My job as a freelance graphic designer (and stock footage producer)

My name is Daniele Gay. I was born in 1977 and I'm an Italian freelance graphic designer with a great passion for photography and an upcoming new career as a stock footage producer.

My job is usually:

• taking a picture
• adding some graphic elements with Photoshop (which I've been using for 20 years)

Along with this, I am a photographer and, especially after buying Daniele Carrer’s course, I started selling my work on microstocks like:

• Shutterstock (learn more about Shutterstock)
• Adobe Stock

To learn how to be a graphic designer, I attended a comics school in Milan. More precisely, I took the advertising illustration course.

I did it in the late 90s and early 2000s. After that, I got a piece of paper that, for work, is worth little or nothing, some knowledge of illustration and a lot of hope to find the work I loved.

Like all my classmates, once I graduated, I created an eBook with my portfolio and started visiting:

• graphic studios
• magazine newsrooms

My first job with a magazine

Jack, in the early 2000s, was one of the most important Italian magazines. It was about technology, with an average circulation of about 100,000 copies.

I knew its Art Director and gained his trust, so he gave me the chance of my first graphic job for the magazine – it was a blue plastic cube covered in water droplets. From that moment on, I was a freelance graphic artist, and they kept calling me for other work.

I used to make simple photomontages of electronic objects, such as:

• cameras
• mobile phones

They provided me with the photographs and explained on the phone how they wanted them to be published in the article. Often the work was limited to:

• cropping
• positioning the object on a mirrored surface to create the reflection

Just a few times, they gave me more complex work for which I had to use 3D graphics.

Today, I would say that what I did for Jack was not difficult from a technical point of view, but I was still inexperienced and I considered it as an opportunity to rise through the ranks. The earnings were good compared to today's graphic design market. In that period, I was also working as an employee, and with what I did for Jack – who gave me jobs almost every month – I earned a second salary!

My luck at that time was that I did a lot of work for them. Then the newspaper closed in 2012 and it all ended for me.

My work as a freelance graphic designer for a magazine with a circulation of 500 thousand copies

One of the most important Italian magazines is called Focus, and it's about science.

They contacted me via the BeHance website (this is my profile there) but since I didn't check it often, I didn't see the message. Luckily, they then called me on the phone, thanks to Jack’s Art Director, who gave my number to the staff.

I've been working with them as a freelance graphic designer for over a year now.

I immediately made my first cover:

I also did some other work for internal pages in the same issue.

For example, the image below is the Hindenburg airship that I recreated in 3D and placed above Capitol Hill in Washington. The other part of the illustration (Capitol Hill) was purchased on Shutterstock:

Then I did other jobs like these, which included another cover:

After a few months I started working on almost every issue.

This is one of my latest pieces of work:

It represents two people on a beach suffering of nomophobia (the phobia of remaining without internet access). I took the picture and then edited it with Photoshop.

Focus staff call me and explain the idea they have in their minds. They know that I work with photos, so we usually agree that I can take them by myself, and sometimes they give me stock images after buying them on Shutterstock or Getty Images.

For some jobs, like this Pontius Pilate:

1. I found the model
2. I set up a rudimentary set in a warehouse
3. I post-produced it on Photoshop

Compared to what I did in Jack, the work for Focus is much more complex and so it gives more satisfaction. Although I have fewer jobs today, I can still say that I earn very well.

Unfortunately, they are on-call jobs, so there's nothing for sure and you always have to be ready.

Once they sent me a message on Sunday morning to do a job with delivery on Tuesday. I obviously did it!

The publishing industry (in Italy) is dead

The publishing industry in Italy is not healthy. Thanks to technology, people no longer read – neither magazines nor books.

Once, I created many book covers, but working on them today is very hard for a freelance graphic designer.

The problem?

90% of book covers are made with stock images!

But, instead of complaining and crying when I realized this, I started making original photomontages to earn money reselling them on microstock agencies, trying to satisfy the needs of those who wanted to buy a cover.

