2024 - First Year of Freelance - In Review

2024 is coming to an end and lots of us are probably having a little look back and time to reflect.

This was a very unique year filled with lots of firsts - first time without a job for a lengthy time period, first in-person market, first time properly opening a shop, first time participating in a meet-up for illustrators, first time running a proper lengthy DnD campaign 🤭

A lot of these things I've wanted to do for years, but was too scared (and probably too comfortable in where I was) to start, but after losing my job I didn't really have much choice anymore.

I wanted to make this blog post to any artist, who is curious what a start to freelancing looks like, because what we see online is usually artists who are already established.

Background

For some context - I'm mainly a self-taught illustrator, with a Bachelor's in English and just 2 years of art studio practice with an actual teacher. After University I've worked 6 years as a 2D artist and graphic designer at a game development company.

Because of my work experience, I am already used to communicating with clients, handling feedback and making sure I meet my deadlines, but what I lack is practice on finding said clients myself, as I didn't need to do that up until now.

Income

As clueless as I was, I was very lucky that some people found me through Instagram and reached out themselves for my services and I got to work on some really fun projects. This has made the biggest bulk of income, as my online shop and markets were only a small extra income this year.

All in all - I made less than minimum wage during my first year of freelancing, but I was still on unemployment pay from the government, so it leveled out in the end.

I almost made my goal for the year - it was just short of one or two freelance projects, so I actually think that's pretty good for just starting out.

Stability vs. freedom

As nice as it is to be able to do what you want with your time, it is pretty stressful to be a freelancer for someone who's had a stable income their whole life, especially the older you get and the more responsibilities you have.

You also need to be very very proactive, send lots of e-mails and participate in events if you want to find work, it won't usually just land in your lap while you do nothing.

I don't really have anything against going back to a "normal" job, because a stability of a paycheck is not overrated, in my opinion. I actually find the life of a freelancer over-romanticized online, but I'm very happy I got to try both and satiate my curiosity.

2025

So, with all this, next year I'm probably going to be looking for some sort of job, at least part-time, and running my lil shop online. I did really enjoy making so many new nature illustrations and even physical decorations!

Working with wood has been really nice and after the New Years I'll be properly dipping my hands into clay 🎉

Hope your Holidays go by nicely and you have something to look forward to next year. Thanks for reading 🌼