Game in the Brain

Thanks. Actually I make way way more in IT than in art. For me to be up-to-speed would cost me a year of re-training and there is no money in art here in the Philippines (and the international demand is uncommon at best). Getting my work noticed is great.  I’d rather draw for my self, maybe manage artists (to optimize their earning) and help them sell their services as a hobby (if I make money or not, i’m fine either) than be an working artist here in the Philippines. Only the rock-stars make enough money to make ends meet, regular artists really starve.  

Artist Services in the Philippines

Artists don’t get paid much in the Philippines and work is too irregular as a freelancer which causes pricing and quality of art services to be problematic. Many Bachelor of Arts graduates end up in call-centers doing voice services. 

Monthly a Toei trained artist in the Phils gets paid less than starting at $250/mo. working to $400/mo.. Key frame artists are the highest paid, I’m not aware how much they are paid but very few Filipinos get to that level, especially since it requires a lot of talent and training. Still majority work at about $1-2 per hour, which isn’t bad by Philippine standards but has little monetary room and opportunity for further training and advancement. The attrition is pretty bad as well, most artists stay only for 2 years and they hit a pay and skill ceiling, there is very little room for advancement especially since the market is really small in the first place. Many switch to 3d after maxing out in the 2d art career track. 

3D artists are the few ones that get paid near equal and has a higher advancement potential, hitting as high as starting at $300 working to $600-700. Any artist in the Philippines that advances beyond those skill levels are the best of the best and are immediately recruited to work in Japan, HK, and Singapore.

Because artist work is so irregular, pricing per hour is typically x5 and the skill level is struggling. If you can fully utilize an artist, regular enough pay you can probably get one for $250/mo. on a trial basis on a contractor agreement producing working towards a pay per production of $500/mo. producing about 20-30 works a day depending on their portfolio (they usually give hours per work produce in their deviant art account); works best with some benchmarks to meet and an incentive of hitting. That would be monthly output of 160 hours a month, with 1.5 leaves per month. As an “exporter” the artist doesn’t have to pay much in the way of taxes (infact they get a tax holiday).  

You can break it down to a formula, having elements and levels of complexity, and compositional complexity that way you can measure key performance indicators. Also ideally you have a lot of work lined up to fully utilize the time and allow the pay per production incentives to work. If you want to add a level of transparency, you can post the art or have it publicly rated (with IP tracking) and pay per performance after the ratings are taken. 

Work-at-Home

Although the odds of finding a work-at-home with good work ethic and won’t screw you over is going to very slim, unless you have strong methods or ties in getting reliable service. Currently, work-at-homes are not very reliable, there is too many distractions especially since too many are not financially independent; if they had their own place in a decent neighborhood, less distractions than with relatives and many obligations. The few work-at-home people I know have very good work ethics, are the head of the family and owe very little/very scheduled in familial obligations. 

Basically the Profile of a successful work at home in the Philippines is someone who was middle class  in background and education, but has some disadvantage of being unable to join the regular workforce.  This is the story of the people I know who have a successful work at home career. Anyone of a lower income level will more likely have too many distractions at home, or live somewhere that does not have decent internet or security.