Believe it or not, for illustrators today, there are many ways to earn thanks to the internet.

Selling content on microstocks

I purchased Daniele Carrer's course (learn more about the course), which teaches how to sell photos and videos online, after finding his website while I was looking for information about microstock (the business in which photographers, graphic designers and video makers can earn money by selling their content).

At the beginning, I was not sure whether I should spend my money on it. But when I watched his four free videos I thought it was a good choice, and today I don't regret it.

After watching the first part of the course, I started to put into practice the teachings to create:

• time-lapses
• real time videos

Daniele, congratulations for the course, your website and the posts you share. You give me energy!

From being just a photographer to becoming a stock footage producer

I have been a photographer for many years. I used a Canon Eos 6d and, lately, a mirrorless Eos Canon M50, which cost less than 700 euros.

I use the latter to create:

• stock footage at 4K resolution

since the agencies pay almost 100 dollars for every 4K stock footage sale.

My big problem is understanding how to sell my job. Daniele Carrer's course, however, has enlightened me.

The discovery of a software like Adobe After Effects

The advice Daniele gives in his lessons on how to use Adobe After Effects to edit time-lapses led me to learn more about that software. I discovered a tool that can give life to my illustrations and turn them into stock footage to upload on microstocks.

In addition, the course taught me something even bigger: how to become an entrepreneur with my passion!

Daniele Carrer's teachings are an encouragement not to give up and believe in what I do!

I changed my life at 40: from an employee to a solopreneur

Seven months ago, I made the big choice: after 14 years of working as a frustrated TV salesman in a mall, I resigned and started betting on myself. My Canon Eos 6d produced great photos but only recorded videos in Full HD resolution. So, I invested my money and switched to a Canon Eos M50.

Canon Eos M50 and 4K video

I purchased the Canon Eos M50 just to record 4K videos. Today, Shutterstock sells 4K stock footage at $199 (169 euros) and 30% of it remains with the producer, while Adobe Stock has almost the same prices. With stock images you earn only a few dollars per sale.

During my last holiday, for example, I returned to my home region in the Italian Alps and went to a medieval historical representation, since I really like those kinds of costumes.

In the city in which I used to live (Rimini), for every event that takes place, there are now more photographers than characters. A few months ago, for example, at a Steampunk event that took place in the republic of San Marino (an enclave in Italy), I was amazed! It was impossible to take a wide-angle photo without including a photographer.

On the contrary, in the medieval re-enactment, there were only 4 photographers, and the others disappeared quickly while I stayed until night.

I brought home:

• 3 time-lapses
• a huge number of 4K real time videos

Taking the opportunity to always record stock footage

In general, for some months now, I have been trying to produce content any time I can.

I have nephews and, with lifestyle being one of the most profitable subjects on the stock footage market, I made several videos with them during my last vacation which I will soon turn into stock footage, after their parents have signed the releases.

I shot them, for example:

• with their phones in their hands as they watched them
• with their phones in their hands while they chatted
• while taking a selfie
• while doing all these things together

Daniele Carrer's course has transformed me into a kind of microstock machine, because even at lunch I can no longer be calm and enjoy the situation.

I happened to eat at a mountain restaurant and I said to myself:

Why not making a video of the dish?

In my mind I had the suggestion that Daniele Carrer gave on his course. He explained that, in cities like Dublin which are not in very high demand by buyers, instead of losing days to shoot the city it is better to enter a pub and invent some stolen videos of beer glasses with people in the background.

So, while I waited for the cheese and the glass of red wine, I turned the table into a set and entertained myself that way.

It's hard to make it a full-time job, but at least I'm working hard to do it.

These are my references on the net:

• Art station
• Behance
• Deviant Art
• YouTube

Daniele Gay

Useful tools for freelance graphic designers

I have been on Deviant Art for over 10 years. My graphic works are on their website, including the book covers I have created. I've also registered with other sites to give myself visibility as a graphic designer.

