Hey, Ronald here. I’ve been a 3D freelancer, a 2D Storyboard Artist, and now manage a CGI Creative Company I founded in 2017—Masonry Studios. Having experienced the ups and downs of the animation industry as a freelancer, employee, and employer, I want to share my insights on making a living as a creative in Singapore. Hopefully, I can address some concerns about job stability and career development in the creative field.
What’s the problem?
The closure of Lucasfilm’s Industrial Light & Magic (ILM) studio in Singapore after 20 years raised significant concerns about job stability. This event resulted in about 300 layoffs, highlighting the volatility in the VFX and animation sectors. It is a significant event for me because I interned at Lucasfilm and built my career alongside the opening of ILM Singapore back in the 2000s. However, it is even more significant for young graduates in Singapore regarding creative career development.
Entertainment? Start Overseas
This is the standard route. Many friends seek VFX jobs overseas because the entertainment industry is more vibrant in countries like Canada and Australia. We don’t know when the tax breaks will end, but studios often move wherever the incentives go. If you’re okay with being away from your friends and family and potentially making new connections, then this is a logical option.
“Start overseas” may seem odd; Isn’t this article is about making a living as a creative in Singapore?
Well, if you choose to come back to Singapore after a decade or so away from home, you’ll have experienced a variety of working cultures. You’d have travelled to different cities and generally opened up your world view of the different paces of life, and grasped the general pros and cons of different cities. This will either make you appreciate Singpoare more for its infrastructure, convenience and stability, or lament Singapore’s work-life balance. Still, either way, you’ll have more data points to assess what works for you. So yea, starting overseas makes it easier to find work with a quality portfolio compared to starting in Singapore.
Hey, Ronald here. I’ve been a 3D freelancer, a 2D Storyboard Artist, and now manage a CGI Creative Company I founded in 2017—Masonry Studios. Having experienced the ups and downs of the animation industry as a freelancer, employee, and employer, I want to share my insights on making a living as a creative in Singapore. Hopefully, I can address some concerns about job stability and career development in the creative field.
What’s the Problem?
The closure of Lucasfilm’s Industrial Light & Magic (ILM) studio in Singapore after 20 years raised significant concerns about job stability. This event resulted in about 300 layoffs, highlighting the volatility in the VFX and animation sectors. It is a significant event for me because I interned at Lucasfilm and built my career alongside the opening of ILM Singapore back in the 2000s. However, it is even more significant for young graduates in Singapore regarding creative career development.
Entertainment? Start Overseas
This is the standard route. I’ve had many friends seek VFX jobs overseas because the entertainment industry is more vibrant in countries like Canada and Australia. We don’t know when the tax breaks will end, but studios often move wherever the incentives go. If you’re okay with being away from your friends and family and potentially making new connections, then this is a logical option.
Starting overseas may seem odd since this article is about making a living as a creative in Singapore. However, if you choose to return to Singapore, you’ll have experienced various working cultures, travelled to different cities, and broadened your worldview. This experience will help you appreciate Singapore’s infrastructure, convenience, and stability, or you might critique its work-life balance. Either way, you’ll have more data points to assess what works best for you. Starting overseas makes it easier to find work with a quality portfolio compared to starting in Singapore.
Know You’re a Pro? Consider Remote Work.
Granted that you’ve got a professional-level portfolio, or you’ve returned to Singapore from overseas, or you’ve just left ILM or Ubisoft or similar MNCs you can toy with the idea of running your freelance business. You’ll need to have established a healthy network of business contacts during your overseas stint, or made work friends as you go through tour school life (read more on networking for creatives)
Package your service offering, know your value, and don’t charge below the industry rates or the cost of running your business. And cleverly market your business. If you’ve gone through the SG education system, you’ve likely a strong work ethic and this is attractive for studios. Then again, if that’s your only sell, it’s not enough. Value is determined by your client. Therefore, spend the time to understand the needs of the studios you may be working for, to better your service offering over time.
Advertising
In cities, people always sell stuff, and Singapore is no exception. It is politically stable, a financial hub, and adopts English as its main business language, making it attractive for MNCs to set up their HQs or regional HQs here. When people need to sell products, they need CGI and VFX, creating business opportunities for you. There will always be work for advertising in Singapore for the entire SEA region. Recently, an agency realized we offer Creature Work in Singapore—they used to go to Australia or source overseas. So there is work, we just need to be good enough for it.
At Masonry Studios, the quality work we’ve done has brought us clients from global HQs in Paris, the US, Japan, and other major cities outside the SEA region. However, it takes time to build robust processes, design quality creative communication, and produce high-quality CGI rendering.
Making the Switch
Salaries
Which pays more? It depends. Generally, entertainment MNCs pay a respectable rate, as ILM Singapore did. Local entertainment companies are known to pay less. Advertising companies vary drastically. Based on my research, many companies pay early or mid-2k salaries, which might not be comfortable for everyone. Companies like Masonry Studios can pay well, depending on the quality of work you do that brings in revenue.
Working Hours
Beyond pay, work hours and culture are worth discussing. Some companies pride themselves on long hours, throwing more time at problems. Masonry Studios doesn’t believe in this—we either aren’t pricing right or there are more elegant solutions. We believe creatives should be paid for the value and solutions they bring to the company. Not just for the hours put in. Entertainment companies often have crunch times with longer hours, and respectable companies will pay for overtime.
In Singapore’s advertising scene, most companies won’t pay for overtime. Masonry Studios is founded on the principle of no overtime, so if you enjoy the idea of overtime, you’re not suitable for our company. So, if you dream of seeing your name in movie credits, pursue that dream. But if you’ve already achieved that or prefer working on shorter, cool projects and making a comfortable living, then advertising might be for you.
Conclusion
I hope that sharing my varied experiences across the entertainment and advertising sector has helped you gain insight into making a living as a creative in Singapore. And that it highlights what your options are and what to expect.
If you’re considering switching from entertainment to advertising, check out the top 10 advertising creative studios in Singapore. Otherwise, I welcome any further discussion on this matter on my Instagram @ronald_fong. Cheers and may the force be with you!
