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Commercial artist vs production artist

The differences between commercial artists and production artists can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 4-6 years to become a commercial artist, becoming a production artist takes usually requires 6-12 months. Additionally, a production artist has an average salary of $61,870, which is higher than the $60,449 average annual salary of a commercial artist.

The top three skills for a commercial artist include art projects, photography and adobe photoshop. The most important skills for a production artist are graphic design, adobe photoshop, and adobe creative suite.

Commercial artist vs production artist overview

Commercial ArtistProduction Artist
Yearly salary$60,449$61,870
Hourly rate$29.06$29.75
Growth rate6%3%
Number of jobs30,06659,103
Job satisfaction--
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 59%Bachelor's Degree, 68%
Average age4038
Years of experience612

Commercial artist vs production artist salary

Commercial artists and production artists have different pay scales, as shown below.

Commercial ArtistProduction Artist
Average salary$60,449$61,870
Salary rangeBetween $36,000 And $100,000Between $40,000 And $94,000
Highest paying City-San Francisco, CA
Highest paying state-Washington
Best paying company-Apple
Best paying industry--

Differences between commercial artist and production artist education

There are a few differences between a commercial artist and a production artist in terms of educational background:

Commercial ArtistProduction Artist
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 59%Bachelor's Degree, 68%
Most common majorGraphic DesignGraphic Design
Most common collegeDuke UniversityUniversity of Pennsylvania

Commercial artist vs production artist demographics

Here are the differences between commercial artists' and production artists' demographics:

Commercial ArtistProduction Artist
Average age4038
Gender ratioMale, 58.4% Female, 41.6%Male, 57.2% Female, 42.8%
Race ratioBlack or African American, 4.3% Unknown, 5.6% Hispanic or Latino, 14.1% Asian, 7.6% White, 67.8% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.6%Black or African American, 3.4% Unknown, 5.0% Hispanic or Latino, 10.6% Asian, 10.4% White, 70.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4%
LGBT Percentage11%13%

Differences between commercial artist and production artist duties and responsibilities

Commercial artist example responsibilities.

  • Manage external communications such as brochures and other sales collateral for direct mail from inception to circulation.
  • Utilize a variety of creative media including illustration, photography and digital design to convey ideas beautifully and intelligently.
  • Create online stores and sell artwork through Zazzle, Etsy, and Cafepress.

Production artist example responsibilities.

  • Manage print jobs, design, copywriting.
  • Produce and code HTML emails that are browser/email client-friendly, as well code landing pages in CSS.
  • Code web pages with HTML5, CSS, JavaScript, PHP, and WordPress.
  • Update and maintain CMS website.
  • Work almost daily in the mac studio.
  • Submit sketch approvals to USDA for their review.
  • Show more

Commercial artist vs production artist skills

Common commercial artist skills
  • Art Projects, 32%
  • Photography, 12%
  • Adobe Photoshop, 12%
  • Technical Illustrations, 8%
  • Customer Relations, 6%
  • Posters, 5%
Common production artist skills
  • Graphic Design, 12%
  • Adobe Photoshop, 9%
  • Adobe Creative Suite, 7%
  • Adobe Illustrator, 7%
  • Adobe Indesign, 5%
  • Production Art, 5%

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