Freelance Animation Job - Graphic Design & Animation
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One of the hardest things to learn when you become an independent contractor and start accepting freelance animation jobs is figuring out what to charge. The thing is, you know what you're worth, but that doesn't mean that your new client does, and what you end up with will be the result of negotiation. In the beginning, you may end up taking jobs that pay less than you'd like. Maybe you want to make $35 an hour, but they won't go higher than $20. You have to take a look at the job and the client, and decide if you're willing to negotiate down. Being inflexible doesn't make you more appealing – if you hold out for a lot of money too often, you'll find yourself without any work at all. Show that you're willing to compromise and you'll get more freelance animation jobs than the guys charging a lot more money.
Then again, you shouldn't let clients take advantage of you, either. If you've been talked down to taking $80 for a project that should be paying you $400, you're working too hard for too little money, and your time would be better spent on clients who'll pay you what you're worth. It's tough to tell a client that they should be paying you more money. And sometimes it's a good way of getting out of a job you don't really want to do – or at least getting paid well for a freelance animation gig you're not crazy about. It's a tough line to walk, and some freelance animators never get the hang of it.
Then there's the whole issue of who owns your work when you create it for a client. When you're animating for hire – 2D animation, animated graphics, web animation or 3D game design – it may seem like it ought to belong to you, since you created it on your computer. But in truth, freelance animation jobs are contract work, which means that when your client buys your services, they buy all the work that you created as well. You can't resell the same work to another client, especially if it involves logos or other copyrighted images belonging to the client.
Of course, you have the right to display the work as part of your portfolio, but it doesn't actually "belong" to you anymore. The same goes for in-house work, when you're an actual employee of a company rather than a freelance contractor for a client. As you surf Go Freelance and find out more about freelance animation jobs, you'll find yourself in the enviable position of having to negotiate with clients for real!
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