-----Original Message-----
From:
David Gary Studios <dgarystudiosmpinet [dot] net>
To:
flashershocker [dot] com <flashershocker [dot] com>
Date:
Friday, May 28, 1999 12:30 PM
Subject: FLASH: New freelance
flashers?
Hiya Flashers,
I recieved an email from someone asking for my help and even though I
dont respond to every mail
I might get due to my own time constraints, I simply found this person
to much of a gentleman not to respond.
However as usual, I driveled on and ended up with some opinions that
might help guide new freelancers(sub-contractors, flash or otherwise.
You guys can take it for what its worth, of course. Its only from my own
experience in the freelance field. Maybe some seasoned professionals can add
to it their own experiences
and someone can plant it on a resource site somewhere. Since I didnt
get the permission of the mailer, I will keep his information
anonymous.
Hi,
First, I want to say that I am utterly stunned by your website (I'm
still there in fact!). I have never seen anything like your site, and I am
so glad that I've seen it. Your eye for detail and subtlety is impressive
and I love your sense of humor. I can tell you put a lot of hard work into
this. I would like to know what you used besides Flash to create all this
marvelous art. Did you use Director, too, or Premier? I'd really love to
know but only if you care to share it. :)
Hiya Bobbie,
Thanks for the kind comments. Actually I only used Flash vectors
for the creation of "Full Throttle". I thought about using 3D max
to study lighting and reflection values, but after a couple of tests I found
that my illustrative experience was enough to create it from scratch. To
create it in a 3D modeler would have taken time I did not have since this
was my personal site and I wasnt on the "time clock". However, our
corporate site is being modeled in 3DMAX and Maya for reference and then
will be imported and changed to vector format. Its a tedious process, but it
insures the quality of the technique we are using. If you can create it in
vectors, do so. Due to the file size and image quality, Vector format is
Flash's greatest strength. Use it whenever possible.
The reason why I am writing to you is because I read your bio (even
my friends were telling me to make sure I found it and read it :) ) and I
really feel a kindred spirit in your efforts to get where you are. Though I
am still struggling with my artwork and trying to get somewhere with it,
it's very disconcerting to focus past the seemingly cut-throat nature of
this business, particularly that of the internet. I am wondering how you did
it, how you persevered, and how it is possible to chart a course through all
this without winding back where your started just spinning your wheels. Is
there a methodology that one should adopt to become successful or is just
that you have to dog the right people until they give you that lucky break
to get in the door?
Boy I wish there was someone to answer those same questions for me.
Remember I freelance so I cant consult on how to become employed. If I could
give you any advice it would be to never give up doing what you love. This
is YOUR life. Learn how to market what you love. Business saavy
designers make good money, because they know their target and how to cater
to that market. I see egonomically unfriendly crap every day. Door knobs,
appliances, products in my house. I still bought em. Why? Because someone
made them available to me more than the guy with the better product through
advertising and marketing. 'Look at the success of the "Pet Rock".
If someone can actually sell you a rock, they certainly now how to market
anything. You can have a great product, virtual or real. If you dont market
it correctly, you will find yourself in the same boat as half the others out
there that think just because its quality or a good idea that it will sell.
Gota let "Joe" know its there. This is in anything, flash design
or any other service. Networking is crucial also. Get your work out there
and to people who can promote it. Brokers, agents, promotions etc. Do NOT do
work for someone elses corporate cause for no compensation. Pro-Bono is a
different matter. Do not debut work that is unfinished. "Under
construction" links are amatuer. Even though the "famous"
Gabriel Mendoza of Gabocorp(http://www.gabocorp.com) has great design
implement, his site still has no content, i.e. "Pet Rock" theory.
Dont provide a link to information that is not there. Also provide content,
not just eye candy. If the work, flash, static graphic(print) or otherwise
does not provide a purpose for its use, dont use it. That is if you are a
designer. Artist and designers are two different breeds. I find myself as
one of the rare exceptions. Artists create things that dont neccessarily
provide a pupose other than creating a perspective for someone else. This is
a wonderful thing to do. A designer creates ergonomical function through
form. This is a wonderful thing to do too. Understand which you are. One of
the most difficult things that I found in my own evolution was figuring out
what the hell is it that I do. Once I found out what I was really good at, I
took it to the next level making sure I could offer my resources
professionally(that means taking someone's money in return for my services).
Do not try to do everything yourself. You will hurt yourself, your clients
and precious time that can be spent with your family. So many people out
there think they can do it all simply because they have a 'puter and a
connection to the internet. These people find themselves at 3:00 in the
morning sitting in their underwear typing their life away on a machine. Take
it from me, I was there once. Do what YOU do best and surround
yourself with people that are really good at doing other things that will
help your business. Offer your trade in return for someone else's services
starting out if you dont have the capital. This will do 2 things. Make you
better at what you do, thus increasing your potential and helping someone
else in a different area increase their potential. Welcome to the world of
healthy Enterprise. If you do these things, you will have one hell of a
service or product. The internet is full of "Jacks" and I usually
try to distance myself from these people. Dont get me wrong, Im not saying
experience in other areas doesnt help. I have more than enough duties.
However you must ensure quality in return for success and the only way to do
this is to affiliate yourself with experienced professionals specializing in
certain areas. Do NOT undersell yourself! You will kill us all. Know exaclty
what you are worth by investigating what the market is doing. If you think
you are half as good as the best designers, charge half what they charge. If
you think you are twice as good as others, charge twice as much. Also find
out what your client will pay. If they are a huge corporation and you or
your team can handle the project, charge them what they will pay. If your
project promotes a charity for feeding the children then add that fee into
the huge corporation's fee and dont charge the pro-bono. (this of course is
my personal moral judgement call). In most cases huge corporations sit on
their money while other people suffer just to eat. If they wont give back to
the community, see how you can help them do so.
If anything else, EDUCATE, EDUCATE, EDUCATE yourself.
If you're interested and have the time, I have a little bit of my
artwork you can view here though most of my
stuff isn't up yet..<link disclosed>
read above
Good luck with your work and thanks
being who you are. It's nice to know there are people like you out
there!
<blush, blush>, well what can I say? <g>
Take care,
-DG-