In my previous project I asked Erling Ellingsen from Funcom about what it takes to get a job there. This seems somewhat relevant to this as well.

How hard is it to get a job in Funcom in Norway now? What are the requirements? What do you look for when employing new people?

Right now it's fairly difficult as we're not hiring a lot of people here. We're expanding at a greater pace in Montreal right now. Requirements all depends on the position, but generally what we look for first and foremost is talent. If you're a coder and you've put together this fantastic pet project in your spare time, or if you're an artist with an impressive portfolio, that will take you much further than any education ever will. If you're a highly educated, but poor artist, you will never score that job. That being said, education is never a bad thing -- it's what will expand your horizons both as a coder or an artist. And for coders, a good education is often more important than with an artist, as a computer science degree will tell us a lot about your skill set.

This article also explains the importance of making a good portfolio/showreel. It also seems that making and keeping good professional contacts is really important. As expected being a freelancers is risky.

"Before going out to start showcasing your work as a freelance animator, you will need to build a portfolio. Your portfolio should contain all of your very best work. This will be what prospective clients will look at before hiring you. If you can, purchase a domain name, and put your portfolio on your own professional website. This will allow people to find your work quickly and easily.

Make some professional contacts. Get involved in the animation industry. Go to trade shows, interact on websites, and get to know a few successful freelance animators. These contacts could become the key to your success as a freelancer. Let people know what services you can provide, and that you are looking for work.

Finding work is the most challenging part of starting a career in freelance animation. There are a lot of freelance animators also looking for work. There are several websites that help freelancers find clients looking for work, often for a fee. Another option is to directly contact companies, and offer them your services, a method that works best after you have some experience. Depending on your location, attending local business showcases may also help you to find clients.

Freelance animation is an exciting career, but it is risky. Even the best freelancers may go several months between jobs. It is important to keep promoting yourself, even when you are in the middle of another project, because eventually the project will end and you will need to have other work lined up. Someone who has a lot of determination, can self-motivate, and enjoys being his or her own boss has a very good chance of being successful in freelance animation."

I contacted Peter Dodd with a few simple questions about working as a freelance animator. He works as a 2D animator, but much of this also applies to 3D animation. Here is his answers to the questions:

1: How do you get into the freelancing successfully?

First of all- Ring HM Customs and Revenue to declare that you are self employed- 

HELPLINE FOR THE NEWLY SELF EMPLOYED- 084591 54515

Then gather some contacts- Look at the Imagine animation directory and contact all the studios that interest you. Freelancing is basically a hired hand, so the key is just to get yurself hired and get enough companies that will hire you. Which means making yourself useful to each one so that they hire you again and again. Once this happens a few times, you'll have the beginnings of a cv and a reputation. Then keep updating your demo reel.

2: Where is it easiest to get a job as a newly started freelancer?

It depends what you do. Try everywhere- luck, opportunism and circumstances have a lot to do with it too. A lot of people get a foot in the door by being a runner. A lot of studios have runners. The theory is, and I have seen it happen, that when a job needs some extra hands, if you're lucky, they pull you out of the ranks to help out. But make contacts with studios- some will even write back. Some will even offer advice or leads perhaps. 

3: How important is a good contract with the employee and what should you include in them?

A good contract you say? As in a written one at the beginning of each job? You don't write them, or have any control in them as far as I'm aware. You are, or should be, given one by them, which you both sign. Make sure you read it though. But usually it's fairly smple- you sign over copyright of what you do to them. Be careful what you do with your work afterwards. Usually,, after the project is finished and released, you have the right to use your work for your demo reel, but not always. 

4: What is normally the lenght of freelancers contract?

My length of contract usually varies between a few days to around 2 months. 3 weeks is quite normal.

5: What is the normal pricing in the UK for a new freelancer, and an experience one?

I'm not too sure about this. I imagine, but this is pure speculation that in London a beginner may get £100-150 per day, and after some time may be able to get £200-250.  Depending on skill and genre. Ask a few opinions on this. I have heard of people getting a lot more and a lot less, but I can't verify those. Bigger studios usually pay more, and bigger projects have bigger budgets. Usually it pays to be a bit flexible.

