Illustrator Careers Information
Are you an artist who enjoys working with a specific assignment? Do you like having your work seen and used in conjunction with printed text? Illustrators are the artists who create not only the pictures that accompany our favorite books, but also the advertisements, greeting cards, even wrapping paper we use everyday. Increasingly, illustrator careers require the use of computers to generate their artwork.
Illustrator Careers & Degrees
- American Intercontinental University: Online
Art Institutes: The Art Institute of Atlanta
Medical and scientific illustrators combine artistic skills with specialized knowledge to create the pictures necessary for students visualize complex anatomy and natural structures. Illustrators may also be hired to produce courtroom exhibits for lawyers.
Illustrator Careers Path
Many illustrators, like other artists, have a Bachelor’s or Master’s degrees in the fine arts, though these are not always necessary. For illustrators who want to illustrate for scientific or medical publications, however, some training in the discipline is often required, such as premedical classes taken along with art courses. Most medical illustrators get a Master’s degree in medical illustration from one of four accredited schools in the country.
Illustrator Careers Compatible Personality Traits
Creative, self-directed, able to work on assignment, works well with others, strong attention to detail, knowledge of what attracts the eye.
Professional Illustrator Interview
For a personal account of an illustrator career, Read More from an Illustrator…
Illustrator Careers Salary Expectations
Illustrators who are employed by a company for a salary average $42,650 a year, with the middle fifty percent earning between $29,230and $60,650. Of course, many illustrators, like other artists, are self-employed and work freelance. Yearly income can vary greatly for these types of illustrators. Those freelancers with more experience and a good reputation may earn more than a salaried illustrator, but many find they cannot support themselves on illustrating alone and must have significant assets or another job.
Illustrator Job Outlook
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the field is projected to grow by 9% by 2018, which is slightly less than the national average. Because there are more qualified people than positions available, competition for illustration jobs is stiff. Furthermore, technology has become a double-edged sword for illustrators.
While technology has opened up many new avenues for illustrators, it has also allowed people without artistic training to create their own illustrations, thus making it unnecessary to hire an illustrator. Those illustrators with strong computer skills who work well in digital formats will stand the best chance of finding work.
Slightly off the Footpath
- Children’s Book Illustrator
- Artist
- Graphic Design
- Cartoonist
- Photographer
Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, Occupational Outlook Handbook, 2010-11 Edition, Psychologists, on the Internet at http://bls.gov/oco/ocos092.htm (visited November 3, 2011).
