How to Survive as a Contractor

For instance, there will be feast or famine. Sometimes you will have a job that lasts for a year or more, or perhaps many short, high-paying commercial jobs will come your way. Other times, nothing. This is just how the business works, and it’s important to monitor your own funds responsibly. It’s always a good idea to have money set aside not only for necessities, but for insurance and savings as well. When you’re a contactor, you are your own payroll department. And requesting and keeping careful records of all transactions within your ventures is part of the job, too.

Importantly, this is a people business, and in many cases, it’s all about who you know. I got my first gig at a Disney Channel TV show with the help of a decent independent film and, literally, six degrees of hand-shaking. Cultivating a healthy working relationship with people around you is your gateway to future employment. An employed animator will sooner refer a slightly talented friend than a wildly talented drama queen. Everyone has their own personal issues, but unless your target cartoon character suffers from the same ones, you’ve got to check your baggage at the door.

That is not to say that skill isn’t valuable. In fact, a jack-of-all-trades can go exceptionally far in the field. I’ve interviewed top men and women in animation, and the industry pro’s who have went farthest were the ones who handled various positions around the studio. There are so many types of animation positions, and while it’s important to know what your specialty is, being versed in a bit of everything is a priceless commodity. Creating your own personal films is a great way to test your talents in pre- and post-production, besides showing of your latest skills. The better you understand the different roles within the studio environment, the more your value skyrockets to an employer.

Of course there’s more to being an independent contractor in animation than you can fit in one short article. To learn more of the ins and outs, books like David B. Levy’s Your Career in Animation: How to Survive and Thrive can be very useful to the average freelancer. And while some of your friends may wonder why you don’t go and find a “real” job, you can be confident that you will never be caught dead resting on your laurels. Instead, you’ll be growing and learning at the pace you yourself set. It’s your own future you’re sculpting, and there’s no better way to do it.