There is no magic formula - Illustrator Ruud Hendriks
Ruud (aka Momo) launched an illustration studio straight of university in the Netherlands with his then-girlfriend. It started well but the work didn’t keep coming, and he soon took a job as a web designer to help pay the bills.
After a move to Scotland, where his girlfriend landed her dream job as a game developer, Ruud took another shot at building the studio. He set up in a co-working space and made friends who inspired him, but after his relationship broke down he eventually moved to Portugal in search of the sun.
He’s still there now three and half years later, with a steady flow of commissions coming in via word of mouth and social media. “There’s no magic formula,” says Ruud, “It’s just a matter of time.”
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Transcript of the Being Freelance podcast with illustrator Ruud Hendricks, aka Momo, and Steve Folland
Steve Folland: Let's get started hearing how you got started being freelance.
Ruud Hendriks: Okay. I guess you could say from childhood on I always liked design and drawing as well. I did a lot of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles drawings and stuff as a tile. So when I went to choose a study, I actually went for multimedia design because at the time I was also very interested in web design. So I chose multimedia designed to really satisfy those creative parts inside of me. So at the time I did want to become a web designer, not particularly an illustrator because I suppose at the time I didn't even really think of the possibility of being an illustrator for work, draw for work. So yeah, I went there and I did quickly find out that in multimedia design they teach you a lot of different things like web design, but also audiovisual, a little bit of animation, a bit of programming as well.
Ruud Hendriks: But the thing that really interested me and actually only interested me was designing graphics and of illustrations. And at that time I found out about Adobe Illustrator and I really liked how you build up drawings from that just from simple geometric shapes, and I got more and more into it. And then I remember in school, even in the most mundane projects, I always try to put in some cute little graphics because that's just what I like, and I guess people appreciated that as well. I was kind of known for it. If you want to have your projects spruced up with some nice little colourful illustrations, ask me. So yeah, that's where I found out I really wanted to go into a graphical direction, either graphic design or illustration.
Ruud Hendriks: And at the same time I also met my girlfriend, which is now my ex-girlfriend. And she was also really into drawing much more into the illustration side. Me, maybe a little bit more into the design side, but she was also very obsessed with drawing and we pretty much teamed up. And then soon after we graduated, we actually decided to form our own little studio trying to make illustrations and make it work for us. Get paid for it I suppose. So yeah, straight after graduation we went full in. We didn't take any part-time jobs or whatever. We were kind of naive in that way I suppose. But it started off surprisingly well because to be completely honest, we didn't really have a clue what we were doing.
Ruud Hendriks: We just saw what other people were doing and imitated that, the approach online. And then like I said, it actually started off surprisingly well because the first project we had was actually one of my favourite projects still. We worked together with an agency in Amsterdam to do the illustration part of an animation about a Brazilian soul singer who is apparently a huge rockstar and in Brazil. The record label of David Byrne from Talking Heads, et cetera. He wanted to bring his music into Europe and to America, and as a promotional piece, we made an animation about his life. That was really awesome, and especially to have as a first project to have straight out of college. It was amazing. So we thought, we can do this. This is actually easier than we thought.
Ruud Hendriks: So after that, we actually thought a lot of people are going to see this animation, it's going to get a ton of exposure. That's actually also why we did it. It was those typical projects where you don't get paid but you get paid and exposure kind of thing. Nowadays, I would probably never do that anymore, but you have to start somewhere and it seemed like a great opportunity at the time. So yeah, we figured it's going to be seen a lot and soon enough we'll have a good, nice little follow-up project and more and more to come. We're going to make it.
Ruud Hendriks: Well, it turned out a little different and after the animation launched, it was this big thing in New York and in cinema, everyone was happy they saw it, it was voiced by a famous folk singer that I really like called Devendra Banhart. So I don't know, it was pretty incredible first project. But after that, those emails didn't really seem to come anymore. And, sure, we got exposure, a lot of comments online and stuff, but no follow up project in the months after, almost nothing. And so yeah, in the end, it did turn out harder than we thought. And at a certain point, we were living together and we were both trying to get this thing off the ground, but nothing really seemed to be coming in in the beginning. It was very hard to find new clients that paid well.
