Wow another already? Great work guys! I'd really like you chaps to delve into freelance artistry. Let us know about the perculiarities and pitfalls of the freelance biz. Is it possible to survive and even thrive in that kind of environment? What should a freelance contract look like, and how can we insulate ourselves from risk? Should we always demand half the free in advance or just a retainer? Is it even possible or feasible to try to enforce a contract over international boundaries? How can we discern a trustworthy employer? Do you have any horror stories and what are experiences of freelance work in your professional histories? Where are the best places to look for work? How much should we charge for work?
I'd really like to hear about this in detail. I'm a graduate artist who has found difficulty finding full-timework, so I've been delving into freelance jobs and found it to be quite the minefield. I've made some mistakes, but also I've had some sucesses and I'm learning as I go. Would be fantastic to hear your seasoned thoughts on the matter.
Yeah, i'm not sure the portfolio crit thing worked so much. I think that any work thats critiqued has to be linked to (if it is somewhere, sorry, I missed it), else we don't know what you're talking about. Also you guys sort of didn't say much about the portfolio itself, and kinda went on to talk about what should and shouldn't be in portfolios in general. Which is cool and is probably a crunch cast topic from the past/future but you didnt do much on the work submitted.
Just a suggestion: Maybe a good way to do this would be that you guys selects one submitted work EACH. BEFORE the casts and give a more individual critique rather than a group thing. With the other guys giving additional comments toward the end of each critique.
Anyhoo, keep them coming!
The problem was that it wasn't clear if he wanted us to crit his work or his portfolio layout.
Before the show I did quite the crit of his work. I could honestly have filled up 2 hours alone just going over his character work.
I could see us branching off and doing some shorter, focused episodes just over portfolio reviews. Maybe have the full screen video be just the portfolio while we 'MST3K' it.
Chris wants to keep the Crunch Cast loose and a little random in format. Afterall, it's just us hanging out talking and drinking some beer.
Walrus, I'll answer your questions about freelancing on the next cast. It's what I'm doing fulltime now and I've always worked with tons of freelancers, so I can shed some light on it.
Thanks for answering my question guys. Sorry for the name troubles. Chris, and Jesse got it right though eventually. Too bad PC won't let me change my name unless I make a new account. You won't be able to scare me off that easily though. I am working on my website this year, and yes I'll agree I should come up with a custom avatar for myself.
I have one last question that would be geared for Jon. What kind of music do you prefer for a reel? Do you have any sources of license/copyright free music sites?
This may be easier to answer here, as opposed to a recording. Your choice. Thanks guys.
Listened to a full 2 hour one today. The latest, #23.
Feedback:
Trim the fat. I listened hoping to hear you guys talk about art. And you did, but there's a lot of bullshitting in there I didn't care about. I nearly stopped after the first 20 minutes since it had taken so long to get to an art subject. Aimless banter is healthy for podcasts, but it should still be focused and hasty. Example: Stories of how drunk someone got are great for Facebook status but not something like this. And when others in the podcast start interjecting their opinions on those off-topic anecdotes it just starts to drag on.
Editing. Chris I think you mentioned something about editing software? If so, great. When you guys talk about images, portfolios, videos, etc. it would be wise to have them appear, full screen, over the podcast video as you guys talk about it. Visual context goes a long way in video podcasts.
Utilize Youtube. I know you mentioned this Chris so its great to know you're aware of it. Whenever you guys mention links on the podcast, be sure to drop them in the Video information box so others can see it. At the end of the podcast Chris you could come on and say something along the lines of, "All links we mentioned during this podcast will be the info box below. Be sure to check them out!" I didn't get too attached to anything being talked about because I had no idea what it was or where to find it (except for the nod to our Mutant League challenge. Thanks for that, by the way).
----
That's it really. I know you guys are going for something with not a lot of structure, but discipline regarding the topic at hand and restriction in how far away from the topic you go is a good thing for niche topics like this. Make it fun, but on point.
I really enjoyed the topic about portfolios and environments. It's one of my favourite topics these days. If I am being completely honest I feel like the feedback or insight given was a bit 'cookie-cutter' but its cookie-cutter for a reason (it works). I just think this day and age an artist needs to consider other things beyond marketing themselves as a person with a portfolio and take a step back to understand where they fit at a given company or in a given position. "This is my best artwork." is not the same as, "This is what you will learn from me." And I think a portfolio that says the latter is a lot stronger than what the former does.
