Should I Stay Or Should I Go? Studio Vs Freelance Life

Decision time Is it time to go your own way, or are you better off working in-house? Dom Carter asks pro artists for their views…

Careers are constantly marked by forks in the road, with digital art being no exception. Whether it’s settling on a niche in the industry, or opting to pursue further education instead of paid work, there are plenty of big questions artists have to ask themselves. One of the toughest choices to make is deciding whether to go freelance or work in a studio.

Going freelance has the lure of flexibility, whereas studio life offers security and human contact, so how is an artist meant to pick a route? Personal finances, current skill level and career aspirations are all key factors to consider, but given that the industry can throw you a curve ball, sometimes the choice is made for you.

This is just what happened to freelance concept artist and illustrator Deiv Calviz when things started to get shaky at the local outsourcing studio that he worked at.

“A lot of people were being laid off and projects were being cancelled,” Deiv says. “I was one of the last few people left in the studio. By this time, I had begun to take on some freelance work for a trading card game. It was a project that would span a few months, so freelance had started to become a better choice.”

Alayna Danner is another artist who had the freelance life thrust upon her, although thanks to some groundwork the career change was a blessing in disguise. “I had already been working on the side for an analog game company Rio Grande Games. Being laid off was actually very good for me because Rio had two years’ worth of work for me to do,” says the illustrator and concept artist. “I’ve had steady freelance work ever since then.”

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