These questions all gave me answers to a few quesions I was unable to find a good answer to on the internet. The info about pricing, contracts and registering with the HM customs are all really helpfull.

This article contains useful tips for working effectively from my own house. It is important to separate work from the rest of your life, especially when working as a freelancer and this article talks about that.

"When you work from home, sometimes it’s very hard to separate “at work” from “at home” – meaning that you also don’t get the relief of “going home from work”. In fact, work may well start to intrude on your personal life, until it feels like you’re always at the computer, always working, rarely stopping for anything other than sleep.

This may work well for you for a short period, especially if you love what you do – but if your freelance work is starting to affect your personal life and you just can’t seem to get a handle on your time, you may want to try to a few of these tips. I had to start following my own advice not too long ago, when my partner remarked that I never eat breakfast away from the computer anymore. My family and friends were both grateful when I introduced more balance between work and home, and my productivity when I did schedule time for work increased exponentially.

Keep your workspace separate from the rest of your home.
It’s temping – especially if you have a laptop – to work out on the patio, on the sofa, even in bed. Sometimes I work from my balcony for a break, especially on a clear, cool early morning. The key is not to make a habit of it, or the entire world will become your office and you won’t ever be able to leave work. Convenience can at times become a hindrance, and add to personal stress when you can’t ever leave the “at work” mentality. It becomes hard to know when to stop.

Keep a separate room, or even just a niche in one corner of a room, as your work area; keep your computer there, your art supplies, and any other work-related materials. When you leave your work area, leave your supplies there. If you use your computer for entertainment as well, then keep your fun time strictly separated from your work time.

Mark your deadlines, and plan for them.
Very few of your clients will say “oh, just get it to me when you’re done, no hurry”. Most will give you a set date to deliver the goods, and it’s either too close for comfort or so far away that you’ll grow lax and forgetful until the last minute. (Personal experience talking? Never!)

To make sure that you’re not scrambling to finish a project in marathon 24-hour stints without sleep or any nourishment beyond coffee, make sure to mark your deadlines on a project calendar, plan out how many total hours it will take to complete each project, and budget a certain number of hours a day to work on each project. Prioritize; adjust your schedule blocks based on the deadline proximity.

Keep a schedule, and adhere to it.
When you work a nine-to-five, there’s no doubt about when work starts and ends; you go into the office at a certain time, leave at a certain time, and the rest of the day and night are yours. When you work at home, it’s not so clean-cut. You aren’t punching a time-clock; it’s up to you to decide when you work and when you don’t in order to complete your projects on time.

If your laundry’s piling up, the dog’s food bowl is empty, the cat’s litterbox is far too full, and there’s a mountain of dishes taking over the kitchen, then you’re not managing your time well enough. If you don’t treat your freelance work like an office job and set yourself a starting and ending time, then you’ll end up frittering away useless idle minutes over the course of the day in random spurts of activity – when you could be using that time for dozens of other activities (such as washing those stinky socks).

Remind yourself that every day you should start at a certain time and finish your planned workload at a certain time, with scheduled breaks. Quitting time is quitting time, no questions asked; you’ll produce better work if you stop and get some rest only to start fresh the next day.

Set yourself a time limit.
This is related to scheduling and deadlines; unless it’s an emergency (and if you plan well enough, those should be few and far between), don’t spend more than a set number of hours per day on your work. Being a workaholic is admirable, but not exactly healthy for your body, mind, relationships, or social life.

Ignore your phone and close your browsers, your IM, and your e-mail while working.
You can’t always ignore your phone, but invest in Caller ID so you know who’s calling and why. If it’s one of your clients, pick it up, but keep the conversation strictly work-related and concise while remaining polite, accessible, and friendly. Don’t waste your client’s time, or your own.

Try to keep calls with your friends, family, and the dry cleaner to a minimum; Aunt Chloe’s arthritis can wait for your lunch break, or after closing time. Your friends and family should know what your working hours are, and respect them as much as they would if you were in a traditional office.