Thanks for answering my question guys. Sorry for the name troubles. Chris, and Jesse got it right though eventually. Too bad PC won't let me change my name unless I make a new account. You won't be able to scare me off that easily though. I am working on my website this year, and yes I'll agree I should come up with a custom avatar for myself.
I have one last question that would be geared for Jon. What kind of music do you prefer for a reel? Do you have any sources of license/copyright free music sites?
This may be easier to answer here, as opposed to a recording. Your choice. Thanks guys.
Trim the fat. I listened hoping to hear you guys talk about art. And you did, but there's a lot of bullshitting in there I didn't care about. I nearly stopped after the first 20 minutes since it had taken so long to get to an art subject. Aimless banter is healthy for podcasts, but it should still be focused and hasty. Example: Stories of how drunk someone got are great for Facebook status but not something like this. And when others in the podcast start interjecting their opinions on those off-topic anecdotes it just starts to drag on.
I did stop. I'll probably go back and watch the rest later but i just didn't know how long it was going to take to get to the topic i started listening for. Sure, as adam says some banter is fine but not for so long.
Edit:Will listen when the mp3 gets added to the site
I'd like to second the call for some talk about drafting up contracts, especially if Jon Jones is on the podcast. I recently wrote up my first contract and I won't lie it was a lotta bit terrifying but Jon is the MAN when it comes to helpin' a gal out Thank you so much for that. It's really good information (like acceptance clauses) that I think the community would really benefit from knowing.
I know it's a subject beaten to death here on polycount, but I would love some talk about pay rates. Not just hourly or day rates, but piece work too. What a 'next gen' model would cost, textures, or a low-poly piece for an iphone game. Are animations billed the same for game as for movies, per second? Etc, stuff like that.
I guess just going with my first and last name together. samcole
For some reason my friends have been calling me by first and last name for quite a few years now. Someone started it...then everyone just sort of ran with it.
I do agree that at times they can go a bit off topic... but I have to say, some of my favourite podcasts (this one as well) are when the people just go off topic and start having fun, I find you start learning more about who they are / what kind of personalities they are, which in turn makes it a more personal experience.
Also, I generally listen to these when I'm working on stuff, so I personally enjoy just hearing them talk about whatever.
I think Chris and Jon had said that they could be starting a "get to the point" podcast Adam, sounds like that may be what you're looking for.
Eh this isn't the Jon & Chris show though is it? If it is then I misunderstood. I thought it was about game art with some bs'ing in between where it was the other way around it seemed. I listen to a lot of podcasts in my spare time that are themed around topics where people interject weird stories and opinions. It's as though Crunch Cast is suppose to feel like Rogan's podcast but somehow be about game art each time and I really think the 2 things are separate beasts altogether.
They could do a Crunch Cast that is about game art while being fun. Then an 'after show' that is them talking about other shit people might want to hear about thats not about game art or the communities specifically.
Yeah I'm with Jason, I enjoy the BS back and forth banter. If something is purely technical, I'll not only be uninterested, but I won't retain the information because I was bored out of my mind. But, I can see how some people may like that style.
I'm not saying they need to be robots that stare at the camera and go from one technical point to another. I'm saying its a 2 hour podcast that could likely be 45-60minutes and still be full of fun chatter we can all laugh along with while being interesting to game artists.
Anyway, I've gone on more than I intended to about this and its coming off like I'm ranting. I enjoyed the podcast but had bits of feedback to offer, take it or leave it.
The way I see it is it's like being out at the bar with other game devs.
We talk a little about game art, sure, but most of the time it's about things we're all interested in. throw in some science stuff, some pop culture stuff, etc.
At least when I'm at the bar, I know I RARELY talk about work.
I'm sure we will get a more focused, shorter podcast started too. We can have people submit links to their work and we can look it over and give our thoughts on it. We're still trying to figure out the details for all that.
I'll always try and get people's questions answered on the show though. So if it feels like we've strayed too far from the question, I'll try my best to get it going back in that direction.
I agree with adam. I enjoy how laid back it is, but there are times when they can go offtopic for 20 mins or more. I listen to it because I want to hear about game development, there are plenty of other podcasts where people talk about miscellaneous stuff.
I love what you guys are doing I just think it would benefit from being a bit more focused as that's what its labeled as.
