If you are a 90′s child, this is the kind of the post you shouldn’t miss, because it is going to remind so much of your fun childhood memories!

(Image Source: RETROnoob)

Super Mario, Megaman, Super Metroid, Donkey Kong; caught with proof of them running here and there in real life – the world’s gonna be messy! But something tells me that we might enjoy this kind of world! Just glance through these photos and see if you agree with me!

Full chaos after the jump.

Well if you’re also a gamer, we have got some awesome game-related posts dedicated to you!

• 25 iPad Wallpapers for Video Gamers
• 60+ Attractive PS3 Game Covers
• 80 Beautiful Video Game Wallpapers
• Evolution of Home Video Game Consoles

Advance Wars. The first thing retro game characters will do if they enter real life? Carry out an invasion! Well maybe not, but this piece is just too realistic! (Image Source: RETROnoob)

Beep Beep Coming Though. Mario Kart joins the historical Tienanmen Square. No offense, though! (Image Source: vanTol777)

Donkey Kong Country New Jungle. Probably the best manipulation work for Donkey Kong, as the scene is just too similar to the real deal. (Image Source: KillingRaptor)

Doom: The Last Stand. There must be a lot of Photoshop work inside this awesome piece as it looks like a real scene from the game! (Image Source: KillingRaptor)

Excitebike. Excitebike in the real world, seriously? I will travel to the place just to watch their show! A hat tip to the creator. (Image Source: Pixel Fantasy)

Mario Kart. Now that’s called 3D! Could this be the future of gaming? (Image Source: RETROnoob)

Off The Dirt Track. A small sprite makes the entire photo epic. (Image Source: fatheed)

Koopa Beach. I want to know where the beach is, or whichever beaches Koopa exists in. (Image Source: fatheed)

Final Fantasy 6. The epic Final Fantasy gets more epic with this real-life game scene, thanks to BITMOB. (Image Source: BITMOB)

Keeping The Mean Streets Clean. Besides the realistic shadows, the background really suits the theme! (Image Source: fatheed)

Mega Alexanderplatz Man. Brilliant, Zavadzky, just brilliant. Where will the next mission venue be? (Image Source: zavadzky)

Ninja Gaiden. This creator really knows how to create an epic game scene. (Image Source: BITMOB)

Retro Field. Super Mario in real life by genius RETROnoob! Sprites are placed so right that every part of this photo is interesting! (Image Source: RETROnoob)

Retro Lake. So this is how the world looks like when Super Mario and his enemies come to life. By the way, the castle on the mountain is epic. (Image Source: RETROnoob)

Retro Desert. How about a desert trip with the classic 8-bit angry sun? You won’t get bored for sure. (Image Source: RETROnoob)

Retro Destiny “LoZ”. The shadows probably add to the awesomeness of this piece. (Image Source: CTCorbett)

Space Invaders. What a cute and detailed invader by Quest007! I welcome you to conquer our planet. (Image Source: Quest007)

Space Invaders: Eiffel Towel. Another gorgeous scene of how space invaders are invading our planet Earth, and a great execution of colors. (Image Source: Pixel Fantasy)

Street Fighter. Kung Fu will get more famous if Street Fighter comes into real life. That’ll be awesome for sure. (Image Source: RETROnoob)

Hundred Hand Slap. Amusing and realistic as well! I wonder how much time the creator put into this piece. (Image Source: fatheed)

Super Metroid. It’s the same kind of manipulation but using the reverse method, which utilizes the game’s background instead of its character. (Image Source: BITMOB)

Super Metroid: Going Stealth. So Samus decided to attack in a cool way. Never knew a photo like this can be manipulated in such a cool way. (Image Source: KillingRaptor)

Track & Field. “You’d break the joystick trying to keep up with the Bolt.” – Gar0 (Image Source: Pixel Fantasy)

The Turned. What makes this one really epic is that it’s not actually digitally manipulated, but a real life 8-bit cosplay by ChozoBoy! You can view the making of it by visiting the author’s gallery. (Image Source: ChozoBoy)

Samus Vs. Minecraft II. An awesome photo where you can’t differentiate clearly between the 8-bit characters from the real-life characters. I like the weapon that third guy is holding. (Image Source: ChozoBoy)

Reflection

These manipulated works of art did really bring up so much of my memories! I love the days I spent playing these retro games, and I believe all gamers agree that it was the best gaming period [ever] – when most of the games are filled with great gameplay instead of high-end graphic, and boring gameplay. This could be subjective though.

