A question about practice-work balance and schedule

[Doolio]

I am in a specific situation at the moment, regarding freedom to practice vs need to find jobs while in the process of "leveling up". I see it as quite good (great actually) for getting better at art, but I have my doubts about some other aspects.

I have effectively traded some of my freedom for time to practice and being somewhat financially secured without having to push myself hard.
I am now living with my parents and, because the apartment is relatively large and there were five of us living there and now there is four, I actually do have some space - physical more than psychological, but it's ok for now, none of us haven't gone insane yet:D

So, basically, I can sustain myself enough with just one or two low level freelance jobs a month. Even with a blank month it's not the end of the world. I don't need to pay rent, I don't get out that much (I've decided to push it practice-wise in the next couple of years), I drive short relations etc. I mostly just fill my share of financial contribution and that's about it. Time-wise it's also efficient, I don't need to cook and stuff like that.

The way I see it, I (well, my parents too, lol:) ) should be able to survive the "parents and their grown up son being at the same place" game for like two years or so without any major problems.

So, it's all good and actually the amount of time and the absence of expenses is pretty much ideal for crunch period of turbo art progression.


I am wondering about some other stuff. I think it was Brad Rigney (correct me if I'm wrong) who practiced practiced practiced and finally emerged and was like "behold my shiny pictures" and then he realized he doesn't know any companies, he doesn't know clients, he doesn't know rates, he can't ask anybody for rates because he doesn't know fellow artists at the similar level, he doesn't know when or where to maybe start networking etc. So he had to do all that stuff from the point zero, which I imagine could be quite challenging when compared to simply doing it spontaneously as you progress as an artist.


So, what is your take on this? Should I try and get myself in the machine and do jobs I am not interested in (and which would take away from my practice and not give much in return craft-wise) just for the sake of "being there" even if I don't have to, or should I use the luxury of not having to do that and try to get to a solid level as soon as possible, through practice?
I would lean on the latter, but I don't really know.

Also, I have been freelancing, but only on the freelancing sites, which offer some entry level jobs and have automatized payment and stuff like that. I don't know anything about the correspondence with an actual company, contracts, payment methods and receiving money etc. Is that normal?:D I mean, I pointed this out just to emphasize my caveman-ness, it might be important:) (I have also created a facebook account like two days ago and don't mingle too much on the social networks - although I do plan on expanding that, like I did with fb and these forums).

Thanks for your thoughts:)

[Ursula Dorada]

The way I see it Doolio, doing cheap freelance is like wasting time on a lame contest that will give your art away for free. You end up with nothing; No money, no recognition, no portfolio.

From my experience, you need little else than a good, solid portfolio to break in. You will need to do networking, but it won't do you any good if you don't have a portfolio to back you up. So yeah, Brad was very hermit-ish, and I suggest you do post your work online and appear in communities oriented challenges. Be in the circles even if you're not working yet.

But focus on practicing and portfolio building for now, in my opinion. This is what I would do in your place. I'd take the best advantage of the situation and start right of the bat with a very strong book.

And then, since you have the time, do a TARGETED portfolio. Different from Brad Rigney, you can research where you want to work, and start building a portfolio for them. Every time you have 10 new pieces, email them. Eventually they will reply :)

[Doolio]

Well, that does sound reasonable:)

I mean, when I look at it, the other voice of my dilemma might just be a subconscious "you're not doing anything" kind of thing, even though I am rationally aware that practice and investing in skills that would eventually pay off actually is a pretty solid "doing something". I guess it's just some kind of irrational pressure while dealing with some kind of unconventional delayed gratification, instead of being a "proper 9-5 citizen" or something:)

Well, I can't literally JUST sit and practice, but I can go by with VERY small number of freelancing hours per month, which could be completely disregarded as a factor whatsoever. So, yeah, I guess I can completely devote myself to studying.

And then, since you have the time, do a TARGETED portfolio. Different from Brad Rigney, you can research where you want to work, and start building a portfolio for them. Every time you have 10 new pieces, email them. Eventually they will reply :)

Ah, this is a sound advice, thanks:) I mean, it's completely logical when you look at it, but I have never thought about it, as odd as it may sound. I was thinking about a genre or niche portfolio, like, "stylized high fantasy" or "realistic sf", that kind of thing. But targeted portfolio, with a specific company(s) in mind, that does seem like a way to go:)