Miroslav Trifonov is successful 3D, video, and graphic designer from Bulgaria. He is a Top Rated Plus freelancer who you can hire on the UpWork platform. If you need services in 3d product modeling and visualizations, pre visualizations, interior visualizations, floor plan modeling, 3d package visualizations, 2d artworks, video edit and high class web development, he is the right person for you. I recently had a chance to talk to him. I believe that his advice and messages can help many to advance their freelance careers.
Art holds a special place in my life
– Please tell me something about yourself, where you grew up, where you live now, what school did you finish, etc. …
I was born in Plovdiv, Bulgaria, 35 years ago. Considering the fact that it is the second biggest city in our country, you can have some good opportunities here.
I have studied art at various art schools since 1st grade. I graduated Highschool of Arts and The Art Academy in Plovdiv with master’s degree.
– Love of art usually appears very early, when did you start to be interested in art?
At my early age I considered art as nothing more than an opportunity not to study complicated disciplines. I was not good at math for example, but the art was OK.
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Years had to pass before my realization that there is an entirely different dimension to the world of art. But still – the visual work I did at that point I cannot consider as art. Art holds a special place in my life, and it is not that much of a professional work.
– Is 3d modeling and visualizations a continuation of artistic interest, or is it a step aside?
I would say it’s a continuation, because during the years in high school, me and my friends already had access to visual art creations software like 3ds max, CorelDraw, Photoshop, etc. And it was pretty interesting of course, because it gives you the opportunity to do everything you want- as if you are playing a game. Much more interesting and futuristic. It is like an open doorway to new options and fields of work.
– Which has been more valuable in your career, your education or your self-improvement and experience?
Everything I know about the processes that I work with I have learned for myself. Including all the software, techniques, managing projects, employers, selling yourself as a service, etc. But I am sure that all the years in school, working with colors, compositions, shapes, lights and shadows and everything that you learn develops your sense of aesthetics that you need to have in your professional work as a 3d visual artist. There would be a huge gap between the results I can achieve now and the final results that I would have achieved if I didn’t have a professional degree in arts.
You have to be extremely persistent
– How did you learn all the necessary skills, at the academy or did you have to work on your own improvement?
I didn’t learn how to work on a computer in the academy. I learned that all by myself. In the early years between 2004 – 2007 me and some friends exchanged CDs with tutorials for 3d Maya and 3ds MAX. Of course, I did not work professionally as a 3d artist at that time, but it was all a good foundation for what was to come next. After that I was able to find everything I needed on YouTube, so I continue to develop my skills using the platform.
– Have you had the opportunity to work full time, or have you always wanted to be a freelancer?
When I was a student, I had to work all kinds of jobs to be able to handle life. The years after my graduation I worked full time but not as a visual artist. My first earnings as a freelancer were mostly some small side tasks I found online. And this happened once per year.
– What influenced you the most to start freelancing?
A friend told me about this web platform where people all over the world post their offered work and you can bid and be selected to work for money. This was Elance.com I believe in 2009. I registered my portfolio and started bidding on projects showing my skills at that time. And of course, nobody contacted me, because I didn’t have a good portfolio, I didn’t have the right approach and most importantly I didn’t have any rating. But I saw this as an opportunity because I didn’t like my regular jobs. And I was always relying on someone else but not myself. At that time all I wanted was to rely on my own skills and my attitude and be able to build something all by myself. I wanted to have that freedom. This was the main motivation element.
– In addition to 3ds MAX, zBrush, Maya, you also use CorelDraw. Is there still a demand for CorelDraw, despite the influence of Illustrator?
If there is some simple vector task, I still prefer to work with Corel, because it is simplified and I can achieve the same good results as illustrator. Illustrator is a more powerful tool and when I need it, I work with it.
– What are your success habits?
You have to be extremely persistent. I can write down 100 pages with actions you must apply in your life so you can follow what your passion is. But if I have to tell you one single word, it would be “persistent”.
When I first registered on Elance.com in 2009, I started sending offers to potential clients and nobody messaged me for almost 3 years. But for 3 years I kept sending offers. And not only on Elance but a few others similar platforms. Then in early 2012 I received the first email reply, and I did a test project. Unsuccessful test project.
When you want to do something, don’t wait until you know all about it. Just start. In my experience, “Learning-by-doing” is the best way you can proceed. You have to make a decision about what you want to do and decide how you want to start doing it. No matter right or wrong. Performance – persistence – progression. Walking that path will enable you to start optimizing your performance and set it up better for your purposes. Lots of people realize what they actually have to do but do not realize how much time it will cost them, and they quit. If you don’t quit, you will succeed. But you have to know that if you want to do what you like to do, you have to work twice as much as everyone else.
All depends on my actions
– What was the best advice you got at the beginning of your freelance career?
Unfortunately, the best advice were mostly negative comments like “You have to find a regular job” or “You can only do this temporary”. OK, let’s try and see.
– Have you worked on any freelance platform other than UpWork?
I started with Elance in 2009. А few years later Elance migrated to UpWork.