A podcast I used to listen to used to list out the different topics, and the time stamps of when they started. So...the guys could label out "off topic area" at 0:25:00, then follow it up with "Reel talk" at 1:00:00. Stuff like that...it would require some scrubbing through the audio on Chris's part..but at least it would still give the option for people to either A) listen to the whole podcast.... or Skip to their desired sections of informative topics/discussion of those topics. Then turn off the cast and turn on something else.
That way both parties of listeners would be appeased to some degree. Would just be more work for Chris.
oh and thanks adam for making the name change for me. Now maybe Jon won't complain about it. :poly124:
I'd like to add something to the animation question; Showing acting animation is pretty essential to an animator's reel. Not only does it show that the animator can create a sequence of different cycles and what not but it's also more fun to watch if done well. I do agree with the rest of the stuff that Brian said though, create cycles as well.
I find the parts where you just talk about whatever pretty fun to listen to, but the most interesting parts(and the reason I listen to this podcast) are the game-art related parts. I agree with Adam, it would be better if you guys would focus more on that. For instance at 1:18 Brian was telling some interesting game-art anecdote until Chris interrupted him for some unrelated cigarette joke. That is not cool, man.
I think the portfolio of the week thing is a good idea. I think it could be applied to just awesome art of the week and you guys look at it and say why you think it's good. It could go into your respective fields as well.
I really like listening/watching you guys while I work, keep up the good work!
MOAR Crunchcast! I really hope a new video or "soundonly" comes up today. I don't have a regular workday tomorrow and I want my weekly awesome-sauce on my working day.
Great cast, many thanks for taking the time to answer my questions - it was very informative and helpful. Sorry my portfolio is blurry, it seems OK to me (but it's probably time for a redesign).
Great cast, many thanks for taking the time to answer my questions - it was very informative and helpful. Sorry my portfolio is blurry, it seems OK to me (but it's probably time for a redesign).
Can you guys eat my portfolio, and then spit back out remains onto a dish of feedback. PLEASE.?
I just landed my first job but im looking to improve my shit - www.myleslambert.co.uk
I don't know what it's setup like that, in my Polycount profile it's just 'www.env-art.com' When I made it a hyper link in signature, it seems to automatically add the polycount bit.
I don't know what it's setup like that, in my Polycount profile it's just 'www.env-art.com' When I made it a hyper link in signature, it seems to automatically add the polycount bit.
¸
edit it and add the http to the url to force it to use the full url and not think it is a internal link, and use a relative url
thank you very much for your valuable time this time.
you guys has been very informative.
today my friend was mentioning bad stuff about some freelance work, the problem exactly like you guys mention in crunch cast ep 24
i guess i need to show this video to him.
woo. I enjoy watching that shit when working, Shit, I want Longer episode. And more talk about me. I like it.
I miss Skanker tho.
im currently nobody, but i hope someday people will talk about me :poly136:
edit: oh and i love the crunchcast.
i never got mvp on a BF3 match before, but after i listen to the crunch cast, my concentration and focus skill increased, i got it 3 times in a row. it's so.. magical :thumbup:
Replies
I'd really like to hear about this in detail. I'm a graduate artist who has found difficulty finding full-timework, so I've been delving into freelance jobs and found it to be quite the minefield. I've made some mistakes, but also I've had some sucesses and I'm learning as I go. Would be fantastic to hear your seasoned thoughts on the matter.
Thanks, as always, to the Crunch Cast.
The problem was that it wasn't clear if he wanted us to crit his work or his portfolio layout.
Before the show I did quite the crit of his work. I could honestly have filled up 2 hours alone just going over his character work.
I could see us branching off and doing some shorter, focused episodes just over portfolio reviews. Maybe have the full screen video be just the portfolio while we 'MST3K' it.
Chris wants to keep the Crunch Cast loose and a little random in format. Afterall, it's just us hanging out talking and drinking some beer.
Whilst nekkid. Make this happen.
I have one last question that would be geared for Jon. What kind of music do you prefer for a reel? Do you have any sources of license/copyright free music sites?
This may be easier to answer here, as opposed to a recording. Your choice. Thanks guys.
Feedback:
Trim the fat. I listened hoping to hear you guys talk about art. And you did, but there's a lot of bullshitting in there I didn't care about. I nearly stopped after the first 20 minutes since it had taken so long to get to an art subject. Aimless banter is healthy for podcasts, but it should still be focused and hasty. Example: Stories of how drunk someone got are great for Facebook status but not something like this. And when others in the podcast start interjecting their opinions on those off-topic anecdotes it just starts to drag on.