Ignore the temptation to play around on the internet while working on your computer. I used to think that I’d be more productive if I had my e-mail automatically downloading every five minutes and my IM constantly on so that clients could reach me without calling, but I quickly found that I spent all my time chatting in IMs or reading new e-mails – not just from clients, but from friends. My buddy list became my worst enemy; my e-mail client turned into my daily fixation, and it didn’t help that now and then I’d spend hours browsing web pages. I could pass an entire day without accomplishing a single task, completely negating my goal of productivity. It made more sense to simply shut all of that down and only check them every once in a while, so that I could work without distractions.

Set aside time every day for other activities.
Your life should consist of more than work, and you’ll be more likely to finish your work-related tasks in a timely fashion if you have other things planned for the day. Whether it’s walking the dog, meeting your sibling for coffee, or cleaning the garage, give yourself something else to do.

Don’t turn non-work activities into work activities. This includes eating at the computer (my guilty crime). Step away from the computer, drafting table, or other work-related materials for meals; stop thinking about your work, relax, enjoy your food and any company you may have. If you’re watching a film with the family, don’t bring your laptop or your sketchbook to the TV room with you. Leave it behind. Multi-tasking is a great skill to have on the job, but you have to know when to turn it off.

Give yourself at least one day off a week.
Here’s another case where I have to take my own advice and relate a little personal experience. Between my own side projects, working for About, and my clients, I was working seven days a week when I really didn’t need to – and wearing myself out. I still work six days a week unless I manage a little productivity boost and finish a day early; however, I always have at least one day a week that’s pure Adri-time.

I may go out to a film, relax at home with my partner, have a “boys’ day out” with my friends, or just take a day to enjoy a good book - but whatever I’m doing, above all I’m not working. I’ll clean house on my day off before I’ll turn on my computer, even if I don’t exactly look forward to spending my day with a toilet brush.

Whatever you do, just be sure to step away for a day and don’t think about work. It’ll help you clear your head and approach your work with a fresh eye and a calm, rested frame of mind.

Don’t worry, all this regimenting doesn’t mean that you can’t still enjoy working from your home office. My standard work attire ranges between comfy pajamas and ripped jeans; I can’t think of many offices that would allow that, and I’m pretty sure that my cat isn’t an acceptable part of the dress code. From the loud music blasting in the background to the DVDs occasionally on repeat nearby, all are perks that I couldn’t enjoy in a regular office.

Enjoy the freedoms of freelancing, but learn to balance them with responsibility. No one said you can’t keep a tight schedule while wearing fuzzy slippers."

This article gives me a lot of helpful tips and explains many aspects of being a freelancer, both positive and negative.

Quote:

"Time Management.
You'd be surprised at just how easy it is to find yourself running out of time when you're working from home. The problem is that it's too easy to get distracted; in the middle of working, you'll remember that you need to clean the living room, or you're almost out of clean socks. I know that I have days where it's almost impossible to resist the siren song of the PS2, or I'm tempted to sleep all day if I want to--because hey, the only one worrying about my time is me, right?

Not if I want to get paid. When a client hires you to work for them, they'd like to see it in a timely fashion; while they'll generally understand if you have multiple clients and you're juggling work loads, they'll be less forgiving if a two-day project takes two months to deliver because you kept getting distracted by all the shiny, fun things lying around your home. Even with the comforts involved, you are still working; that implies a sense of responsibility and discipline. You have to be responsible enough to set yourself a work schedule, and disciplined enough to adhere to it; otherwise your "easy vacation" of self-employment will soon run out of funding.

Building a Client Base.
When you first start off freelancing, more than likely you won't even make enough to support yourself. You may have one client, or two, but clients won't just come flooding to your doorstep. You have to build a client base; get your name out, advertise yourself, and make inquiries. Don't forget to keep in touch with existing clients; polite, periodic e-mails will serve to remind them that you're there to meet their needs without being intrusive.

