Wisdom at youth

Lets consider a Scenario. On one hand, you have a man who works a full time job. He goes to work 6 days a week on a routine 9 to 5 basis, and by the end of the month, earns a salary of 100,000 Rupees. On the other hand, there is a boy, hardly even an adult, works only 9 hours a week and from the comfort of his home. But by the months end, he earns around 200,000 Rupees in the same period. Such is the comparison between a father and his 19 year old son in Karachi . Abbas Qaiser , at a very young age, already finds himself with a bank account too big for his own need. He has achieved great success working as a Freelance digital artist on a number of online platforms thanks to his brilliance and talent, and with only little but skillful work, is the highest earning individual from his family. As of 2021, he has already made over a total of 900,000 Rs in a matter of 2 years 

Q) How did the inspiration for being a freelancer come about, and what made you pursue it so diligently ?

`` I don't think it was something I really wanted to do or tried to pursue, but rather it was something that just presented itself to me in a way that I couldn't refuse. Doing Art had always been my hobby, and people always told me that I had a nag for it. But I was not sure that making a business out of it like that was even possible. 

Basically it started when my friend had requested me to draw a character design for him, and he ended up selling it forward to someone for a pretty decent price. That's when he brought this idea to me of doing digital art and selling it online. I guess needless to say I didn't need any second invitation``

Q) So what is it exactly that you do. can you explain the concept of Digital Art and how do you sell it, also what was the whole journey like for you getting into this unknown business? 

``Digital art cannot be summed up in one sentence. Its an incredibly vast field. Drawing something with the basic paint app to Animating a real life scene in 3D are all under the bracket of Digital art and design. People online make requests for Artists to draw certain scenes, objects and characters for their businesses or whatever. Its our job as designers and artists to deliver these orders and satisfy the customers

As for me, I started off doing basic Art on a a drawing software, I set up an account on popular sites like Fiverr and Upwork, and posted my portfolio there. Soon after that, I started receiving orders.

This was just the beginning. Later, I expanded my presence on more freelancing websites, even on Facebook and Instagram groups. All of that helped me to get more recognition from customers..

And as time passed, I learned to use 3D rendering software as well. This meant that my work had multiplied, because now I was not just modelling characters, but also animating them too. However, doing that improved my position in the field, as the niche for 3D art pays much more than regular art. doing that helped me get much more expensive requests, and hence more better earning commissions ``  

Q) What are the kind of requests that you receive from your customers, and are they mostly local or international customers too?

`` I get all kinds of requests. Some people want the drawing of a scene for their book covers, or others want designs for their fictional characters. Some have been about modelling every day objects such as chairs and tables in 3D, and others are about the design of an interior for a room or cabin. There are just so many types of orders we can get as Digital artists.

I have had more requests from outsiders than locals. Like I said, this field is so vast, and people from all over the world need designs and art for various reasons. So I guess that is why so many people from abroad are my customers. of course, I do occasionally get requests from within Pakistan too, but not as much``

Q) How long does it take for you to complete these requests, and if you get too many at at time, what do you do to manage the workload ?

Well previously, when I was working only with basic Art, It used to take me between 18 to 20 hours for one request. Its not so easy getting every detail of the design to the customers liking, and there has to be a lot of communication between the buyer and seller in order to get the desired result, and sometimes, it fails too, but that is all part of it. 

Now that I am doing 3D art too, it takes even more time. Sometimes even up to 2 days for a single order because rendering takes a long time, let alone the modelling and animating.  

Usually, I set a limit for the number of orders I can do in one week. It would be practically impossible to render multiple designs on a single system, so that's why I let customers know that the order will take time to complete. Some accept it, but others just move on and look for someone else. That's just how it works. 

Q) As you explained earlier, Digital art is a very vast domain. Do you think that anyone can learn to be an `Artist`, or does it only work for people who are naturally gifted in this talent?

``I don't think I have the right to decide what people can do or cant do. Its true that being an Artist requires God gifted talent, but I would never advice anyone to not make an effort even if they feel they lack the talent.  After all, I learned to do 3D animations, even when it was not part of my original focus. So its always possible to learn and improvise certain talents. I am sure there are a lot of people out there who can learn to be artists. Its about how seriously you want to do something, and the rest is done through hard work ``

Q) I have heard that freelancers in Pakistan face many issues with regards to receiving payment. How true is that and how did you handle this problem ?