I have to say that Deviant Art is the one that has brought me the most contacts: most of the them come from USA.

Among the images I posted, there is this:

Where to buy textures

I used to buy textures for my works on textures.com. For about fifty euros you an buy a thousand credits, and you can download an infinite number of textures and useful images to create:

• videogames
• graphic projects like the ones I used to do.

With 40 credits, you can download content in very high resolution such as:

• cityscape in wide format
• png (especially grass and trees already perfectly cropped)

This greatly speeds up the work of any freelance graphic designer like me.

I prefer to pay rather than waste half a day cropping photos. If only microstocks added such a section, they would group all the resources useful for certain kinds of buyers in a single site, to satisfy those who now have to turn to a very fragmented market.

Microstock diaries: the beginning

I sold my first video on Shutterstock a few weeks after uploading it. The weird thing is that I noticed it a month later.

The video was the first I ever did for microstocks.

My internet connection was very slow, so I followed Daniele Carrer's advice and registered on Multcloud.

UFO stock images and Arcangel Images

After starting to upload to the most famous microstock sites (Shutterstock, Adobe Stock, etc.), while I was in a bookstore and looking at the covers of the books to understand who had created them, I discovered that many of them were made downloading images from Arcangel Images (visit Arcangel Images site).

So:

1. I registered on the site
2. I made the selections to participate in their collection
3. I was accepted.

It is one of the few agencies that still pays tens of dollars for a single image.

In the following weeks, as I spent my time with graphic jobs and finding new agencies, I didn't have the chance to upload new stock images and stock footage.

Among the files already online I noticed that my illustration of the flying saucer on the pyramids on Adobe Stock is on the first page with the keyword UFO.

Of course there are not many stock images of that subject, but it is already a good result that allows me to understand that even with only 5 sales you can end up on the first page of a major microstock agency.

By using the Keyword research tool of dropstock.io that Daniele explains in his course, I saw that flying saucers appear to be:

• required
• profitable.

Microstock diaries: My 6th month as a producer

After a few months of working with stock images and stock footage, I noticed that the illustrations sell well.

I currently have 350 contents online. Only 20 are illustrations, but I mostly only sell these.

So I decided to stop uploading traditional photos.

I sell a lot of UFOs, but also my image of the car flying over the city:

Then I have an illustration of the Big Ben against the light: a silhouette flown over by crows. Even that stock image sells very well!

I have been seriously dedicating myself to microstock for six months now and I am beginning to understand more about the business.

I am focusing on what allows me to earn the most, among the kind of content that I can easily do with my skills, in particular:

• aliens
• UFOs

The contents that is already present of those subjects are poor.

But I don't limit myself to this. For example, stock images created with the Gothic style are also requested.

I have a lot of ideas, like producing something with the global warming theme. Obviously the idea is not enough, but you have to be

• creative
• unique

to stand out among the millions of photos and videos already online.

Another topic that is talked about a lot and that I would like to develop is space travel.

I just got my first $52 payment from Shutterstock and I used the money to buy:

• a 3D model of an alien
• a spacesuit

that I will use to make my next images!

Shutterstock reported as new trends

• futuristic images
• e-sports (there are only a few images now and only of people in front of the computer: you can unleash your creativity and do something more conceptual)
• face ID (there are already a lot of nice things and maybe the theme offers little creativity).

I really believe that space travel will soon be a great topic in the world of communication.

Virgin Galactic and Elon Musk have been announcing the first commercial space routes for years.

So I need to have some good stock images online for when that happens.

A few months ago I noticed that the synthwave-retrowave sub-genre was emerging, especially on Instagram. Shutterstock now indicates it as a growing theme and since I know the 80s very well, I've already started doing some tests for Instagram and am meeting a great response.

So I'm going ahead with:

• UFOs/Aliens
• Space tourism
• Retrowave

Microstock diaries: My 8th month as a producer

I am producing slowly, because at the same time I also have to learn.

