Freelancer stories: Making fairytales come true

Orsolya, who specializes in illustrating children's books, tells Freelancers she often works with first-time children's authors who've written their stories out of passion and with the encouragement of friends and family.

"They have a story in their heads and they know what they want to see on paper, but they just can't do it," she says.

Actually seeing their stories brought to life on paper can be an emotional experience, Orsolya says.

"I had a mom who started crying when she realized that her book is put together, the text put together with the video illustrations. And it was like completing a puzzle. You don't really enjoy it until the last piece is in, and then you take it back and look at the whole thing and realize that there was so much work and time and energy invested and it all came together. And that is fantastic. And I think that feeling of accomplishment is what makes it all beautiful."

Orsolya understands that feeling of accomplishment. Illustration was a hobby for her as she worked at various full-time jobs. Four years ago, she decided to turn that hobby into a career.

"I loved drawing ever since I was born, I think. But I had a point where I thought that, okay, I should make some money out of it and I start moving my skills. And I had my confidence grow for a bit, then I signed up to Freelancer," she says.

While her specialty remains children's illustrations, her work on the platform has also opened up opportunities with some unlikely clients.

"I had to create a design for a wall in their museum explaining what the Canadian Air Force Association is built from and what activities they are doing. They have all kinds of activities for kids, for veterans, for parents, for all age groups. And for every explanation, for every activity, they need an illustration."

But regardless of the client, Orsolya says the power of her work comes in conveying the essence of a story in a way that's universal.

"In every story there is a paragraph that changes the course of the story. And do you get to that paragraph or you take all the important elements of the story and incorporate them into one image? You'll see everything that your brain recognized as important in the story. You'll see everything in the illustration."