Ruud Hendriks: And at a certain time it got hard to pay the bills and so I decided in the meantime I'll get a job to pay the monthly rent and everything and she would stay at home and still keep trying to persist to kickstart this little studio we had, this little dream of ours.
Steve Folland: Oh man. As a studio, did you have a name?
Ruud Hendriks: Yeah, we were called [Momo and Spritz 00:06:03]. That's where my current name Momo is also from. We just gave each other little nicknames, alter egos, I guess because, I don't know, I think in this world it's kind of a little bit boring to use your own name. And also, if you have a Dutch name like Ruud Hendriks, it's kind of hard to pronounce it for English speaking people. So we gave ourselves little nicknames, so we're hopefully easy to remember. It's easier to get a domain name that way because there's a lot of Ruud Hendriks's in the Netherlands. So yeah, that's what we were called at the time.
Steve Folland: Momo and Spritz. And to put this in perspective, how long ago was this?
Ruud Hendriks: Good question. I think it's like 2010, 2011.
Steve Folland: Okay. And so you realize that actually you're going to have to go and get a job and you fall back on those skills you picked up while studying.
Ruud Hendriks: Yeah. So, after all, it was kind of useful to know how to make a website because I got a job fairly easy as a web designer, although I didn't really want to become a web designer anymore, it was a lot easier to get a job with that than the niche market we were trying to target with our illustrations, because they were always from the beginning they were always cute and colourful and kind of kitty. So it's quite a niche thing. And at the time everyone needed a website, so it's just a lot easier to get a job, you can get money with that.
Steve Folland: So you go and get the web job and your girlfriend continues trying to push forward the studio idea. So, what happened next? How'd it go?
Ruud Hendriks: I would say not very well. We didn't land a lot of jobs anymore. Maybe a couple of small ones, but nothing huge. We were doing something wrong. And at a certain point my ex-girlfriend was also getting tired of not succeeding I suppose and just being at home alone because we also lived in a tiny town in the South of the Netherlands so it wasn't she could easily pop out to a Starbucks and work from there or something. It was pretty isolated to be fair. And so she got a little unhappy and at that point we decided, okay we can turn it around. You can look for a job and I want to give a go at it because at the same time I was fine on my web design job. I think I did it for two years. I was fine, I had nice colleagues and stuff, but it was never something I really wanted to make a career in.
Ruud Hendriks: Also though the work was a little bit boring to me. I always liked to make very creative things. And at this job I had, we were making a virtual agents, which is basically an AI help desk. So I couldn't put a lot of creative creativity in there. So yeah, we decided, okay, she's going to look for a job and then I want to have a go with it. Actually it didn't take long. She did find a job, but the thing was, it wasn't in the Netherlands, it was in Scotland. And for me, honestly, it wasn't really a big problem. We were still young and we didn't have anything to lose. And you know Scotland. Sure, why not? I quit my job and I went along with her so she could have her job in Scotland at a game development company, something that was her dream job as well. So yeah, why not just go for it? And so we moved to Scotland, I guess this is 2012 or 13 I suppose. Yeah.
Ruud Hendriks: We moved there to Dundee and it wasn't much of a culture shock to be fair. It was a little bit colder than we were used to, but I don't in that I met a lot of nice, friendly people there and a lot of friends, and I started working from a coworking space there in Dundee and there I got inspired by other designers and freelancers as well. And I got very inspired how they did things and I would say I learned a lot of things. So it was finally my time to try this illustration thing that I always wanted to do as well, but didn't really have much time for it because I was making virtual agents, I suppose. I was happy and she was happy for a while because not long after that our relationship turned sour and we broke up I think maybe a year or two in in Scotland and we broke up and that's the first time after graduating that I ended up by myself and not having a study income.
