Thanks for the nice words! I appreciate it.
>>944977Probably not. I don't really like dA.
>>946434Hey thanks!
I did well because I knew the right people and the right people knew me. I don't really have professional portfolio yet so I'm not sure how well I'd do with just emailing my portfolio around and hoping for interest. Although I did get a few gigs by posting my work online. All in all I made enough income for my own living expenses and I still had enough time for studies.
I'd recommend you to reconsider though. You can start freelancing pretty early on in your career but it's tough. It's hard to get excited for most of the work you have to do and afterwards you still need enough energy to do your studies and get better so you can get the work you really want, which can become even harder if you're on your own and without professional buttkickers.
Apart from the working hours you should think about your future family too. Judging by some of the older folks I met it's very hard to work in this industry and be a family man at the same time. Most successful relationships are usually between two working artists and it doesn't surprise me. Most women won't understand your need for art and will push you to work less.
Personally I think this job should be more of a calling to you than anything because it will be your life. If you are meant for it and you love it, you'll just do it.