As you progress, your client base will help to build itself; if you left a good impression on your first few clients, not only will they return to you on an as-needed basis, they'll also refer others, who will come to you with high expectations. But this can work both ways; if you leave too many clients dissatisfied, they can easily ruin your reputation and shrivel your client base to nearly nothing. It's true, there are some clients that are impossible to please and who will view even your most Herculean of accomplishments negatively; these are rare, however, and most clients will be happy with you if you complete the agreed requirements, give them the appropriate attention (give your smaller clients as much consideration as your larger ones), do the best job that you can, and are pleasant and professional to work with. (They don't need to know that you're sitting on your couch in your boxers, and your attitude doesn't need to reflect that. Your work attire says "naptime". The tone of your e-mails and phone calls should say "casual but professional home office".)

Slow Periods.
Oh, you're going to have them. You're going to have a lot of them. When business is good, it's booming, but when it dries up, you'll be as parched as a dust devil tumbling through an Arizona gulch. Freelance work is rarely steady; because your clients will contact you on an as-needed basis, it's hard to predict when you'll have work and when you won't. For that reason you should always budget your income; when you land that hefty $5000 contract, don't blow all of the excess on frills. Save a set amount of the non-essential excess from each lump sum or gross hourly payment to build up a substantial nest egg that can, if necessary, carry you through several months without additional income. You'll be grateful for it when things are slow.

Be Willing to Negotiate Without Caving In.
You know what you're worth, but that doesn't mean that a potential client does. Whether you're working on an hourly rate or for a set overall fee, often the final payment will be a result of negotiation. In the beginning you may end up taking jobs that pay less than you'd like. You may say you want $25 an hour, while they can only pay you $20; it's up to you if you're willing to negotiate down, though being inflexible when your client base is small can leave you with no client at all. Compromising can be good, and those clients that you compromised for may later be those whose steady work holds you up more consistently than the $50/hour clients that might fire two hours of work your way every three months.

But don’t let potential clients take advantage of you. If you've been talked down to taking $50 for a project that you know is worth at least $500, and you're slaving hours over it when your time could be better spent on clients that are paying you fairly, you may want to reconsider your position. It's hard to tell a client that they're being unfair or unreasonable, and we're all afraid of alienating clients; our position is still one of customer service atop the other responsibilities, and we do aim to please in order to bring clients back. But you also have to know when to walk away. It's a thin line to tread, and one that's at your own discretion.

Contracts.
Yes, these things can get complicated and tangled. First, you should always get any work agreements in writing. You don't have to call it a contract, but there should be a written document clearly outlining an agreement between yourself and the hiring party (the client). You should make sure that it covers what they require and expect of you, your fees, and what exactly those fees cover, as well as any clauses that may incur additional fees and the instances in which they would apply. It's best if you, the client, and a third party possess copies of this document in case any dispute should arise over the contracted work; it's even better if you've both signed said copies in front of a witness.

This can seem like a ridiculous amount of red tape to go through just so you can work for someone; odds are that it's not even necessary, but it's still a good idea. One, it shows your professionalism to your client; two, it's a safety measure that benefits both you and the client in the case that either of you fail to fulfill your contractual obligations and it becomes a legal issue; three, if there is confusion later as to what was or was not covered under the initial contracted fee, the document can stand as evidence of what was agreed upon.

Copyrights and Work For Hire.
When you create something for a client, the issue of ownership can be confusing. Since you made it, on your computer, using your skills, it's yours, right?

Not...exactly. Contract work is pretty much what's considered "work for hire"; what that means is that when your client buys your services, they buy ownership of the work that you created as well. It is, for the most part, theirs; you cannot resell the exact same work to another client, especially if it contains logos or other previously copyrighted images belonging exclusively to the client.

You do, however, retain the right to display the work as part of your portfolio, as it is your creation and as a result your intellectual property. All of this also applies to what's called "in-house" work, when you are an actual employee of a company rather than working as a contractor for a client; when you work for them, in their establishment, on equipment that they provide using software that they purchased licenses for, you retain only the intellectual copyright to the work, while the actual ownership of the content belongs to the company.