Ruud Hendriks: And it was kind of a scary time because I had to think about, okay, what do I do next? Do I go back to the Netherlands, find another job or do I want to pursue this illustration thing and stubborn as I am, I decided to do the latter because I gotten into it a little bit. I also didn't get any huge projects at the time, but I felt like every project I did where I got a little bit better at it, and I never stopped believing that I could make it work if I just put all my time and effort into it. I worked crazy hours at the time. So I was by myself. I got pretty good at living a very minimalist lifestyle. I didn't spend much, I lived on pot noodles and stuff like your student time. To be fair, I'd never needed all that much to live, but at the time I got very good at being very careful with your money.
Steve Folland: And you stayed in Scotland?
Ruud Hendriks: Yeah. I stayed there for another year, I believe. I mean, I also build up my own life around there. I made my own friends and the people at the cowork I really enjoyed, I really enjoyed working at the cowork space. I had my own apartment after, it was fine, but I think after a year I thought nothing is keeping me here per se. I don't have a relationship anymore. I don't have a job that keeps me here. So I might as well try to go somewhere else and two big reasons for that.
Ruud Hendriks: One is there's no summer in Scotland. That's a big reason because I never really noticed how much the sun has an effect on your mood. When it's never summer you tend to go a little depressed, and I was already not feeling great because this relationship broke up and everything. So I think my last year in Scotland I wasn't my happiest and I figured my life needs a little bit of a change. And I started looking for things that were more sunny but also more cheap. I mean Scotland isn't expensive compared to the rest of Britain or Northern Europe I suppose, but as I was starting freelance for, like I said, somebody who is living a very minimalist life, it would be easier to go somewhere where the cost of living just is a little less. And so I started looking at countries like Spain and Portugal and Greece and Southern European countries where usually the weather is better and the cost of living is lower, a lot lower.
Ruud Hendriks: So for a starting freelancer, I think that is ideal. So I started looking at things and at some point I actually found a job opening in Porto, in the place where I'm now. This was at a illustration studio as well, a small studio in Porto and they had a job opening and they were already following me on Behance. So I sent them an email like, "Listen, this sounds great. Your style is pretty similar as mine. I think I can help you out, and I think we can good be good for each other." And knew they were very excited as well, like, "Yeah, we love your style and we would love to take you on."
Ruud Hendriks: And they were very enthusiastic until they asked what I wanted to earn because I always still use to also a Northern European wages, not just the cost of living in Portugal is a lot lower, but obviously also the wages. I already thought I was giving them a low number because obviously I knew it wasn't going to be as much as I was making in the Netherlands. So I already gave them a low number and what he came back to me like, "Oh no, that's way too much." And I told them like, "Listen, I just want to... I don't really care for the money. If I can have a decent life and Porto, you tell me, okay, well what would I need in a month and I'll come." I was very easily negotiated I suppose.
Ruud Hendriks: And he gave me a number and we did negotiate a little bit and in the end, we agreed like, "Okay, I'll come for this number." And he said, "Okay, great. I just need three months to get my finances in order." Like okay, I'll wait here. And then in the meantime, I was getting ready to, to move to Portugal, was selling all my stuff there and finding someone to look after our cats and this and that. And then I didn't hear from him for a while. So I think after a month or something I contacted him saying, "Hey, what's up? We still all good?" And this and that. And that's when he told me, "Yeah, I actually hired somebody else."
Steve Folland: What?
Ruud Hendriks: I was like, "What? And you didn't tell me this? And I was getting ready to move countries just for you and you just go and hire someone else. Okay." So yeah, that's how that ended. But in the meantime, I was very excited to go to Porto because yeah, in the meantime, I've been looking up about the city, finding all this information. It looks great. So I was very disappointed when it didn't happen. And at that point I just thought, forget it, I don't need you. I'll just do it by myself as a freelancer. So yeah, that's what I did. I arrived in Portugal with only one backpack of stuff, just some clothes on my computer. That's it. And I started living here. I didn't know anybody here too, and in the beginning that was also very... It wasn't easy because you're in a foreign country, you don't speak the language, what do I do?