Well, at least you enjoyed these amusing works! Many thanks to those who crafted these out! We do love to see more from you creative guys! Caught a game character in your real life? Show it off to us! We will never get bored with them!

Related posts:

1. Real-Life Comic Strips for Designers
2. Showcase of Retro and Vintage Logo Designs
3. Evolution of Home Video Game Consoles: 1967 – 2011
4. Draw Something: Doodles That Go to Extremes [Pics]

There are many creative workers, be it web designers or graphic designers, who are very interested in working as a freelancer rather than work at a design firm or agency.

They believe that working as a freelancer can bring advantages that cannot be obtained if they remain an employee, working full-time for a company. Advantages such as having more control of the work, having more flexible time, being able to set a higher fee rate and so on.

(Image Source: FreelanceSwitch)

Well, those reasons are quite normal, in fact, I personally have felt the same way in my early years. However, before quitting your day job and going freelance, you might want to read this post series to get a better idea of some of the challenges you may face but are not fully aware of yet, as reality is not always as we expect it to be.

(Image Source: FreelanceSwitch)

This post series will cover some tips that will walk you through your decisions of becoming a full-time freelancer and it will have 3 parts. In this first part, we will discuss several things that need to be done before one jumps ship, so to speak.

Find Your Focus

First of all, no one doubts your ability as a designer: you have good aesthetic sense, you can design an ads, Icons, websites, etc. Well, the point is you know you have talent.

However, when you are about to jump in as a freelancer, you only have to focus on only a few design areas. Although designing a brochure and a website are basically still considered design areas, they are at vastly different poles. The reason is, I’m sure you do not want to be stuck on several projects later, in which each project will require different approaches, techniques and methods.

So, if you have decided that you are going to be a web designer, it will be easier if you only accept projects that are related to the Web, such as icon design, WordPress theme development or maybe even SEO.

Find Something Special (in You)

As a freelancer you will mostly work on your own, and every year there would be a lot of both new and seasoned designers who have the same perception as you considering to go freelance as well. It is obvious that the competition will go very stringent from time to time.

To win the competition, you need to have something special; something that differentiates you and make you stand out more than the other designers; something that would convince the client to prefer to work with you.

For instance, if you’re a designer who has been working professionally for over 5 years and have designed a lot of Mobile Apps for some Fortune 500 companies, that can be your specialty, since not everyone can have experiences similar to yours.

Find Your Pricing Model

Pricing is a quite sensitive matter. I personally had lost a few potential clients because of high pricing quote. If you’re a top designer and has won numerous prestigious awards, this won’t be a problem, since there will always be clients who value your talent and are willing to pay according to what you ask for.

However, when you’re just starting your freelance career, in my opinion you need to be a bit smart to specify the price you charge. Don’t be too expensive at the start so clients find it reasonable to work with you for the long term while at the same time you shouldn’t under-rate yourself too much as to affect your financials aversely.

(Image Source: FreelanceSwitch)

What pricing model should I use?

There are two common pricing models used by most freelancers, those are; hourly rate and fixed price. Which pricing model is better for you? well, that will depend on your service, and probably the country where you operate your business from. For instance, in Indonesia, charging on hourly basis is still not acceptable by most of my clients, so I can only charge them by fixed price instead.

If you decide to charge on an hourly basis, FreelanceSwitch has a special tool to help you calculate your rate. If you prefer going with fixed pricing Jessicha Hische has written about the topic in-depth in the following article, The Dark Art of Pricing.

Prepare Some Initial Funds

At the beginning of your freelance career, you may not immediately get a big budget project or even none at all. Even before you find yourself at this phase, you should have prepared initial funds to pay for your operational and your cost of living.

So, before quitting your office job, in my opinion, make sure you have saved enough to last six months’ worth of no income to help you stay afloat.

Summary

Always remember that there will always be a first experience. You may feel nervous at first, but don’t think too much into it. Just do it. All the preparations and planning would be useless if we do not act, just do it and let’s see what happens.

Don’t miss the second part of this series as we discuss how you can get a freelance job deal and eventually work. Lastly, if you want to add or share anything I may have missed here, let me know; feel free to add it in the comment section below.

Related posts:

1. Networking Guide for Bloggers: Simple Roadmap to Networking (Part 7)
2. 5 Reasons Why You Should Try Freelancing
3. 20 Reasons To Say “No” to Freelancing
4. What’s So Great (And Not) About Freelancing