Dealing With the Government.
This is the part that scares a lot of us. It scares even me, frankly. What many starting freelancers forget is that although they're receiving payment in full upon completion of projects, there are no federal taxes being deducted. However, many clients will ask you to fill out a W-9 form, and will report the money paid to you to the IRS; even if they don't, it's your responsibility to keep track of all invoices and report that money yourself on your annual tax returns. Taxes are still owed on that income, and you will be required to pay them.

While the other points have only been cautionary commentary, this is where it gets ugly: the U.S. government self-employment tax is almost 15%, on top of any Medicare and Social Security taxes imposed. That's a hefty chunk of your income, and you need to be aware of that as you're saving over the year. There is the option to make quarterly advance payments in anticipation of the taxes owed on your annual income, and that can bring down your owed amount significantly, making that calculated number at tax time just a bit less jarring; if you've incurred expenses such as purchase of software licenses, equipment, and the maintenance of an internet connection for business purposes, you can also deduct those. But unless you have a significant amount of taxed income on the side, you might want to kiss those tax refund bonuses goodbye.

Insurance and Benefits.

On top of the heavy taxes imposed, there is also the burden of paying for your own private insurance, rather than having it covered by minimal deductions to fund an employer's company insurance policy. Depending on your health needs, this can get extremely expensive. Suddenly having to pay for all of your doctor visits, eyeglasses, contact lenses, medications, and medical emergencies out-of-pocket can hit where it hurts, and hit hard. It's best to look into local individual insurance providers, and find a plan that suits your needs with a monthly premium that fits your budget. As for benefits? There are no benefits, not really. You reap your benefits in the convenience of working from a home office, rather than in company-controlled options like paid holidays or 401K options. Paid holidays? Take your laptop to Bora Bora and get some work time in on the beach."

Source: http://animation.about.com/od/careertips/a/freelanceprocon_3.htm

This article has 10 really good and helpful tips for creating a showreel. Many of them might seem obvious, but in the end all these are important.

"
1: Choose your music wisely. Your choice of music should reflect your style of animation.

2: Include some lip-synching, and ensure that the entire face is alive while the character is speaking

3: Try to avoid typical characters such as hard core super heroes and robots. Create a new, unique personality with each character.

4: Keep it short. Anything from 50 seconds, too one minute 30 seconds. Humans get bored and distracted easily.

5: Create an interesting introduction and title sequence. Try to keep these similar in style, to “bookend” your showreel.

6: Include your contact details in your showreel. Name, location, phone number, website and email address is usually more than enough.

7: In your credits, give the names of the programs you utilized to create the showreel.

8: If you’d like to show off your skills in areas other than animation, find ways to creatively display your models, textures, armatures and rendering techniques

9: Your showreel is the first thing about you that a prospective employer will see. Pretend that you are introducing yourself to the employer through your showreel, and try add some of your own personality to it.

10: Give your prospective employer easy access to your reel. Phone ahead and ask how they’d prefer to view it. A small version sent as an attachment with an email? A video embedded on your site?"

Source: http://quazen.com/arts/animation/10-tips-for-creating-a-successful-animation-showreel/

This articly contains some more research on portfolio/showreels. This article also talks about applying and interviews.

"In the computer animation industry we have what is called a demo reel. A demo reel is a short video showing off your talents and skills. Think of it as a resume. To give an employer an idea whether or not you are qualified for the job, they need to know what your skills are and if you fit what they’re looking for. Rather than reading your qualifications and you telling them what you are capable of, they get to see exactly what it is you can do.
If you went to a good school, they more than likely helped you with your demo reel. But for those of you who didn’t make one here are a few things you want to be aware of.

Length

You don’t want to put everything you’ve ever done on your demo reel. Keep it short and to the point. You also don’t want to make it too short either. A two to three cramped reel will do fine.

Good Work

This goes without saying but only put your best work on your reel. Your first animation tests that you were so proud of won’t cut it. Unless you nailed it right off the bat, which is highly unlikely, you don’t want to put the first thing you ever racy on your reel. You’ll be known for the worst piece on your reel. The worst thing on there will stand out and they will judge your entire reel based on it. So do not put anything that you don’t think is top notch on there, period.