Editing. Chris I think you mentioned something about editing software? If so, great. When you guys talk about images, portfolios, videos, etc. it would be wise to have them appear, full screen, over the podcast video as you guys talk about it. Visual context goes a long way in video podcasts.
Utilize Youtube. I know you mentioned this Chris so its great to know you're aware of it. Whenever you guys mention links on the podcast, be sure to drop them in the Video information box so others can see it. At the end of the podcast Chris you could come on and say something along the lines of, "All links we mentioned during this podcast will be the info box below. Be sure to check them out!" I didn't get too attached to anything being talked about because I had no idea what it was or where to find it (except for the nod to our Mutant League challenge. Thanks for that, by the way).
----
That's it really. I know you guys are going for something with not a lot of structure, but discipline regarding the topic at hand and restriction in how far away from the topic you go is a good thing for niche topics like this. Make it fun, but on point.
I really enjoyed the topic about portfolios and environments. It's one of my favourite topics these days. If I am being completely honest I feel like the feedback or insight given was a bit 'cookie-cutter' but its cookie-cutter for a reason (it works). I just think this day and age an artist needs to consider other things beyond marketing themselves as a person with a portfolio and take a step back to understand where they fit at a given company or in a given position. "This is my best artwork." is not the same as, "This is what you will learn from me." And I think a portfolio that says the latter is a lot stronger than what the former does.
Keep them up, I look forward to #24. :thumbup:
What name would you like to have?
I did stop. I'll probably go back and watch the rest later but i just didn't know how long it was going to take to get to the topic i started listening for. Sure, as adam says some banter is fine but not for so long.
Edit: Will listen when the mp3 gets added to the site
I'd like to second the call for some talk about drafting up contracts, especially if Jon Jones is on the podcast. I recently wrote up my first contract and I won't lie it was a lotta bit terrifying but Jon is the MAN when it comes to helpin' a gal out
I know it's a subject beaten to death here on polycount, but I would love some talk about pay rates. Not just hourly or day rates, but piece work too. What a 'next gen' model would cost, textures, or a low-poly piece for an iphone game. Are animations billed the same for game as for movies, per second? Etc, stuff like that.
I guess just going with my first and last name together. samcole
For some reason my friends have been calling me by first and last name for quite a few years now. Someone started it...then everyone just sort of ran with it.
Also, I generally listen to these when I'm working on stuff, so I personally enjoy just hearing them talk about whatever.
I think Chris and Jon had said that they could be starting a "get to the point" podcast Adam, sounds like that may be what you're looking for.
They could do a Crunch Cast that is about game art while being fun. Then an 'after show' that is them talking about other shit people might want to hear about thats not about game art or the communities specifically.
2 cents.
I'm not saying they need to be robots that stare at the camera and go from one technical point to another. I'm saying its a 2 hour podcast that could likely be 45-60minutes and still be full of fun chatter we can all laugh along with while being interesting to game artists.
Anyway, I've gone on more than I intended to about this and its coming off like I'm ranting. I enjoyed the podcast but had bits of feedback to offer, take it or leave it.
We talk a little about game art, sure, but most of the time it's about things we're all interested in. throw in some science stuff, some pop culture stuff, etc.
At least when I'm at the bar, I know I RARELY talk about work.
I'm sure we will get a more focused, shorter podcast started too. We can have people submit links to their work and we can look it over and give our thoughts on it. We're still trying to figure out the details for all that.
I'll always try and get people's questions answered on the show though. So if it feels like we've strayed too far from the question, I'll try my best to get it going back in that direction.
I love what you guys are doing I just think it would benefit from being a bit more focused as that's what its labeled as.
That way both parties of listeners would be appeased to some degree. Would just be more work for Chris.
oh and thanks adam for making the name change for me.
I find the parts where you just talk about whatever pretty fun to listen to, but the most interesting parts(and the reason I listen to this podcast) are the game-art related parts. I agree with Adam, it would be better if you guys would focus more on that. For instance at 1:18 Brian was telling some interesting game-art anecdote until Chris interrupted him for some unrelated cigarette joke. That is not cool, man.
Great show however!
