Anyone have any luck on Upworks?
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I have been trying to make it as a freelance 3D Artist, so I signed up for Upworks and started sending out proposals.
Just wondering if anyone else has had any luck with Upworks or has ever been able to make it a full time thing.
I have been having a very difficult time. Out of 80 or so proposals I got a a couple short term jobs that paid under $100.
Here is my portfolio for now. I've been trying to improve it, but it takes alot of time to make high quality models which I'm still working on.
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Better not to play with corpses this thing is dead for a long time I am surprise it still exist
Can't really think of anything good about it so better find some other way to look for freelance jobs
Well Upworks is still the first thing that comes up in search results for freelance websites. Or maybe it's dead for 3D artist?
Have you checked how many jobs are there even vaguely related to 3d and computer graphic ?
If there are no jobs this mean that there are clients if there are no clients platform is dead
Been dead used to be like a meme on their own forum its something that use to came up every few days
I haven't used it in 6 years but this article is fresh its was horrible then cant even imagine how bad is now You could look for more info on their own forum
Personal advice if you are not very solid generalist , job sniper ,very poor person find a better place to look for jobs
Fiverr has worked quite well for me. I started in 2017 and took a while to get traction but in 2019-2020 I was basically working full time from Fiverr orders making around 15-20€/hr, which tbf is not huge but well above average salary in Spain. I have since reduced my presence there to focus on my full time job but still get some orders from time to time.
I also tried Upwork at the same time and I couldn't land even a single job. It also required me to be actively searching for job posts and I couldn't be bothered at the time.
What I like the most about Fiverr is the fact that I don't have to pursue buyers, they come to me instead. Obviously as I already have a reputation Fiverr sends the "serious" buyers directly to me so it is usually a very pleasing experience to work with them.
I don't know how easy or hard will it be to get attention in there nowadays. Back then it took me 6-8 months of taking the lowest paying jobs until I got some reviews on my profile and it got serious. I would probably not do it today if I was told that to sell I would have to work for 3€/hr for more than half a year but I was a student at the time and it was very welcome money for me so I was happy.
There are plenty of 3d related jobs on there, but a lot of them seem to be architectural and mechanical focused, that could even require structural and engineering knowledge, which I'm not really qualified for.
The ones that are more creative such as games and films are usually highly competitive, not to mention the ones being open to "worldwide" applicants.
I was going to try Fiverr too. The thing is Fiverr seems to be focused on predetermined fixed priced jobs. If a job is more or less work than the price of the gig, you have to game the system by telling the client to order a certain amount of "gigs" for the job.
It does take a lot of time submitting proposals before getting any response. Time that could be better spent working on a portfolio.
On fiverr I have it specified in the description that before ordering you should contact me first. This way all my orders are custom made after both parties agree on the pricing and delivery time for the project.
It only happened two times (out of +100 orders) that clients ordered without consulting first, one time I went with it because the price was way over the project requirements and the other I just asked to cancel the order, discuss it and tailor a custom offer after.
" If a job is more or less work than the price of the gig, you have to game the system by telling the client to order a certain amount of "gigs" for the job."
That's not at all how Fiverr works. Sellers can show a range a pre-set prices for their work (like 3 tiers of increasing complexity for instance), but if a task doesn't quite match these pre-set prices then it's just a matter of agreeing on a custom price for the job. And then this custom offer is treated just like any other.
Ok. But you still need to have fixed price offers for your gig, which someone could order before contacting you. That's why I said its more focused on fixed price job's.
I would still like to hear from others about their thoughts on Upworks.
Alot of the jobs on Upworks seem to be geared toward more practical jobs like architecture, mechanical design, and 3d printing jobs. There is not as many creative jobs like 3d animation/modeling for games and films. Since polycount is more of a creative forum, I would expect Upworks does not fit the type of work that people on here are focused on?
Maybe creative studios don't outsource as much as practical jobs.
"Ok. But you still need to have fixed price offers for your gig, which someone could order before contacting you."
Yeah, one could assume that the system works like that just by looking at it - but it doesn't. Sellers of creative tasks specifically ask buyers to contact them first, and clearly state that buyers shouldn't attempt to buy directly. And I suppose that if someone does it anyways then it goes through a dispute system probably. There is a Fiverr seller right here in this thread explaining to you that out of 100+ orders only 1 was bought directly, and it was a special case.
As for Upwork : the biggest weakness of that site is that it is an absolute pain to use as it overcomplicates everything for everyone involved.
Lastly, creative studios don't use cheap places like Fiverr or Upwork anyways - they work directly with well reputable outsource houses or directly with individual freelancers with a steller rep, and not at Fiverr/Upwork rates. So if your goal is to get a feel for how much one can make as freelancer doing game art, looking at Fiverr and Upwork for reference will give you a completely wrong idea. Just because these sites have "outsourcing" or "freelance" in their description doesn't mean that the sellers operate at regular industry rates.
Anyone else have any experience with upworks? I am starting to make some earnings on there, but its very hard going.
If not Upworks, whats the best way for freelance 3d artist to find clients online?
I was expecting more replies on this manor. Seems like not many people on here are using Upworks?
Maybe that answers the question whether Upworks is right for the type of artist on here.
I tried it for a while and hated it. I know it works for some people but I think it requires too much work from my side for it to be a viable option. I very much prefer the Fiverr way of clients reaching you out directly.
Upworks lets you do both, apply for jobs and get invited. I am getting started on Fiverr, but I haven't been contacted yet.
People work, earn money there, and then, on a whim, their account gets disabled. Then they have problems getting their hard-earned money.
I think they use lousy AI, and it SUCKS. So it just bans people if you fall into it.