Working for an Agency

There are a lot of responsibilities when it comes to freelancing, which is one reason why becoming a part of an agency could be a good idea.

In the most basic of terms, agencies find you jobs that you may not or have more trouble finding otherwise. They have the experience and networking to provide opportunities that you may not usually get, which means they are definitely a feasible option for getting hired.

It isn't as easy as just walking up to their door and getting a job however; they still need to see your portfolio, and decide if you are suitable to work for them. This means consistent but unique work to a professional standard is needed. Building an online presence help these people to find you earlier on, and can at least help to show that you are a professional with your own connections.

Working with an agency means compromise - there are less duties involving business that an artist has to undertake, at the expense of some of their earnings. If this results in getting much more work with a higher standard when it comes to payments then this seems well worth it, but it depends on the efficiency and time of the artist; if they are very strong with networking and the business side of things, then doing everything on their own may be more beneficial.

I would be worth having a look at how specialised some agencies are - there is certain work I would prefer doing over others, so finding a company that may help to find more design or concept kind of jobs may be a good idea. At the same time, a more general agency could give me the opportunity to expand my skill set and try new things, so going for that kind of option may not be a bad idea.