Twitter: http://twitter.com/CrunchCast
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/CrunchCast/291862464191578
Jesse Sosa
Twitter: http://twitter.com/skankerzero
Website: http://www.skankerzero.com/
Chris Holden
Twitter: http://twitter.com/chrisholdendev
Website: http://chrisholden.net/
Bryan McConnell
Twitter: http://twitter.com/Bryan_McConnell
Website:
Jon Jones
Twitter: http://twitter.com/jonjones
Website: http://www.jonjones.com/
Polycount - It's mentioned in every episode
http://polycount.com/forum
----Content talked about in this episode----
Makkon's Brushes (2:30)
http://polycount.com/forum/showthread.php?t=91941
Austin Polycount meetup - Dec 13th (7:10)
http://polycount.com/forum/showthread.php?t=91739
Austin IGDA Microtalk with Jon Jones about freelancing - Dec 16th (8:00)
http://austingamedevs.org/events/holiday-season-microtalks-coming-back-studio-6a-0
Nexuiz Announcement Trailer (10:30)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HNr2z08u5fM
Bad Dragon Skyrim set - Nsfw (11:30)
http://i.imgur.com/H4lRX.jpg
Mutant League Challenge (20:00)
http://www.polycount.com/mutant-league-challenge/
Dominance War I - Chris & Jon (21:45)
http://www.dominancewar.com/1/finals/team_2/4_CholdenNJonJones.htm
Portfolio Question Discussion (23:00)
Jesse's Cat (24:00)
Math-Magician Ted Talk (26:50)
http://ted.com/talks/arthur_benjamin_does_mathemagic.html
Presenting an environment art portfolio (31:00)
Cysis 2 portfolios (32:20)
http://www.helderpinto.com/
http://www.simonfuchs.net/folio/
Massive Black (35:00)
http://www.massiveblack.com
Rage portfolios before/after (38:30)
http://www.polycount.com/forum/showthread.php?t=90347
http://www.polycount.com/forum/showthread.php?t=90378
http://www.polycount.com/forum/showthread.php?t=90081
Question about environment fly-through in the crunch cast thread (39:30)
http://www.polycount.com/forum/showpost.php?p=1477354&postcount=99
Example Skyrim: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PjqsYzBrP-M
Composition talk (42:30)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rule_of_thirds
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/180_degree_rule (crossing the line)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Composition_(visual_arts)/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fibonacci_sequence
Kid performing Lady Gaga (53:00)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bxDlC7YV5is
My horse is amazing (55:40)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bP_0dDjoW_o
Animation portfolio talk (56:00)
Chris Johnson - Mortal Combat animations (1:01:50)
http://thechrisjohnson.info/welcome/
Horse talk (1:05:00)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Horse_gait
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eadweard_Muybridge
Animation Mentor (1:08:50)
http://www.animationmentor.com/
3D Road Runner (1:11:00)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b8Q-OrFcV1s
Chad Gleason (1:11:50)
http://www.outpost12studios.com/Site/About.html
Dana White - UFC (1:42:50)
http://twitter.com/danawhite
I think the portfolio of the week thing is a good idea. I think it could be applied to just awesome art of the week and you guys look at it and say why you think it's good. It could go into your respective fields as well.
I really like listening/watching you guys while I work, keep up the good work!
and on the video details on youtube.
[ame="
Cheers guys. :-]
Speaking of portfolio, you've got your linking wrong on your signiture. You've got http://www.polycount.com/forum/www.env-art.com instead of http://www.env-art.com/
I just landed my first job but im looking to improve my shit - www.myleslambert.co.uk
(downloading the vimeo version @home, since we have "internet overloads" here)
I don't know what it's setup like that, in my Polycount profile it's just 'www.env-art.com' When I made it a hyper link in signature, it seems to automatically add the polycount bit.
edit it and add the http to the url to force it to use the full url and not think it is a internal link, and use a relative url
you guys has been very informative.
today my friend was mentioning bad stuff about some freelance work, the problem exactly like you guys mention in crunch cast ep 24
i guess i need to show this video to him.
I miss Skanker tho.
im currently nobody, but i hope someday people will talk about me :poly136:
edit: oh and i love the crunchcast.
i never got mvp on a BF3 match before, but after i listen to the crunch cast, my concentration and focus skill increased, i got it 3 times in a row. it's so.. magical :thumbup:
Aww, thank you.
My brain was too fried for me to be of any use. I've just been working on lots of art after hours, and it's starting to take it's toll.
And I lost it at the whole washing off a tan that he thought was a tan but was actually dirt thing, lol, good stuff.
By man day you guys mean 8 working hours, right?
Btw, if you guys feel my portfolio is worth talking about, please do! www.brunoafonseca.com