I stopped with the aliens, because I already have some stock image that sells.

By the way: my stock image of the alien and the human hand touching was purchased with an extended license, earning me $13.50.

I'm happy even if it's not much, but it's definitely more than the usual $0.25 that regular sales pay.

However, the UFO on the pyramids is at 19 sales, with 4.75 dollars earned. To my surprise, the image of the flying car goes better every day, with 31 sales and $12.34. I sell it almost every day and sometimes it happens several times in a day!

screenshot

Space travel

As I said in my previous diary, I am now creating space travel stock images. It took me a couple of weeks to learn how to create:

• rockets
• space planes
• a photorealistic 3D Planet Earth.

I can use NASA photos, but I am a little afraid to use them because of copyright reasons. Many producers use NASA archive images as textures and in any case NASA should be mentioned in the title.

Now all the elements I need are ready. I just have to:

• compose the scene
• render

To understand how far I can go avoiding copyright issues, I created a test image, because I had a doubt: since the rocket I created is highly inspired by the original by Elon Musk, I tried to see if there was any copyright claim. I uploaded my image on Shutterstock with the commercial license.

I waited to see if reviewers accepted it, and... It was selected and it has already sold!

So I will now go on with the others! I have about ten space travel themed stock images in my mind. Then I will switch to retrowave, but I could also do something about the climate, because I think it will be talked about a lot in the next few years.

Sorting the stock images and stock footage by upload date

A small note. I notice that it often happens that:

1. I upload an image
2. I sell it the next day
3. Then for a while nothing, as if buyers were only looking for the most recent images.

In my opinion, this thing must be understood deeply to sell more. (Editor's note: all agencies have the sorting by upload date among the options they give to buyers, but only very few potential clients force the default sorting, which is a list created according to the agency's algorithm. In other words: it is much better to try to scale the latter than to continually publish new content to generate new sales among those few buyers who sort images and videos by publication date).

Updates on Adobe Stock and Pond5

Adobe Stock has slowed down a lot. I'm starting to think that maybe I should upload something different on that agency.

I should think as a graphic designer looking for something useful for his work. So not a finished image, but the elements that can compose it: instead of uploading the UFO on the pyramids, I may upload only the cropped UFO.

Speaking of Pond5 and stock footage: zero sales. I don't think mine is popular content for that agency.

Dropstock.io

In searching the terms:

• Retrowave
• Synthwave

nothing comes out. Good situation.

Stolen images

Thanks to Google images I noticed that my illustrations are published in many places. I hope all those who publish them have bought them.

Often in Daniele's podcast people ask how to understand if the photos are stolen. My answer is:

Yes, people steal your stock image, and you can hardly do anything to avoid it.

On Pinterest, my illustrations are in various galleries. In 99% of the cases, I am quoted with links to my profile on:

• ArtStation
• DeviantArt

where people steal my content from.

A retrowave image of mine was published in a blog that was full of comments and opinions on the image, all positive. This made me think that it is better to upload images to microstocks.

The retrowave theme

I uploaded 5 retrowave stock images. They went well one day because someone bought them all.

But the weird thing was that I had rendered a computer that looked like the old Commodore 64. I bought it from Daz (there are many contributors who buy from Daz and then sell the renderings).

This illustration had no trademarks: it is only similar. Adobe Stock didn't approve it for copyright infringement. However Shutterstock approved it, and it already has two sales!

The video clip I was hired for

Another curiosity about the retrowave genre. To practice with 3D graphic (I've reached a good level by now), I do:

• Rendering
• Animations

I then put on Instagram to try to build myself a fan base.

An animated retrowave computer was watched by an American indie singer who started:

• sending me a lot of messages
• asking me to create a video with my animations for one of his songs

I know people ask for everything for free on Instagram, but I don't like it. So I asked him for an offer, as he liked it so much, and I told him it would take me at least 2 weeks to do it (actually it took just one day), and he made me an offer of $50.

