Hi everyone,
I'm Xin Yi and I'm currently a full-time freelance illustrator residing in Singapore. I specialise in drawing pets in cute cartoon style.
I am a self-taught artist using mainly Procreate on iPad for my commissioned works. I use Adobe Illustrator on my computer for seamless pattern commissions and product designs.
Here are some of my commissioned works if you're interested:
You can see more here: https://www.chonkyi.com/commission
What do I do?
Every freelance illustrator's job scope is different.
For me, I focus on mainly personal commissions (artworks for individual personal use, not for commercial sales).
From the start of my freelance career in 2020, I've been drawing mainly pets (lotssss of corgis!) for pet owners / pet influencers. These artworks are used for sticker trading, social media posting etc.
You can read up more about Sticker Trading here: https://www.chonkyi.com/post/pet-owners-sticker-trading-community
What is my work flow?
I accept commissions via Ko-Fi on a weekly basis. I recorded the average amount of time needed for each commission (from easy to difficult) and determined the number of commission slots I can accept and finish within the week.
Personal commissions usually take up 1-3 hours to complete depending on the amount of details required.
I open commission slots every Sunday at 10am Singapore time. Back in 2020, all slots were taken within the day. Unfortunately, things are alottttt slower now and can take the whole week to finish selling (sometimes not even fully taken :( )
Once I receive the commission requests, I will confirm with the customers on the requested designs. Then I'll work on the sketch and get back to them ASAP.
Upon approval, I'll then proceed to complete the artwork and get back to them again.
All commissions are usually completed within the week. Then the process repeats itself again.
How much do I earn as a full-time freelance illustrator?
Not enough hahahahaha
As a freelancer, my income depends hugely on how much I work and how much demand there is for the month.
On good months I can earn almost S$3,000 but some months I can only earn S$1,500.
Do I like being a freelance illustrator?
Yes. I enjoy this job where I get to draw cute animals and see their photos everyday.
I also love how I can be creative with this job and explore new concepts with every commission I receive.
I also feel huge satisfaction when customers thank me for my work and for liking my art. I have not felt such satisfaction from any of my previous jobs.
However...
Struggles of a full-time freelance illustrator
Due to the unstable income, it can be very stressful and it does make me very anxious when I do not receive enough commissions.
When I first started, my commissions flew off the shelves without much effort. It was so easy that I took it for granted lol now everything is so much slower and I'm panicking.
I start to think:
- Is my art not as good as before?
- Are my posts not reaching my audiences?
- What can I do to increase my reach?
- Should I start looking for a job?
Staying at home all the time without colleagues also dampened my mood a little. That's why I'm blogging my thoughts hahahaha (also trying to create more content for more reach haha hi).
So if you're wondering if you should take the leap and be a full-time freelance illustrator... my advice is...
Think about your financial situation very seriously.
I can be very impulsive when there's something I want to do. I mean like life is short, why worry so much??? But the reality is, we have bills to pay haha.
I decided to take the leap because I felt that I had enough savings to tide me through and as I mentioned earlier, my business was good when I just started this freelance thing. I had a pool of customers there for me so I felt assured.
So if this is something you really want to do, start doing it part-time, build your portfolio and customer base then decide if you should take the leap.
If your financial situation is ok (as in you can still live comfortably and independently), then why not? If you don't do well eventually, you can always find another job.
I read many articles about being full-time freelancer before I took the leap too. I hope my blog helped you a little in making your decision.
I hope it works out for all of us.
Stay strong, stay healthy.