Ruud Hendriks: So one of the first things I did here as well was finding a new cowork space to meet new people and set up my own little business I suppose, and I found that that very fast. I made friends pretty fast and I got happier. The first summer I was Portugal I was so happy. I didn't realize what I missed, and I never really felt like I was making this new start in life and it felt good. And at the same time, I also had some lucky breaks with work. I started working for this startup company in London that did a toy robot for kids to teach toddlers the basics of programming. And this was a huge success on Kickstarter and other sites as well. And I did pretty much all their graphics and all their illustrations, so this was a lot of work and it kept me busy for I think over a year and they came back a couple of times as well. So that was a good break for me.
Ruud Hendriks: And I've been living in Porto ever since. This was now three and a half years ago. I have a lot more experience now after this project with the toy robot, the ball started finally rolling a bit. I got more traction online and I got some more jobs. I did a packaging design for a worldwide fast-food chain called Wok-to-Walk. I did another app for kids, which is an online piggy bank app. I did an indie video game. I worked on some animated series for BBC. So I think I finally got it rolling after a year when I was by myself in Portugal and now I'm all comfortable here. I've met a lot of nice people and I got some good jobs in so it ended all okay in the end.
Steve Folland: That's so good. When you say that, you know the ball got rolling, what was it that did that? How were you putting yourself out there? How were people finding you? How did it finally pick up speed?
Ruud Hendriks: I think like there's no magic formula. I could tell you I changed X to Y and then finally people started noticing me. I think it's just a matter of time. You have to keep putting yourself out there. I started being very active on things like Twitter, on Dribbble, on Behance, and I think also what worked really well for me is that when I finally became independent 100% so it just by myself, I didn't have to think about, well what does my girlfriend want to do. It was also some, some compromise always. But when I started becoming independent, I didn't have that anymore, so I could do what I felt I was best at. And with every project... I always kept it the same style. But with every project, I try to better myself. And after a while, I think people just started noticing me more on Twitter and on Instagram and on my own homepage as well.
Ruud Hendriks: So I got more and more requests I suppose. Also, it's like if you do more jobs, obviously there's a word to mouth thing and it just started rolling that way I suppose.
Steve Folland: And once upon a time you were Momo and Spritz, what do you trade as now?
Ruud Hendriks: HeyHeyMomo.
Steve Folland: I love that.
Ruud Hendriks: So I kept my, my Momo persona because at the time also we didn't have a lot of following, but we had some, a couple of thousand on Facebook here and there, but I didn't really want to give that up, that name. So I think I made a post saying like, Oh, from here or now it's HeyHeyMomo, and it's just going to be me. So I kept the same name, just I went solo.
Steve Folland: As you say, you've got this sort of distinctive style. Are side projects important to you?
Ruud Hendriks: Yeah, very much so, actually. I think soon after I made the switch from Momo and Spritz to HeyHeyMomo, I thought about, okay, what is HeyHeyMomo? Is it just an alter ego for me or is it more like a brand of things? And I was always very interested in creating my own brand. And the way I wanted to do this is I created this little dog character in a hat and I wanted him to be Momo instead of me and my main side project is to create a brand around this little dog character. So over the years I kept trying this dog character over and over again and I made some little comics off him and I want to make him a recurring character in my illustration, so people will start recognizing hopefully a little dog hair in the hat, maybe like him.
Ruud Hendriks: So at some point I want him to be as recognizable as such so that people would identify with it and maybe want to wear it on a tee-shirt or it as a print. So yeah, I guess it is technically a side project for me now to build the brand because, to be honest, I still pay the rent just by doing commissions that have nothing to do with the little dog in the hat. But it is the goal for me to turn that around. To make my main focus the brand HeyHeyMomo instead of taking on commissions from random people.
Steve Folland: Nice. Do it. Go on.
Ruud Hendriks: Yeah, I'm trying.
