How do you do it? know how much to charge? Thing to look out for?

Just got an email about some work on cellphone games. I have never done anything freelance so kind of lost on this.

http://www.polycount.com/forum/showthread.php?t=81413

http://wiki.polycount.com/CategoryGameIndustry

http://www.polycount.com/forum/showthread.php?t=75101

Project how many hours the project/assets take to complete, multiply by your hourly rate. Take final number(s), consider the project and adjust accordingly.

Ask for 50% up front, then at the end show the client screenshots of you work and request the other 50%. Then send him the files. Mention this in your contract.

Your contract doesn't have to be fancy. Just write what you are going to do for your client and your name, his name, and signatures.

Originally Posted by Lennyagony

Project how many hours the project/assets take to complete, multiply by your hourly rate. Take final number(s), consider the project and adjust accordingly.

And then take that number and double it, to count for time spent on revisions, gaps in work, taxes, and health insurance.

Originally Posted by EarthQuake

And then take that number and double it, to count for time spent on revisions, gaps in work, taxes, and health insurance.

Great advice ^

Originally Posted by Serp

Ask for 50% up front, then at the end show the client screenshots of you work and request the other 50%. Then send him the files. Mention this in your contract.

Your contract doesn't have to be fancy. Just write what you are going to do for your client and your name, his name, and signatures.

while this is a good policy in general, many established studios does not allow this. they will pay only after the final work is delivered and after you send them an invoice.
i would ask for 50% upfront only if I am worried about the legitimacy of the company.
i doubt a well known company would risk not paying for work and ignoring the legal aspect of such behavior.

One thing I read in the other threads on this topic that really rubs me the wrong way is the notion of outsource as some sort of training ground.

Outsourcing is not a "way to get good at doing 3d". If you don't know what you're doing to begin with, please don't contract yourself out and inject poison into the system. The successful contractors are the ones who have either worked successfully in-studio before, or have such an awesome portfolio/delivery capability that their work is undeniable.

I only hire people who have proven delivery and art capabilities. There is something to be said about considering other contractors when you quote. If you're in dire need of money it's one thing, but if you have even the slightest leeway, charge hard for the work. It's taken a lifetime to acquire your skill and capability to deliver top quality work, and if one can't deliver top quality work, they should not poison the well; simple.

One last critical thing, there is a laundry list of stuff unrelated to ART when it comes to freelancing. Like proper file delivery, incorporation, tax analysis, invoice management, client communication processes, bid creation/proposal, naming conventions, so on, so forth.

Originally Posted by MM

while this is a good policy in general, many established studios does not allow this. they will pay only after the final work is delivered and after you send them an invoice.
i would ask for 50% upfront only if I am worried about the legitimacy of the company.
i doubt a well known company would risk not paying for work and ignoring the legal aspect of such behavior.

Yeah I agree, you don't have to do this with top companies.

Originally Posted by Serp

Ask for 50% up front, then at the end show the client screenshots of you work and request the other 50%. Then send him the files. Mention this in your contract.

Your contract doesn't have to be fancy. Just write what you are going to do for your client and your name, his name, and signatures.

This doesn't always work. Yes you should always have a contract, definitely to protect you and your employer.

However, getting 50% up front will likely only happen with smaller freelance (though actually, none of my freelance ever worked that way). I've done three methods of freelance so far: Working sending in invoice then getting paid, sending final shots but not final work - getting paid - then sending in final work, and also a pay by weekly structure.

Always always have a contract though.

In some countries, you have to claim freelance as income and need to pay taxes on it, so it's good practice to get into charging extra for your work to cover that. In Canada specifically, you'll need to claim it for sure.

Too many artists short change themselves.