already have relatively detailed needs. Take commercial illustrations as an example: customers want an A4 size illustration to be used in product packaging, or used in online publicity, manuals, then post-printing does not necessarily require an illustrator to follow up, focusing more on whether the picture can be Just express the customer’s needs.
Probably for freelance illustrators, the technique, creativity, and form of expression are particularly important. If the illustrator also understands that graphic design has a relatively large advantage, he can consider the actual application in the later period to do more fun and interaction.
Lin: For ordinary people, from zero foundation to being able to receive commercial illustrations, how long do you think it takes to learn?
West: Of course, it will be faster to get started with a foundation, and it will also be more handy in terms of picture expression. If it is a 0 foundation, it may take longer. This time may also depend on the speed of personal understanding. I see some friends I keep practicing every day and get started in 1 year. Some friends may take longer.
animation practice skipping rope by 西 朴
Lin: What is the current market demand for commercial illustrations?
West: There has been a lot of demand in recent years, and many brands will use illustrations for promotion. There are also many business cooperation areas, such as publishing, advertising, packaging, cartoon modeling, picture books, comics, game original paintings, onlineStations, online publicity, education, etc., style requirements are also diverse.
I feel that there are a lot of friends in the illustration industry. I want to jump out of many illustrators. My personal style is especially important, and it will attract more brand cooperation.
Lin: What are the average prices of different types of illustrations in the market?
West: The market price span is very large, which is proportional to the ability and influence of the illustrator. I do n’t think there is a very clear standard. For example, it is also an online publicity illustration. Some friends offer one or two thousand. Friends quoted tens of thousands or more.
However, please understand the specific content before quotation, and quotation will be based on the content and the time of completion. It is better not to lower the four-digit number if you are a newcomer. In case customers demand a lot and are in a hurry, too low a price will make you painful to draw, and it will be difficult to mention the price later.
The Year of the Rat Calendar by Western Park
This interview has been included in the podcast show “Retro Life”. How to subscribe to podcast programs: Himalaya, Podcast, Netease Cloud Music > “Retrograde Life”
I am Lin An, a freelancer who lives on content creation. Freelance writer / media operation, part-time b-site up-host / podcast anchor / portrait photographer.
I am currently interviewing “100 people who do not work” and have published the first book “Work Only, Not Work”.