CFChooseField
Arts, Design, Media, and Sports

Fine Artists, Including Painters, Sculptors, and Illustrators

Create original artwork using any of a wide variety of media and techniques.

Visual summary of pay, outlook, skills, interests, and preparation for Fine Artists, Including Painters, Sculptors, and Illustrators

Median pay

$60,560
Median annual pay for Fine Artists, Including Painters, Sculptors, and Illustrators.
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics · 2024
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10-year growth

-1.2%
Projected employment growth from 2024 to 2034.
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics · 2024–2034 projections
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Annual openings

2,200
Projected annual openings, including growth and replacement demand.
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics · 2024–2034 projections
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Employment

26,500
Estimated U.S. employment for Fine Artists, Including Painters, Sculptors, and Illustrators in 2024.
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics · 2024
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Jobs added or lost

-300
Projected numeric employment change from 2024 to 2034.
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics · 2024–2034 projections
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Entry preparation

Bachelor's degree
Typical additional preparation: Long-term on-the-job training.
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics · 2024 profile
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O*NET occupation profile

What the work involves

Strongest O*NET signals first.

Essential skills

  1. 1Active Learning
  2. 2Critical Thinking
  3. 3Active Listening
  4. 4Reading Comprehension
  5. 5Speaking
  6. 6Writing

Knowledge areas

  1. 1Design
  2. 2Computers and Electronics
  3. 3English Language
  4. 4Production and Processing
  5. 5Fine Arts
  6. 6Education and Training

Abilities

  1. 1Originality
  2. 2Fluency of Ideas
  3. 3Visualization
  4. 4Arm-Hand Steadiness
  5. 5Visual Color Discrimination
  6. 6Near Vision

Career interests

  1. 1Artistic
  2. 2Realistic
  3. 3Investigative
  4. 4Enterprising
  5. 5Conventional
  6. 6Social

Work styles

  1. 1Innovation
  2. 2Tolerance for Ambiguity
  3. 3Achievement Orientation
  4. 4Intellectual Curiosity
  5. 5Initiative
  6. 6Perseverance

Work activities

  1. 1Thinking Creatively
  2. 2Getting Information
  3. 3Organizing, Planning, and Prioritizing Work
  4. 4Making Decisions and Solving Problems
  5. 5Establishing and Maintaining Interpersonal Relationships
  6. 6Updating and Using Relevant Knowledge

Work context

  1. 1Freedom to Make Decisions
  2. 2Spend Time Using Your Hands to Handle, Control, or Feel Objects, Tools, or Controls
  3. 3Determine Tasks, Priorities and Goals
  4. 4Indoors, Environmentally Controlled
  5. 5Importance of Being Exact or Accurate
  6. 6E-Mail

Representative tasks

  • Use materials such as pens and ink, watercolors, charcoal, oil, or computer software to create artwork.
  • Integrate and develop visual elements, such as line, space, mass, color, and perspective, to produce desired effects, such as the illustration of ideas, emotions, or moods.
  • Confer with clients, editors, writers, art directors, and other interested parties regarding the nature and content of artwork to be produced.
  • Maintain portfolios of artistic work to demonstrate styles, interests, and abilities.
  • Market artwork through brochures, mailings, or Web sites.
  • Study different techniques to learn how to apply them to artistic endeavors.
  • Monitor events, trends, and other circumstances, research specific subject areas, attend art exhibitions, and read art publications to develop ideas and keep current on art world activities.
  • Photograph objects, places, or scenes for reference material.

Software and tools

Adobe Illustrator · in demandAdobe Photoshop · in demandAutodesk Maya · in demandAdobe Acrobat · hot technologyFacebook · hot technologyExtensible markup language XML · hot technologyIntuit QuickBooks · hot technologyJavaScript · hot technologyMicrosoft Office software · hot technologyMicrosoft PowerPoint · hot technologyMicrosoft Word · hot technologyPython · hot technology

Sources

BLS provides national pay, employment, and projections. O*NET provides skills, interests, preparation, tasks, work context, and tools.