9 things I've learned over 16 years for securing 3D freelance work:.1- Everyone talks about portfolio but people rarely credit spec work. Most of my new early clients came from spec work. Think of it as an investment. Every investment is a gamble. 🧵.

A portfolio is how you show your best work from the past. A teachable attitude is how you show you’re capable of your best work in the future. Both are essential for landing work.

New tutorial out today. Basically just a super detailed Blender texturing tutorial with some modeling and game asset baking thrown in. #b3d .

Had this idea for a camera setup on my scooter ride tonight. Wiggle bone on the cam gives it secondary bounce as the scooter rides along bumps. Real subtle, but nice! #b3d

The workspace. i’m feeling motivated to work on one of my own videos again.

Just three planes. Solidify and a single array to give illusion of depth. Other than that, it's a baked set of maps (including alpha). Nice trick for props that'll be viewed primarily from one angle. For example, keys on a table won't be seen close from the side. #b3d

Sometimes I'll buy a course, but I also just like to buy a scene to study. I come back to this one by Maxim Dorokhov often to get insights.

If you fight out of insecurity, pride, or whatever, you will have a short, difficult career. If you’re lucky enough to find work, you might struggle to keep it as someone that’s a cause of constant friction.😊 It's amazing how far "don't be an ass" will take you.

9- Expect rejection. It’s healthy. Especially as a beginner. Listen to feedback. If people don’t give feedback, ask for it. As a beginner, you don’t know what you don’t know. You have two choices. Either embrace that, and start to learn what you don’t know, or fight against it.

8- Be humble/teachable. Don’t entrench yourself in hard and fast rules. Don’t align yourself with artists who believe their way of doing something is the only way. I know 5-6 software packages, even though I only primarily use one.

7- Even as someone who’s been doing this for 16 years, I never approach a situation with the attitude of “alright, listen up noobs, this is how you do this.” Always read the room and value the insights of others. Especially as a beginner, but even as someone with experience.

6- The best client is the one you have already. Don’t chase after the new shiny client at the expense of the ones you have. Maintain relationships as much as you try to forge new ones.

5- It’s essential to drop clients. You will feel when they are not a good fit, or are taking advantage. Always express when you feel something is unfair, and listen carefully to how they respond. If it feels dismissive, then they are not for you. Keep good client boundaries.

4- Stalk your clients. Find a sector that’s ideal for 3D. For example, one of my big clients was a health supplement brand. I don’t care for health supplements, but I knew their product fit. It comes in big plain jars and bottles that are relatively cheap to 3D model and texture.

3- Get used to quoting your time on something. The only way to get better at quoting time is to quote time AND track time. If you forget to track time, to measure against your quote, you will always be shit at quoting time.

Find people who are successful at what you want to do, and send a message. Not all will be a hit, but if you are the right kind of teachable and humble person that’s not an ass, and is willing to put in the work, I would gladly hand you work. I do it all the time.

We get how important it is to get help. I’ve spent whole mornings going through Blender scenes in live chats with random people. You’ll never know until you ask. If people don’t respond, be respectful. Don’t keep asking, and don’t try to guilt someone into a response.

2- Ask for help, but don’t demand it. We live in a connected world. I answer people asking for help as much as I can. You’d be surprised at how far some veterans are willing to go to help. Some of this is because we've all gone through hard times.

A common argument is that you should never work for free. I see spec work as a gamble and an investment. Make your investments wisely. If something takes you 2 weeks, it’s probably not a good approach. Choose the one you can pull off in 2 hours.

“I’m Riley, I’ve been studying YOUR brand. I made this animation for YOU. I wanted to email and see how I can help YOU. It's not about "give ME work. Support ME." (though, that's really the end goal). .

This is an example of spec work: They weren’t my client. Just a watch brand for kids that I felt would do well with 3D animation. It’s one thing to email and say “hey I’m a 3D artist and I’m looking for work.” Imagine how much more impactful it is to say. .