The role of an animator working in the creative industries has changed significantly over the last twenty years, and it is becoming less likely that you will be offered a permanent contract at a studio in 2020. If you work at a studio and the project does not do well at the box office, or the game you worked on is a total flop, guess what? The studio could end up with no work, and you will be unemployed. The creative industries' brutal nature is why most animators are freelancers now; sure, permanent contracts still exist, but if your employers aren't making money, you won't be making any either. Networking and freelancing is now an essential part of an animator's job; you need to be looking for work frequently, and you need to work on building your network to survive in the industry.
Getting your first job seems like an impossible task, and it stops a lot of people from pursuing a career in animation. It happens like this, you graduate from university, look for work for a couple of months, get rejected, lose motivation, give up, and then you end up stacking shelves at Tesco for the rest of your life. Getting rejected for a job can be for several reasons; it could be that your reel is not good enough, or your work does not suit the studio's style. One of the main reasons could be that studio does not want to risk employing an animator with no reputation; this is why networking is essential.
It can be tempting to say, "I'll start building my network when I feel my work is good enough." but you are shooting yourself in the foot if this is your attitude. Networking isn't just about looking for work; it is also an incredible resource for learning and building your reputation. I study at animationmentor.com, and the benefit of this is that I get to have one on one time with a professional animator working in the industry. Working with a mentor is great because they can get a feel for who you are as a person; they can identify if you can implement feedback, and they will know if you are good enough to work at a studio. Studying at animation mentor also gave me access to a huge discord server with all of the other students and alumni that studied there. Having a community full of animators to talk to has been incredible because you always have someone to help you out or give you feedback. Some of my friends from animation mentor work in the industry, and I now have them as contacts when I start looking for work.
One of the best ways to build your network is to have an excellent social media presence. Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook are suitable for sharing your work, but I have found that Artstation and LinkedIn tend to get the best response. I have made a ton of contacts by sharing my work on LinkedIn; the good thing about LinkedIn is that you can see who your contacts are, who they work for, and what they do. Messaging other animators is a great way to get more contacts, genuinely approach them, compliment their work and ask them how they did their shots; people love compliments, and you will set a good impression too.
Here is my personal linked in below
As you build your network, you should make sure you are posting appropriate content, and you don't come across as a complete tool on Facebook or Twitter. The first thing recruiters will do after they look at your reel is to check out who you are online. If your Twitter is full of swearing and lots of political stuff, you could severely reduce your chances of getting hired. You have no idea what your employer's views are, so you are best having a relatively neutral online presence to increase your chances of getting work.
Attending animation conferences and events is another fantastic way of networking. I have attended Move Summit in Edinburgh several times, and I still talk to some of the contacts I made when I was there. Showing your work off in person is fantastic; it is almost like an informal interview with someone who could potentially give you a job. Employers can get to know you, they will be able to tell if you are a fit for their studio, and it makes it easier to connect with them on LinkedIn. Since Covid, a lot of these conferences have moved online. I have attended Q&A's and recruitment sessions from studios worldwide, including Dreamworks and ILM; I got lots of great feedback on my reel from animators working in the industry.
Having a good network of contacts is going to help you tremendously when it comes to freelancing. If you have a good reputation as an animator, you can find work way more quickly than someone who doesn't. It is essential to be looking for jobs constantly and plan your career ahead of time. If your contract is finishing up in 6 months, you should send out emails and messages to your contacts, letting them know what your availability is and that you are looking for work. The moment you stop looking for a job increases the possibility that you could end up unemployed, and no one wants that.
There are plenty of advantages to working freelance. You can learn lots of different ways to animate from a variety of different studios; you can travel the world, you can leave after your contract is up if you hate the team, and you can negotiate your salary. You can make a lot of money from different types of clients; medical and industrial visualization can pay very well for some simple animation, so broaden your horizons when you are looking for animation work. Freelance offers a lot of freedom for your career, and it appeals to artists that like switching things up. If you are a fantastic animator with an excellent reputation, freelance can be very lucrative and rewarding.
However, freelance does have its drawbacks. Starting as a freelancer with little or no reputation can seem impossible to get work; companies will be taking a risk when they choose to hire you, and there will be plenty of people who will try to take advantage of your inexperience. Learning how to organise your finances is a must because there could be times when you don't have a job, and you need to prepare for that.
When negotiating your salary with a client, you need to figure out what income you need to cover your living costs, and then you can figure out the salary you want. Always start with your dream amount you want to get paid, obviously make it realistic, and then settle for somewhere in-between your dream amount and what you need to cover your living expenses. Depending on what studio you are negotiating with, your salary can be hourly, a day rate, or monthly. Do not settle for payment per second of finished animation; this is where people can take advantage of you; they can take the shot you are working on and then finish it themselves without paying you. When dealing with payment, you need to have your own invoice system and a record of all of your receipts; this is important for paying tax and will change depending on what county you are working in. When you are getting paid, always put some money away in case you go through periods where you don't have work.
There are so many other benefits and drawbacks to freelancing, but without a great network to find a job, it will be hard to survive in the industry. So, talk to as many animators, recruiters, and studios as you can, and make a great impression on them! Who knows, you could be working for them one day.
Cheers,
Marc
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