As a start, I am satisfied!

Maybe it's just a coincidence, but this job boosts my self-esteem so much that I thought I'd edit that video again.

It is a racing car that runs on a classic road with palm trees and city on the sides, in a retrowave style, with:

• black background
• blue or purple polygon lines in the style of Tron, the 80s movie.

Kitbash

In the video that I created for the singer, I used 3D buildings bought from the Kitbash's site, which sells kits of various kinds for 3D artists. The price of each kit is $199, but if you enter the email they give you a free sample kit.

Then, if you win the contests, they give you 3 more kits as a gift, but there are plenty of professionals who participate. Actually I entered more than one email and got some free kits. One is that of the city. I also participated in a contest and they noticed me.

The question is:

Will I be able to use those kits for creating stock images?

I wrote an email to Kitbash customer support:

• I gave some compliments
• I told them I'm at the beginning of my career as a graphic designer
• I explained that I sell on microstocks

Their answer was that there was:

no problem to upload the render to the microstocks, but obviously I cannot sell the 3d model I buy from them.

They thanked me for supporting their kits and congratulated me for my career, giving me a whole kit with which I am already doing animations.

Depositphotos

Other news.

This morning I received an email from Depositphotos, telling me that they are impressed by the

• variety,
• quality

of my portfolio. They invited me to open an account with their agency. Now, I am flattered by this offer, but I wonder:

I only have 387 stock images. Are they that bad to pick up anyone or are they really interested in selling my stock images?

What I think is that having an extra platform could increase my earnings, which are still low... but is it worth it?

Microstock diaries: my 12th month in microstocks

On Shutterstock my flying car reached:

• 62 sales
• 22 euros of royalties

On Adobe Stock my ufo on the pyramids has:

• 50 sales

Unfortunately, I am no longer able to create and upload anymore content, but I see that, despite having published only 450 stock images and footage, there are satisfactions for me. I think if I managed to get to 2-3000 contents I would get excellent economic results.

The creation of custom videos

I've received several requests on Instagram to create tailor-made videos. From Northern America customers use to buy them for $50 each.

The other day a boy from India made me the same request. I asked him for $100 to test how much he could spend and he told me that it was too much and that he could find it on Videohive for much less.

That's actually not true, because there aren't any videos like mine on Videohive.

Videohive

Videohive is a part of Envato Market, a large portal that offers various resources related to software such as:

• WordPress
• Adobe After Effects
• Adobe Premiere
• Adobe Photoshop

It also sells:

• stock images
• stock footage
• stock audio

I tried to write the query Videohive on Google Trend to study its traffic. It has so many ups and downs that I don't know how to interpret them, but the country that does the most research is Bangladesh.

My conclusion is this:

Asians, who are more nerdy than others and so are looking for particular content, turn to Envato while the rest of the world uses microstocks much more frequently.

If I look where customers who buy my illustrations on Shutterstock (which shows you the map of buyers) are from, I notice that little is sold in Asia, unlike what happens in America and Europe.

What Envato actually offers is a little different,. You also find:

• actions to edit photos on Photoshop
• resources for After Effects
• plug-ins of all kinds.

Envato is designed for those who create content for social media and for the web. This is one more thing to understand aboout what to produce and where to publish it.

Microstock diaries: my 14th month of production

Sales in microstocks have increased. Now I can make at least 50 euros on:

• Adobe Stock
• Shutterstock

in a month and a half. It is still little. But I do it by selling illustrations 90% of the times! And I have very few online (only 39). More: I always sell the same ones!

UFOs are among us

I also sold a video on Adobe Stock. It gave me a nice boost to my earnings, but videos, in my case, don't sell as much as images.

The stock images I sell are almost always UFOs and aliens.

I've looked around a lot to get inspiration on what to do with those subjects, and to figure out what's there: little.

Even if there's a lot of demand!

