First gig

[ReneAigner]

The group in question was fairly clear in saying it was as much a feeler for them as it would be for anyone they contacted. I said it before, they weren't expecting to go commercial or make any substantial money off of it, in other words nobody was making anything off of it and they were clear from the outset that that was the case. Obviously if someone approaches you with a commercial product in mind and says they won't pay you then you should negotiate or walk.

Well, where do you draw the line between commercial and non-commercial though in cases like that? Obviously a game is a product, wouldn't you agree? If I were approached by a group of people who style themselves "studio" and are producing a product that has potential commercial value, but who also claim that the project is strictly non-commercial, I would be doubtful at the very least (an exception would for instance be mods for an existing game where because of legal reasons it's clear that no profit can be made from the mod/game). What are you going to do if the game does become a commercial asset eventually and you've got no contract, no licensing or royalty agreements? In cases like that, although I would still advise not to do work like that at all in any case, at least get a contract beforehand that clearly states that if and when the "studio" earns money with the product, you'll get your fair share. Don't trust people you don't know.

If it's not too much trouble, where did you look/send work to when you were starting out or when you were where I'm at now?

I'm probably the wrong person to give advice on this topic since I don't work fulltime and haven't tried to yet (still at uni...). Personally, I have never sent out a resumé or portfolio to anyone. I've always, so far, been approached by clients. So what I can tell you for sure is that it's not the big ones that approach artists (usually, it does happen occasionally of course). Those clients usually have enough applicants that send in excellent portfolios, they don't have to invest manpower into headhunting.

What I'd dish out as general advice is this:
- don't focus on getting work. Focus on getting better. The market is pretty saturated in all echelons, but the truly vast masses are mediocre and borderline-competent artists competing for the lower paying jobs. While there are still plenty of competent and even really good artists, the competition isn't quite as mindlessly fierce as it is in the lower segments (with people working for stupidly low rates or even for free for the sake of "experience").
- put your work out there (FB, dA, forums etc. etc.) If you get good enough, you'll know because you'll get work. Word gets around.
- if you're going to send out portfolios, keep the e-mails short and concise. Attach one image representative of your work and a link to your portfolio. Tailor your portfolio to the company you're sending it to (no fantasy stuff for a company that produces scifi games etc.)
- look at the general quality on artstation. Not necessarily the picks, just the overall mean quality of most of the work. If you're in that general ballpark, you can get work. Very hard to judge, I know, but it's the best estimate I can give you for what it takes to get paid work.