Comment on shiroboi's profile
I've got tons of advice. First off, the beach is great but Bangkok is where the action is. My company is in Nonthaburi near Central Chaengwattana. It's at the northern end of the city. I like it a lot actually. It's a great place to live if you're a freelancer, the important thing is to set up in a good place that you like if you're going to do freelancing. Cost of living is very low so you don't need to take that many jobs to make a living. You can speak English so you can go after western clients. That's a huge advantage. The main thing I learned while doing freelancing is that business customers pay a lot better than enthusiasts. If your work has a commercial purpose it's more valuable. In my case, I make iOS game art. When it was just me by myself, I was making around $1,000 - 2,000 a month which is enough to live here by yourself. If you get a lot of work, it may be worthwhile to hire a Thai assistant who can help you. That's how I ended up getting started. I ended up being so busy finding and managing the work that I had to hire others to help me with the artwork. And now we're moving AGAIN to a larger office so I can hire more people. Sadly, you'll find you make more money as a business owner than as an artist. It's give and take.
Phew! I've been saving your reply since I didn't want it to disappear on me after I responded lol!! You have a good point, Bangkok I can see as the focal center for business. And I understand that being a business owner is more lucrative than producing all the art by oneself. I wouldn't mind that! Since I don't speak the Thai language, would it be difficult to find Thai artists that are fluent in English to hire on? And geez!! Congrats on expanding again!! That's so awesome and I'm so happy you've found success!
I'm a still not too familiar with the districts in Bangkok. My father lives near the old airport and my cousin is near the new one. lol... I'd hate to invite myself over, but I don't suppose I could visit your office sometime during my stay in Bangkok? (I'm not a creep, really!!) It would be such an honor to see your work! I'm still on the fence about actually setting up over there, considering most of my team members are local to me at the moment. I'm nervous about finding similarly skilled animators and artists there, or whether it's worthwhile to collaborate remotely. Yikes! Lots to think about!
I'm a still not too familiar with the districts in Bangkok. My father lives near the old airport and my cousin is near the new one. lol... I'd hate to invite myself over, but I don't suppose I could visit your office sometime during my stay in Bangkok? (I'm not a creep, really!!) It would be such an honor to see your work! I'm still on the fence about actually setting up over there, considering most of my team members are local to me at the moment. I'm nervous about finding similarly skilled animators and artists there, or whether it's worthwhile to collaborate remotely. Yikes! Lots to think about!
Hey there,
My office isn't too far from the old airport (Don Muang). You're welcome to stop by. We don't get too many visitors. You may want to shoot me an email at Jesse at hydraulicgames dot com. I'm not often on Deviantart. My experience so far is that Thailand has excellent artists and their rates are very affordable. If you have a lot of freelance work, you can definitely hire freelancers to work from home. Actually working by skype isn't that bad. Thai people are decent at typing english through instant messanger but they're way worse in person speaking verbally. I'm sure if you're looking for artists I can help you out. I do sometimes come across amazing animators and concept artists but I usually dont' hire them because I mostly need game production art.
My office isn't too far from the old airport (Don Muang). You're welcome to stop by. We don't get too many visitors. You may want to shoot me an email at Jesse at hydraulicgames dot com. I'm not often on Deviantart. My experience so far is that Thailand has excellent artists and their rates are very affordable. If you have a lot of freelance work, you can definitely hire freelancers to work from home. Actually working by skype isn't that bad. Thai people are decent at typing english through instant messanger but they're way worse in person speaking verbally. I'm sure if you're looking for artists I can help you out. I do sometimes come across amazing animators and concept artists but I usually dont' hire them because I mostly need game production art.