``That is very true. the biggest issue in Pakistan is the unavailability of PayPal, which is the most fast, reliable and convenient money transfer tool in the world. Just because of that, many freelancers have to go through problems while making International transactions. There are of course alternatives, like the option to send through wireless bank transfer, or in cash, but unfortunately most Freelancing websites and International customers don't use that too much, plus it requires a very long registration process for both the sender and the buyer on each transfer . Also, the transaction can take up to few days for delivery, and the Tax also plays its part.

Recently, a lot of banks in Pakistan are coming out with Internationally accepted cards, like the UBL wiz card, but the sender who uses PayPal can not send directly to UBL, that's why they have to use their Bank cards as well, and in most cases, people don't keep internationally accepted bank cards when they already have PayPal. That is why a lot of international customers even avoid asking for Pakistani artists to do their orders, in order to escape the hassle. As for myself, I use a tool called Payoneer. Its not as efficient or convenient as PayPal, but it gets the job done on most occasions, with its fair share or problems of course  ``

Q) What was the reaction of your parents when your first payment actually arrived in your account? and how do they feel about your achievements?

That's an interesting story. When I started doing this work, I was 16 years old, so obviously at that time, I could not have my own Bank account. That's why I asked my father if he would open another account on his name and give me the ownership. Back then, I had only started doing this and didn't make any money. My father blatantly refused, and even told me to not waste time on something futile. Basically, both my parents felt that me spending time on doing Art was compromising my studies, so there was no support. They probably thought that I was bluffing about being paid and making money. However, my older sister was my biggest supporter.  the first time I completed a big order of 700 Dollars, the amount was just saved on the Website, and I could not receive it without a bank account. So I pleaded with my sister to convince my parents. and thanks to her help, my father finally agreed to listen to me, but he said that I should withdraw the amount on his existing bank account, so that's what I did. It had to take 24 hours for the money to arrive and I remember feeling very nervous and excited in bed that night. First thing next morning, I get a call from my father, and he tells me that around 80K Rupees just appeared in his account. The shock and pleasant feeling of disbelief and surprise in his voice was so special, because I knew that I had proven myself to him. My mother had a similar reaction that was full of surprise. I think seeing my parents so happy on that day was the happiest I have ever been. It was too gratifying to explain. Since then, They have been very supportive of my journey 

Q) You mentioned your studies, how has this venture affected your studies and academic life?

`` Well its certainly not easy to maintain my grades anymore. Even though I have made a lot of money, I realize that completing my education is also an important part of my life, and I have tried my best to make both things coexist with each other, and so far, it has somehow worked for me. However, I have compromised on a lot of extracurricular activities in order to focus on my Freelancing job to manage my time more efficiently `` 

Q) There is a perception these days that Freelancing is easy because the work is less demanding and time consuming as compared to a full time job, and it pays more too.  

Do you agree with this statement? 

``I don't agree with it, but I understand why people think like that from the outside. A freelancer can earn twice the money than a full time job, but many people fail to realize that only very few freelancers can reach that level. these days, every one wants to be a freelancer because of the perception that freelancers can earn money without too much effort, but that is where they are wrong. In my opinion, Freelancing requires more effort than a regular job because you are doing something all by yourself and there is no Job guarantee, or any guarantee that you will be paid or not for your work. there is no fixed salary, and its a very  result oriented field. those who don't put in enough effort wont be successful. You wont believe how many of my friends and even relatives ask me this same question all the time, but I always tell them to see the bigger picture. I have been extremely fortunate to get to this level, but that does not guarantee that anyone wanting to be a freelancer will end up the same way.``

Q) So following up on that, What advice would you give to any young boys and girls who are aspiring to work as successful freelancers in Pakistan ?

`` I think the best advice would be to keep their expectations realistic. I have actually seen a few people who try out freelancing just for the sake of `earning`, but leave disappointed when its not what they had envisioned. I think part of the reason why I got successful is because I was merely following my hobby, and this freelancing gig was just an extension of something I already liked doing. So if you are doing something you are passionate about and you can sell it online, then why not. There are too many opportunities for talent to be recognized online. I certainly encourage people to find their interest, and capitalize it online, the same way I did. ``