The Power of Your Network

Even amidst unpleasant surprises like the pandemic, wonderful surprises can happen too.

Last month a freelance project came to me TOTALLY OUT OF THE BLUE by someone I hadn’t seen in at least 6 years.  It was an animation project.  I hadn’t even DONE animation in that many years due to people expecting so much work from one creator for so little $.  At first I was hesitant to take on the project, as I didn’t even have an updated reel to show my friend. 

But I just asked more questions about the project and we agreed upon me creating character and scene designs with a few extra motions of arms and moving elements.  Then he’d pass it on to another animator.  This worked SUPER well and fast too!  Animation was really meant to be created in a team environment, not just one person doing everything themselves.  I really liked being part of a team again & the crazy deadline felt very energizing & motivating (although I wouldn’t want that lifestyle all the time… just eating TV dinners with no time to cook isn’t healthy long term!)

The animation was part of a video series called “Behind The Cover Art” by @art on Instagram.  This episode featured Kenny Gravillis’ story creating “The Tipping Point” album art for The Roots.  See the video with animation here.

My animation story is an example of how we already have an amazing network of people even if we don’t realize it or think of them as a “network.”

If you’re on unemployment and are currently job hunting, applying to jobs online is a joke.  I feel like it always has been, but now even more so.  Some state unemployment sites like to see evidence that you’ve applied to jobs online because that’s something that they can measure, but it’s still not really an effective strategy to actually get you a job, especially with the unprecedented competition with our tanked economy. 

I don’t know the ultimate solution, because the unemployment crisis is larger than any one solution.  But I do know that it’s always been the case for me that my own network has come through for me over the years.  A project coming from out of the blue isn’t all that uncommon when you know a lot of people that know what your talents are.  If people know that you’re skilled at x,y, and z, then they’ll come to you for those things.  If you’re stuck, just start talking with people about anything, then talk about what projects you’re working on.  They may say “oh my friend needs a designer” or something. 

You may have heard the advice of “ask people what they need help with, then help them with it.”  This will lead to a lot of unpaid work.  You can do this, but it’s more of a long-term strategy.  I don’t really do that strategy mainly because usually I have a que of projects always going.  It may not be a que that makes me “rich” monetarily, but it’s something that keeps me afloat and makes me rich in fulfillment.  This is also one of the strengths of freelancing.  If you have a fulltime job and the rug gets pulled from under you, you have nothing.  But if you freelance, you can still keep juggling the eggs still left in your basket, even if it’s only a few.

In other news, this is one of my last few blog posts using my current method and mailing list.  Many thanks to those who have expressed interest in joining my new and improved mailing list!  If you haven’t replied already to keep getting these updates, please do so.  Just reply to this email and I’ll put you on the new list.  Many thanks and stay safe!

Patreon Is Where It's AT

NYC is FINALLY mostly “over the curve” and now we’re all in the phase of “NOW WHAT?” Definitely a time of soul searching and exploring career/life choices for many people on Earth. One thing I’m super happy about is that through all this, my wonderful patrons on Patreon have not only STAYED, but I gained some NEW ones and some people even pledged MORE! I’m truly grateful to each and every patron that has supported my work.

Backing up a bit, Patreon is a crowdfunding website, much like Kickstarter, but it’s for ongoing work, not for one particular item. For example, I launched my Patreon so people could see the behind the scenes world of how I create the AER HEAD comic series. Whereas I launched my Kickstarter specifically to print 100 copies of AER HEAD issue #1 once it’s all complete. Building my Patreon definitely helped me understand how to better launch a Kickstarter when the time was right, and I highly recommend artists launching both.

If you’re an artist, musician, or other creative and don’t have a Patreon, BUILD ONE NOW! Now is the time where, even though you may feel like the world is crumbling around you with instability, there ARE actually people out there that still have stable jobs working remotely that would love to support you during this time. I share a lot about the stages of building my own Patreon in the first few public posts. Public posts are posts everyone can see, whereas you’d need to join one of my monthly membership tiers to see some other posts.

For example, here’s a sneak peek of a recent post for the “See the Present” tier (lowest tier level at $2/month) where I went into detail about the scanning and cleaning up process for my AER HEAD comic. If you want to level up your comic creation skills, this is a great tier to join at a low price!

Also, as part of MerMay (drawing prompts where you draw mermaids for the month of May & post on social media), if you join my “Custom Character Artwork” tier, you’ll get a drawing of one of my AER HEAD characters as a mermaid, usually on a surf board!

This is a $50/month tier, but this is the price I normally charge for a color sketch of one character at a comic con anyway (btw MoCCA Fest is officially cancelled). If you’d like a mermaid sketch, you can always sign up for one month, then cancel later. If you’re missing that in-person comic convention experience, this is a great way to get some cool unique art and support me as a freelance artist in these troubling times.

Just go to patreon.com/mindyindy and select a monthly tier. It’s super simple - you can even pay with Paypal. Many thanks, and I hope to see you on Patreon!