So for everyone out there that wonders just what we freelancers DO all day, I wrote up a little outline about how my own typical schedule goes. Yes, we can work in our PJs* if we really want, but it’s certainly not sitting around stuffing our faces with bonbons. Or, if we do, it’s while we’re doing about 8 different tasks at once. You can eat bonbons or not, I won’t judge. You do you!

*I actually never work in my PJs, despite the temptation. I swear, really! If I do, my work ethic goes right out the window!

My Typical Day!

8:00 AM: Wake up… I know, that’s not very early. It’s a thing I’m working on.
8:15 - 8:45: My workout! I switch off between cardio and strength 6x a week. I usually use Jessica Smith’s programs.
8:45-9:00: Dog walk.
9:00 - 9:30: Shower n’ stuff.
9:30 - 11:00: Breakfast while I BUSINESS FRENZY for about an hour. I go nuts on social media promoting myself and others, plus send/respond to emails, and search for new potential gigs. This is also when I post new content and work on writing any new content that needs writing.
11:00 - 3:00: Job stuff! Actual client work. I also eat lunch at my desk at some point in here.
3:00 - 4:00: Typically a second BUSINESS FRENZY but this time I might lean more heavily on the social media side. It’s when a lot of people are active! This is usually accompanied with tea.
4:00 - 4:30: Walk the dog!
4:30 - 8:00: More Job Stuff!
8:00 - 9:00: Dinner
9:00+: If it’s Crunch Time I’ll get back to Job Stuff. If it’s not, I’ll switch off between reading/watching a program, playing a video game, or working on my own comics/personal projects.
12 AM: Bed time!

And of course there are exceptions to this rule. Making my own schedule as a freelancer is very cool! Things might shift around if I have a doctor’s appointment, business lunch, or some sort of event to attend. On Tuesdays my ballet class rearranges the *entire* day. It also depends on my current workload. If I’m lighter on the client work side of things, I tend to lean more heavily on BUSINESS FRENZY time and do such things as designing new promo materials and catching up on accounting.

If you’re a fellow freelancer, what does YOUR day look like? Share in the comments!

A very important stage in illustration work is taking reference photos so that you’re sure that a pose 1) works 2) is natural feeling and 3) can inform you about how the clothing/costume will work with the form. Typically, I use myself as the model because it’s extremely easy to book myself. Turns out I’m always available, especially when I need to wield a T-square in place of a weapon.

I have the photographer (in this case it was my poor, hapless boyfriend who has the misfortune of sharing studio space with me) take lots of shots, and sometimes things get silly. In this case, there’s a shot where I was losing the ability to hold the pose after so many minutes, another making a silly face, and finally an extremely bored and unamused studio assistant.

Have you ever taken really silly reference photos? Feel free to share them in the comments below!