Repeats

If they want to see something again, they can simply rewind the tape. Don’t put the same thing on your reel twice because you idea it was great. This will also show that you don’t have enough material if you have to put the same things multiple times. If you don’t have enough obliging material, don’t develop a demo reel until you do.

Creativity

People are tired of looking at spaceships and fancy robots. Too many people put this stuff on their reels and after looking at it a thousand times it gets worn. Putting something on your reel that hasn’t been seen before will go along was towards making you stand out from the rest.

Music

It’s really simple don’t put any on there. They want to see your animation skills not whether or not you can gather the soundtrack. Many will listen to you demo muted anyway so you don’t need to put any on there. If your piece absolutely needs music, do sure it fits and check the levels so you don’t kill anyone’s eardrums

Specify

You want to tell exactly what you did on the reel. For the most part if you’re just starting out you most likely did everything on the reel but after you have been working and you simply want to move to another job you may have work that you collaborated on. You don’t want to claim work that you didn’t do. Simply save modeling, or animation only over the piece if that’s what you did.

Label everything

Obviously you want them to know that you are the one who submitted the reel. Put your contact information on the tape and at the beginning and end or the reel as well.

You also want to specify what position you’re applying for so it gets to the right department

Tailor your reel to fit the position you want as well. You may want to be a character animator but if you have nice lighting or textures they may notice that instead and choose you for that job.

Minor tidbits

You want to make sure that every tape you send works. This may be insensible but you have to watch your finished reels. If it’s a bad tape with a bunch of static or it’s poorly edited you don’t want to send it to anyone. If you go through the entire reel and there are not errors, create sure you rewind it to the beginning. You don’t want your potential employer to have to rewind your reel, because they most likely won’t bother, they’ll just chuck it out.

Get a novel tape. They’re not that expensive. You don’t want your home movies in the middle of your demo reel. Also recording over other footage will lessen the quality.

Getting the job

With your demo reel all ready to go you’ll want to actually originate applying to jobs. You’ll want to go about this like any other job. Take your resume and reel and apply. Do an interview and pray for the best.

You may already have places you’re interested in working at, if not you’ll want to do a search. Find a place that will fit your interests. Don’t limit yourself to applying to the big name studios. You may find a smaller studio will fit you better. 3D animation isn’t limited to films either you may want to work in the video game industry or commercials too. Purchase a look at their other work and see if it’s something you want to do.

Like any job you want to be well dressed and on time for your interview. Be prepared. You’ll want to know exactly what you are capable of and be able to clarify it to your potential employer. Know what’s on your demo reel. They may ask you how something was done and if you can’t snort them anything about it you’ll look bad.

Remain calm. Relax and retort any questions to the best of your ability. When the interviewer is done, they’ll most likely want to know if you have any questions you would like to ask them. Fabricate sure you have something to say; it helps to learn about the company.

A sad truth in this industry, who you know can often land you a job, but it can also hurt you. The animation industry is relatively small. You’d be surprised who knows each other. This goes with any job but don’t talk bad about a previous employer. Your previous employer could be a relative of the one you’re interviewing with. On the opposite coin if you’re in good standing with a previous employer that can be a foot in the door of a future job.

A good way to make contacts is to attend events. Conventions or festivals will put you in direct contact with people in the industry. You can also leave your demo reel with companies at these events.

This industry is highly competitive and if you aren’t the best you can possibly be then you won’t make it. Make sure you go to the right school or if you learn on your own that you stay focused. Try to get the best education you can. Effect together a strong demo reel. This is often the deciding factor when getting a job. Be distinct to attend events and get involved in the industry. Siggraph is the premiere event for all things computer graphic related. You will pick up to see what the industry is all about and you will build strong relationships for the future."

Source: http://customer-support-software.org/knowledge-base-software/how-to-get-a-job-in-computer-animation/

This blog will be updated with my progress while researching how to work as a Freelancer in the animation industry.