freelancing

Ruz

anyone got any good advice for starting off as a freelancer?
I have a few links , but not really game industry specific.

An example would be, do you charge for reworking stuff, where the client has a change of mind?

should you register as a sole trader or limited company?
How often do you get paid - per model ,per month etc

any advice on this would be cool.

poopinmymouth

Well most of my freelancing gigs came from people I knew in the industry. Almost none came from "cold calling".

I personally charge for rework that is because the client changes their mind, or wasn't clear to begin with. I use an hourly rate for the reworks.

I didn't register as anything, in the US I just filed as an individual with a business operated under my name. If I was working with someone I didn't know and trust well, I insisted on 40% up front, 40% when the asset is shown to be complete via jpegs, and the remaining 20% when I turn it over.

Ruz

yeah I was n't really after advice on how to land clients per say as think I can probably get a few clients if I am lucky, but that other stuff is helpful poop, particularly taking some cash up front.
doh I have lot to learn
yeah reworks are my biggest concern, as you well know in the industry, you are always having to change what you have done, sometimes for the craziest of reasons.

I will probably start up as a sole trader, unless I see advice to the contrary.
The tax laws in this country can be a bit confusing and messed up TBH
There is something called iR35 which penalises you if they think you are just working for a company at home, like a homeworker for said company in the guise of a self employed person

MoP

Yeah, you need to set yourself up as self-employed and declare that to HMRC. You have to do your taxes in a slightly different way than usual, but it's not that difficult, and you get a helpful starter pack when you sign up as self-employed.

Definitely charge for reworks or you will find yourself taken advantage of, and lose out on time and money.

Ruz

cheers Mop, yeah quite exciting all this stuff. all the rest of my family are self employed , so it must be in the genes

Neo_God

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I insisted on 40% up front, 40% when the asset is shown to be complete via jpegs, and the remaining 20% when I turn it over.



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I agree with this, also do contracts. They're annoying, as any paperwork is, but worth it in the end. As I have had 2 experiences. One time I got no money because the employer changed their mind, and decideded to scrap the concept that I made a model of, and another time I've had to haggle over a price for a model. I asked for $500 (Which was for a 5K fully rigged and textured character model), I thought $500 was cheap to begin with, but I was banged down to $300, because I just needed the money.

Josh_Singh

I hear you Neo_God. Man, I hate haggling.
( No Next Gen stuff for under a thousand.)
For PSP PS2 spec stuff I usually charge 50cents per polygon and anywhere between 250.00 to 800.00 for the Diffuse map, depending on the size and style, and 150.00 to 400.00 for each additional map like spec and bump.
This is my usual rate, but I do make exceptions depending on the nature and complexity of the Character. then add another 10% of the total to account for taxes.
This is what I charge for stuff I do in my spare Time.
If I was to do Freelance full time I would slap another 40% instead of 10% of the total on top of that to cover my expenses like Taxes and health insurance.
Good Luck!

conte

50cents per model? haha, sounds interesting

SkullboX

I second the payment before delivery. When I do contract work for a small company/individual I create renders of the animations (as much as needed) but don't send any of the sourcefiles until the full amount has been paid.

It might not be the nicest thing to ask, but if the client doesn't agree it's probably a dubious gig to begin with.

Ruz

I suppose the hardest thing is to ask for ths stuff when you are first starting off. Its like landing a gig in the games industry for the first time, you tend not to speak up for fear of making a scene
BUT... I know experience, you have to ask or you won't get any favours from companies.

cholden

Read Jon Jones's blog, http://thejonjones.com/
He's the guy that hires all the freelancers, and he posts tons of great advice for them (to make his job easier).

FAT_CAP

Sorry to bump this old thread but I have been thinking about doing some freelance work in my spare time, but don't want to get burned by my first gigs. Having no experience is making it pretty hard to figure out a framework for my contract - is there anywhere where I could doownload a blank template contract to be able ot fill in and ammend with my own issues?

Probably wishful thinking but it's worth a try!

Jon Jones

Thanks for the plug, Chris!

FAT_CAP, you're not expected as a contractor to bring your own contract to the table. The studio you work for will provide one.