What does a Colorist do?
Colorist responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real colorist resumes:
- Manage cleaning up activities after hair care appointments by ensuring appropriate cleanliness and sterilization of cutting and trimming equipment.
- Screened/Evaluat and HD DI color correct feature films, utilizing Autodesk Lustre for restoration.
- Remastered archival feature footage to HD.
- Perform DI on major feature films, commercial and special projects.
- Navigate project through continually changing workflows VFX revisions and delivery specs.
- Provide hairstylist services/professional makeup/manicures/pedicures and modeling.
- Provide hairstylist services/professional makeup/manicures/pedicures and modeling.
Colorist skills and personality traits
We calculated that 13% of Colorists are proficient in Color Correction, Davinci Resolve, and Color Theory. They’re also known for soft skills such as Listening skills, Physical stamina, and Time-management skills.
We break down the percentage of Colorists that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- Color Correction, 13%
Operated Assimilate Scratch color correction equipment in supervised and unsupervised color-grading sessions.
- Davinci Resolve, 11%
Adjusted final color for TV shows, films, commercials, and music video using APPLE COLOR and DAVINCI RESOLVE software.
- Color Theory, 9%
Hosted weekly classes for assistants and stylist in advanced color theory and technique.
- Front Desk, 9%
Helped assist the front desk in greeting clients with a warm friendly personality.
- Color Standards, 7%
Organized and maintained filing systems, made color standards, and made color chips for special projects.
- Adobe Photoshop, 5%
Enhance digital comic book pages using Adobe Photoshop to colorize weekly assignments.
Most colorists use their skills in "color correction," "davinci resolve," and "color theory" to do their jobs. You can find more detail on essential colorist responsibilities here:
Listening skills. One of the key soft skills for a colorist to have is listening skills. You can see how this relates to what colorists do because "barbers, hairstylists, and cosmetologists must be attentive when clients describe what they want to ensure satisfaction with the result." Additionally, a colorist resume shows how colorists use listening skills: "communicated color comments using the lab dip notification/submission table e-mail procedure. "
Physical stamina. Many colorist duties rely on physical stamina. "barbers, hairstylists, and cosmetologists must be able to stand for long periods.," so a colorist will need this skill often in their role. This resume example is just one of many ways colorist responsibilities rely on physical stamina: "analyze the client's hair and other physical features to determine and recommend treatments for the client's hairstyle. "
Time-management skills. This is an important skill for colorists to perform their duties. For an example of how colorist responsibilities depend on this skill, consider that "barbers, hairstylists, and cosmetologists need to manage their time efficiently when scheduling appointments and providing services." This excerpt from a resume also shows how vital it is to everyday roles and responsibilities of a colorist: "corresponded daily with overseas and domestic vendors regarding color approval and color corrections needed, while maintaining delivery deadlines. ".
Creativity. colorist responsibilities often require "creativity." The duties that rely on this skill are shown by the fact that "barbers, hairstylists, and cosmetologists must keep up with the latest trends and be ready to try new hairstyles for their clients." This resume example shows what colorists do with creativity on a typical day: "worked on commission, perform all hair services, take salon inventory, work as receptionist"
Customer-service skills. A commonly-found skill in colorist job descriptions, "customer-service skills" is essential to what colorists do. Colorist responsibilities rely on this skill because "workers must be friendly, pleasant, and able to interact with clients to build and retain clientele." You can also see how colorist duties rely on customer-service skills in this resume example: "worked as a colorist in elite manhattan salon to build skills of hair color as well as customer service skills. "
The three companies that hire the most colorists are:
- AAG Management Inc
4 colorists jobs
- Danaher2 colorists jobs
- Adobe1 colorists jobs
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Compare different colorists
Colorist vs. Beautician
A Beautician is a person whose job is to do hair styling, manicures, and other beauty treatments. They work in various trades of the beauty industry, such as hair, skin, or nail care.
While similarities exist, there are also some differences between colorists and beautician. For instance, colorist responsibilities require skills such as "color correction," "davinci resolve," "color theory," and "color standards." Whereas a beautician is skilled in "cosmetology," "skin care," "beauty shop," and "client appointments." This is part of what separates the two careers.
Beauticians tend to make the most money working in the health care industry, where they earn an average salary of $37,525. In contrast, colorists make the biggest average salary, $38,234, in the media industry.On average, beauticians reach similar levels of education than colorists. Beauticians are 2.4% less likely to earn a Master's Degree and 0.0% less likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.Colorist vs. Hair and makeup designer
A hairdresser, also known as a hairstylist or beautician, is a person who specializes in the cutting or styling of hair with the goal of enhancing a person's appearance. As a hairdresser, your duties may range from cutting, washing, and styling to hair coloring and employing hair texturing techniques. You may also be required to educate clients on healthy hair practices on hair and scalp care.
In addition to the difference in salary, there are some other key differences worth noting. For example, colorist responsibilities are more likely to require skills like "color correction," "davinci resolve," "color theory," and "front desk." Meanwhile, a hair and makeup designer has duties that require skills in areas such as "stage production," "wigs," "photo shoots," and "skin care." These differences highlight just how different the day-to-day in each role looks.
Hair and makeup designers earn higher levels of education than colorists in general. They're 6.9% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 0.0% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Colorist vs. Hair designer
Some important key differences between the two careers include a few of the skills necessary to fulfill the responsibilities of each. Some examples from colorist resumes include skills like "color correction," "davinci resolve," "color theory," and "color standards," whereas a hair designer is more likely to list skills in "customer service," "appointment scheduling," "cosmetology," and "product sales. "
Most hair designers achieve a similar degree level compared to colorists. For example, they're 1.8% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree, and 0.0% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Colorist vs. Hair dresser
Even though a few skill sets overlap between colorists and hair dressers, there are some differences that are important to note. For one, a colorist might have more use for skills like "color correction," "davinci resolve," "color theory," and "color standards." Meanwhile, some responsibilities of hair dressers require skills like "appointment scheduling," "customer service," "product sales," and "curling irons. "
The average resume of hair dressers showed that they earn similar levels of education compared to colorists. So much so that theyacirc;euro;trade;re 1.6% less likely to earn a Master's Degree and more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree by 0.5%.Types of colorist
Updated January 8, 2025
