Fine Artists, Painters, Sculptors and Illustrators: Salary, Job Description, How To Become One, and Quiz

Job description

Fine Artists, Painters, Sculptors and Illustrators create original artwork using any of a wide variety of media and techniques.

• 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.
• Model substances such as clay or wax, using fingers and small hand tools to form objects.
• Create sculptures, statues, and other three-dimensional artwork by using abrasives and tools to shape, carve, and fabricate materials such as clay, stone, wood, or metal.

Salary

Fine Artists and Painters with little to no experience tend to make between $20020 and $31750 while the more experienced ones can earn over $70190 per year.

One of the easiest ways to increase your salary as a Fine Artist, Painter, Sculptor and Illustrator is to move to a higher paying state like CT. Right now, the highest paying states for Fine Artists and Painters are CT, CA, OK, NJ and AZ.

However, a higher pay at CT doesn’t guarantee that you will make more because the living expenses at CT might be twice as high than where you are currently at now.

Three other factors that can increase your salary as a Fine Artist, Painter, Sculptor and Illustrator is the degree you hold, the industry you work in, and lastly the company you work for.

Requirements

We asked other Fine Artists and Painters what degree they had when they got the job and most of them said they had a College Certificate followed by a Bachelor’s Degree.

Other than that, we also asked them what did they major in and here are the most popular majors that came up.

Pros and Cons

Here are some of the pros and cons of being a Fine Artist, Painter, Sculptor and Illustrator.

What is the job like

58% of Fine Artists and Painters said they were satisfied with their job and 51% said they feel like their job is making other people’s lives better.

Kevin Caron

Kevin Caron Studios

I am an artist, specifically a sculptor. I work in metal as well as 3D-printed resin. I create my designs in my head or on my computer in my CAD (Computer Aided Design) program, then bring them to life in my metal working studio or using my 8-foot-tall 3D printer. A typical day usually begins … Read More

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Rebecca Harnden

Beckx Art

A typical day in the life for me includes a mix of finding inspiration for new collections, ordering materials, painting both studies and larger works for collections, photographing and editing original art for online sales and print reproduction, documenting my process to share on social media, packaging sold paintings for shipping, and doing administrative work … Read More

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Irina Patterson

Self-employed

Being a Face Painter is a gig job. Usually, on weekends. A typical gig is from 1-5 hours. It can be from 3-5 gigs on Saturdays and Sundays. I love to paint and love people. I get to sit in front of a kid with my paints and brushes and paint flowers, superheroes, and butterflies … Read More

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Cristina Casillas

Cristina Casillas Art

When you hear the word painter, I bet the first thing that comes to your mind is someone who spends their days and nights creating art works. But the world has changed, and if you are a freelance artist like me, painting is only a small part of what you have to do, especially if … Read More

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Is this right for me

You can read more about these career personality types here.

People who are suitable for this job tends to like working with forms, designs and patterns. They often require self-expression and the work can be done without following a clear set of rules..

They also like work activities that include practical, hands-on problems and solutions. They like working with plants, animals, and real-world materials like wood, tools, and machinery.

Explore other careers