Many motion designers have personal projects that we would love to have the time to work on. But with the need to earn an income through paid work it can feel near impossible to find the time to work on them. However, as my guest is about to tell you, passion projects and paid client work have the amazing ability to support each other, providing you with the time and resources to work on both.

Sander Van Dijk is an incredible motion designer who teaches Advanced Motion Methods through School of Motion as well as his own freelance course. Sander’s philosophy is centered around creating work that has true meaning for him while helping other motion animators do the same through his projects, tools, and community events.

Today, Sander and I dive into how to what it takes to make it as a freelancer in our field. We explore the importance of being part of and contributing to a community of people doing the same work as you. We also discuss mindset and what it means to have our work be a force for good in the world as well as the importance of taking time for ourselves and our own personal projects.

In this episode

Finding inspiration from your passions and the world around you
The importance of community for adding value to each other’s work and lives
When to offer products and services for free and when to charge for them
How diversifying your revenue streams will give you more time and resources to devote to your passion projects
Recognizing your own values and interests when it comes to choosing direct to client work
The undeniable importance of taking time for yourself
The power of your personal projects to connect you with clients

Quotes

“It’s very beneficial and helpful to have some kind of other interest that gives you inspiration on how to approach specific things in your own work.” [3:39]

“I’m driven by creating value for the community but I also know the value of my work and I’m not afraid to charge for it. As a result, I get more revenue so I can actually make more time available for the community.” [17:25]

“You can just see what you can do with the skills you have and your problem solving mentality as an artist -- what story you can help tell.” [24:52]

“There’s a lot of different opportunities that can work for our motion design world, especially now that it’s so much more integrated into any type of business.” [47:05]

Related links

Find Sander Van Dijk online

Follow Sander on Instagram | Twitter | YouTube

School of Motion

Blend Conference

Sana Labs

Ultimate Freelance Guide - Sander’s Freelance Course

Find the full show notes here

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044: Change your mindset and build an intentional career w/ Sander Van Dijk

Motion Hatch: Helping Motion Designers Do Better Business