At the beginning I tried a few different platforms and Elance was the one that worked. So, I focus all my efforts there.
– Why has UpWork become your choice?
UpWork is always reliable. I have great support. I have great opportunities as my profile grows. I have an awesome way to present my skills.
– What are the advantages of a freelance lifestyle for you?
I have to rely on myself.
This means that whether I’m winning or losing, it all depends on my actions or lack of them and there is no one else to blame but me. This develops a high level of strong discipline that helps me not only in my professional life, but also in other aspects of life – sport, personal life, side projects, etc.
– And what are the disadvantages?
I have to rely on myself 🙂
The biggest disadvantage is I cannot take breaks longer than the weekend. I have to be always focused searching for the next task that will make all the established processes work.
– What was the hardest decision you ever had to make as a freelancer?
When things started to work well in terms of projects and multiple clients I had to start thinking out of my small box and try to predict what happens next. I had to switch from one mindset to another. How do you delegate responsibilities? How do you target employers, how do you select candidates, how do you organize and manage the work at this next level, and how do you invest your earnings well? These are all things I didn’t know I’ll have to face. But once again, you have to see it in front of your door and consider it as a chance to grow. And start doing it.
– What do you love about your job?
No one can ask me why I’m late at the office.
– There are many freelancers with skills like yours. What makes you stand out and make you more successful?
I know tons of artists with skills and knowledge better than mine. I hire artists with better skills than mine. And they usually struggle in their professional life. I mentioned a lot of this above, but if you want to do what you love, you have to work twice as much as everyone else.
A lot of the freelancers work from home and most of the people in the home office have problems focusing their attention on the work. I worked from home for more than 5 years in 2012-2018 and never had that problem. I consider this as a personal quality.
Rent office. Not some shared workspace with a bunch of people that will still distract you from your work. Hire your own place, arrange it in your own style, buy more computers even if you have work that can be done only by you at that point. You still don’t have a boss, but you have to be at the office 1 hour earlier than all the people that have a boss. And stay 3 hours more. Split your 12-hour working day into 3 workdays. I can assure you that you can handle the work for 3 days in just 10-12 hours.
And in the period when you don’t have assigned projects – improve your communication skills, search for projects, work on your portfolio. And very important – create a list with all the clients you had till now, including their emails and date when you contacted them last. In the tough times you will go through old contacts and message them. You cannot imagine how many projects I worked on that way. People usually forget that you exist. Remind them.
And if you have clients from your local areas, organize your meetings in this office. There are a lot of people that you can collaborate with.
I wouldn’t change anything
– In order to succeed, a freelancer must also possess certain soft skills, such as communication, organization, time management … Which soft skills were the most challenging for you?
For me, one of the most challenging skills is the communication approach to my potential clients in different situations. There are usually patterns that you have to follow, and you can somehow find your way of doing it, but I strongly recommend finding some professional lectures and advice in this particular field. This can help you a lot.
– What has benefited you the most to become a successful freelancer? Your education, certain books, courses, forums, instructions on freelance platforms or something else?
I have to say that it is my persistent efforts. There are a lot of important courses, advice opportunities, and books that you want to cover, but these are all side notes that will improve your performance. They are not fundamental for me.
– If you could start all over again, what would you do differently?
Looking back in time, I can see that every step was there to give me a lesson and to show me something I have to understand and improve. For me learning by doing is the best way to do things. If I had to choose, I would choose to learn from success and not from mistakes, but there is no way to do that. So, I wouldn’t change anything.
– What is your biggest motivation?
Not to waste my life complaining about doing things I don’t like.
– How important is constant professional improvement?
Professional improvement happens when you are ready to take the next step. If you don’t improve, you will stay in one place. In order to grow professionally you have to improve personal and professional skills.
Get out of your comfort zone
– What is the best way to organize multiple jobs and private life?
The best way for me to organize jobs and private life is to have a schedule.
When I started covering multiple tasks, I had to write them down because it was hard to remember, and I started creating a daily schedule for my work. Some time after that I realized that this schedule also has to include time of the day for the different tasks. This gave me huge optimization in the work processes.
If you want to be successful, you have to have a simple and slim schedule. My schedule includes personal tasks and time for my family during the work periods. There is nothing wrong adding “Meet my grandma” in your daily plans and then going back to work.
– Several factors are important for success. Can you name some of the most important for you?
– Get up early.
– Don’t waste time. You don’t have much of it.
– Add sport activities in your daily routine. Sports people have better mental shape, better focus and sharpness of mind.
– Optimize your time management.
– Try to establish successful daily habits related to the work process.
– When you start to feel insecure, quit thinking and continue according to your schedule.
– Keep yourself busy no matter the day of the week and the amount of projects you have. There are always things to do and improve.
– If you had to single out one characteristic that is most important for the success of a freelancer, what would it be?
Consider your job as a real job that can change your life.
– What advice would you give your younger self?
It would not be related to professional life. It would be personal advice.
– The best advice for those who are considering a freelance career.
Get out of your comfort zone. It is worth it.