Steve Folland: I'll have one.
Ruud Hendriks: Take both back.
Steve Folland: When you were back in the UK and sort of growing the illustration business, what would a various tactics for finding clients? Did you ever use like job sites?
Ruud Hendriks: No, never really. I always felt these websites are not good for online freelancers because I always feel like people are just fighting against each other to compete to have the lowest price. That's all that matters on these websites. If you just can provide the lowest price they will take you on and I think that's a very wrong way of doing it. So I always did a more direct approach. I just wrote to a lot of people in the direct messages. I wrote to art directors, I wrote to potential companies that have a similar style as mine and also I connected a lot with other artists and illustrators on things like Twitter, just to see what they're up to and maybe we can have a collaboration together. Over the years I collaborated with various artists and animators, which is really good for both of us because I can provide a solid illustration and they are magic at making them move, so together it's a stronger product than just by yourself.
Ruud Hendriks: So I think my main approach has always been putting yourself out there on social media and try to be very active on it as well, so people won't just recognize you for your work, but also for your personality because a lot of people would write to me as well just because... I don't know. I made a funny joke on Twitter. I've literally gotten jobs before because I made some random funny tweet. Not even work-related at all, but that's how you start. I guess if you're an approachable character online, I guess you do the same and people will like you for who you are and want to talk to you and maybe work with you.
Steve Folland: How have you got on with the... I guess the business side of being freelance?
Ruud Hendriks: It's, unfortunately, a part of it that I don't enjoy at all. In an ideal world, I would have somebody take care of that for me, but I would be lying if I say I'm very good at it. I try my best. I don't know. I always feel like you have to be a semi accountant to even get through all of those things. I think it's also something that you learn by doing it just like everything really. Like I said in the beginning, I pretty much took on everything I could even if it was just for exposure or whatever because you just want to take on whatever it is, even if it just makes 100 bucks or whatever you take it on, but you learn soon enough that these people are just taking advantage of you so you try to be a little stricter, try to be a little harder in your negotiations.
Ruud Hendriks: And when you're at a certain point hopefully that you don't need every job as well it becomes a lot easier obviously to negotiate. If I don't end up under the bridge because I can't pay my rent this month unless I worked for you're fake Sonic game, then it's really a terrible negotiation position, but a little bit later in your career, you don't 'need' stuff particularly anymore. So negotiation is easier, but all of these things, contracts as well, you get burned once by not getting paid. So the next time you try to get paid upfront or at least 50% upfront now. Like with every project I do, I always ask 50% upfront because you just got burned a time too many and that's how you learn.
Steve Folland: Now, if you could tell your younger self one thing about being freelance, what would that be?
Ruud Hendriks: I would tell them it's awesome. Go for it. Don't let yourself get dragged down by people who value things like a traditional career, traditional job. My parents were always very much into, "Maybe you should get a normal job to have your monthly wages, your monthly income." Obviously, it's very important, but as long as you don't have much to lose as long as you're young, you don't have a mortgage, you don't have children, just go for it. What do you really have to lose? So I wouldn't really do anything differently because it does take a lot of time, but it will payout in the end.
Steve Folland: What do your parents make of it now?
Ruud Hendriks: I think they're more proud of me now. I recently for my mom's birthday, I made them a family portrait and it's hanging in their living room, in the middle of the living room. So I think finally they're seeing like, Oh, maybe you can do something, and they're understanding more and more of it. My mom is always very interested in how I tackle my contracts and my negotiations as well. And I think they're getting it now. It took a while. But they weren't wrong. I can understand from a parental perspective when you see your son is still living on pot noodles alone, sad in an apartment in Scotland. It must be tough, I admit. But I'm also very stubborn, so I just pulled through I suppose.
Steve Folland: Well, I'm glad the stubbornness and the creativeness and the friendliness all paid off and that the sunshine has found you as well. Momo, Ruud Hendriks, so good to talk to you and all the best being freelance.
Ruud Hendriks: No worries. All the best to you as well and to the podcast.