Creative pressures Tanya Combrinck talks to three artists who have experienced burnout about what can be done to address stressful working practices

A Pearl Mermaid Hunt by Valentina Remenar. A mermaid that has been caught by hunters. Her design, especially her skin, was inspired by pearls.

Working as a professional artist can involve tough deadlines, and if not properly managed this lifestyle can cause stress and even burnout. Unfortunately, many large projects involve a period at the end of the timeline known as ‘crunch’, in which staff are expected to work extremely long hours, usually without extra pay, in order to hit the final deadline.

In some industries, crunch can extend so far back into the project timeline that some staff can be said to be working in crunch conditions on a regular basis. For freelancers, these stresses can be compounded by the lack of job security.

Lazare Gvimradze is a freelance digital artist based in Georgia who creates promotional artwork for films and games. He has experienced burnout twice, and finds that the instability of working as a freelancer can be stressful for those who are new to it.

“Oftentimes we find ourselves living from project to project, which creates a sense of quiet dread, and sometimes it pushes us to make rash decisions and take on more work than we can handle,” he says. “Knowing that work still might ‘run out’ in a few months can create a sense of anxiety and eventually lead to burnout.”

"Knowing that work still might ‘run out’ in a few months can create anxiety and eventually lead to burnout"

A demon girl tattoo design by animator and fantasy artist Nic ter Horst.

An illustrated portrait of the goddess Nyx from Hades, by freelance artist Lazare Gvimradze.