On Artstation the theme is snubbed. But I understand it: we are always skeptical of UFOs and aliens, even in microstock.

This is not the case for me, and as this environment is full of fake videos and YouTubers are always looking for more views, I really think I will give them a hand!

The only problem is that the day I will see and film a real UFO people won't believe me.

The retrowave

Other images that sell are the retrowave ones.

On Instagram I follow several people who make videos of this kind, and then I find them on:

• Videohives
• Shutterstock

I also found a guy who does some surreal photo manipulations.

He has 10 pages on Adobe Stock and was featured as the best author of the week, with 10,000+ downloads.

So I decided I'd better get busy and create as hard as I can, throwing myself headlong into microstocks!

Retrowave works. And fantasy images work, which I have already begun to create.

Envato Market

I studied Envato Market, especially the Videohives and graphics section.

In the first, clip packs work. These are not a single video but multiple videos sold together for $49. With that solution you can buy 5 videos of 5-10 seconds, in loop or not, that you can use as you want.

A lot of the videos I see on Instragram come from Videohives.

Obviously, to become a contributor, you have to pass a selection and, if you're not American, you have to fill in the W-8Ben, as for the other microstocks.

For now I have signed up. I have filled out the form, but I have not yet sent videos for selection. I still don't have enough of them and I need to figure out how to create a clip pack.

The graphics section is great. In addition to other content and resources, you'll find:

• Photoshop actions
• Lightroom presets

Here too I have to learn if I can do something for it. Unfortunately the photographic section does not include illustrations. So, for now, I've set Envato Market aside a bit.

Selling prints

I registered on Displate, a store that sells prints.

There is also another website, Ecstase, that is very similar. They do a lot of advertising on social media and search engines. With the right images, you can sell something.

The earnings are ridiculous (they sell a small print for $49 and they give you just $9), but since Shutterstock gives you 25 cents and Displate does not ask for exclusivity, it's worth trying it.

The images need to be designed for posters, so they often need to be vertical and in the category people want to hang around the house.

Shutterstock

I uploaded an illustration on Shutterstock that was rejected because I had not attached an intellectual property release. I was amazed and wrote to the support who explained why it happened: they gave me a link to a video explaining why.

On Shutterstock you must upload the images you used to create illustrations, so as to prove their intellectual property.

This implies two things:

1. uploading an illustration takes a little longer
2. It is forbidden to use other's images, even with Creative Commons license (CC0).

The only exception is the photos from NASA, but in that case you have to include the tag "images provided by NASA".

Therefore, images downloaded from Pixabay cannot be used for illustrations.

It doesn't matter: I have started creating using a free 3D program, Daz Studio.

There are many renderings made with Daz models on Shutterstock and on the program's website it is written that the rendering can be sold as you please.

I found a way to create freely and without problems! So for now:

• I create the illustration
• I upload it on microstock and on Instagram
• I start building an audience
• I try to earn something

Then I'll think about my other projects.

My 24th month as a microstock contributor

Lately, I have done little for microstock because, thanks to ArtStation, and sometimes to Instagram, I have received some important commissions!

Six months ago, I was hired as a teacher for a photography and photo post-production course.

In addition, a publishing house has commissioned me to make six covers for a series of horror books for children, and I still have to make two in the next four months.

I made another important Italian magazine cover and got an invitation to a live talk about how a magazine cover is made.

I sold works that I already had on file and ended up on some international science fiction magazine covers.

In the last two months, I have been receiving jobs one after the other, and I have also had to give up some requests.

Now I'm doing some concept art for video games. One of them even for:

• Lost
• Star Trek
• Mission Impossible

producer Bryan Burk. I certainly can't complain about my job today, and everything happens without me moving from the desk of my home, allowing me to take advantage of the power of the internet!

As for the microstock, the sales are good, even if, as I mentioned, I have uploaded very little in the last year. I'll update you on what happened to me in the 17th episode of Daniele’s podcast.

Daniele Gay

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